Sad reason behind Mal Meninga Kangaroos bloodbath

Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga shocked the game when he pulled out his axe, but the situation is even uglier beneath the surface.

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Once vaunted as the game’s pinnacle, the Kangaroos are now an experimental side and an irritation that gets in the way of post-season beers in Thailand.

With players dodging national duty and others opting to represent emerging nations over the green and gold, the jersey no longer boasts the gravitational pull once so irresistible it attracted blokes like Karmichael Hunt to dog the Kiwis.

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Add the last start flogging to New Zealand, the Kalyn Ponga debacle and Mal Meninga naming a weird squad of odd socks yesterday, and it’s clear the jersey has never been in a weirder place nor at a lower value.

Meninga’s squad has drummed up plenty of debate, not only because he’s gone nuts with the axe, but also because every team reveal these days doubles as a referendum on whether anyone really gives a hoot about playing for Australia anymore.

That’s because the allure of Kangaroos representation has been on a steady decline for years, with the honour being devalued by generous international eligibility rules, a packed schedule and apathy.

Meninga’s team for the Pacific Championships certainly is a new look outfit — but the changes have come about for a grim reason.

Kalyn Ponga might not be wearing green and gold for a long time.

It’s not just injuries and form that have forced his hand, Meninga has been obliged to swing the axe in a bid to put the cleaners up an ungrateful playing group that couldn’t give a rat’s about the jersey.

Put simply, he wants it known that he’s prepared to dump players until they get the message that playing for Australia is more than just a pay check and a free tracksuit.

After his side was humbled 30-0 by the Kiwis — a result described by Greg Alexander as “embarrassing” — a hurt Meninga needed to send a message sent that the Roos jersey must be treated like the body and blood of Christ, only more divine.

Sadly, playing for Australia has waned in importance over the years, with the jersey no longer oozing with the serious cachet of yesteryear that would see men stepping over their own mothers just to smell the fabric.

Who remembers when aspiring youngsters dreamt of the glorious honour of being selected for a Kangaroo Tour or to beat up on the Kumuls?

Lindsay Smith is in. James Tedesco is out. Photo: NRL Photos.

Nowadays it’s so far down the pecking order that it could be genuinely confused for a PM’s XIII call up.

Sure, ask any player and they’ll espouse the company line about the jersey being the pinnacle of the game — but only until Origin time.

Yes, Ponga did self-sideline himself from the interstate series last year due to concussion issues, but there’s no way he would disembowel the Queensland jersey by withdrawing to concentrate on club footy.

Could those hairy-chested heroes of the 80’s who took unpaid leave to go on a three month tour of freezing England ever envisage this?

It would’ve been unthinkable that the jersey’s importance could be dragged through the sewerage in such fashion, and worse, only saved by the rulebook and three days of calorie-burning public outrage.

Only once Ponga was reminded of his responsibilities to make himself available — or at the very least, show Meninga the respect of faking an injury — did he backflip in embarrassing fashion.

Nevertheless, Meninga’s move to restore pride by swinging the axe has delivered an unintended consequence.

Kalyn Ponga and Mal Meninga

It has undermined his own campaign to restore the Kangaroos reputation as ‘the best of the best’ by not picking the best of the best.

While nobody has a mortgage on their jersey, surely James Tedesco and Daly Cherry-Evans are in the best 21 footballers in the country.

But Meninga was left with no choice, because when someone has to pay the price, it’s just easier to let the old people cop it.

In summary, Australia will be fine if it loses a few more Victor Radleys.

But the Roos jersey is on a steady trajectory downwards in rugby league’s pantheon of prestige, and we should’ve seen the writing on the wall all those years ago when the Queensland faction hijacked the team song with ‘Yippi Yi’.

With a packed schedule and player safety growing in prominence, it appears its days as the game’s diamond in the crown are numbered.

Unless Meninga can put the wind up the players, it seems the only way it can be saved now is by scheduling games in Thailand.

— Dane Eldridge is a warped cynic yearning for the glory days of rugby league, a time when the sponges were magic and the Mondays were mad. He’s never strapped on a boot in his life, and as such, should be taken with a grain of salt.

Originally published as Sad reason behind Mal Meninga Kangaroos bloodbath