There is growing controversy about the selection process for rugby league’s Immortals and Hall of Fame, with some of those who took part saying it was rushed through in about two hours with little time to debate issues and minimal vetting of candidates.
In the space of two hours, which included a lunch, there were 25 people admitted to the Hall of Fame and an Immortal, league’s greatest individual accolade, was selected.
Adding to concerns was a significant lack of knowledge of the female Hall of Fame contenders, which resulted in every nominated athlete being admitted.
This is not a slight on any panel members or the very worthy Hall of Fame inductees and the latest Immortal Ron Coote, rather a process that needs an overhaul.
The boss of the game, ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys, was fuming about criticism of the process.
“I appreciate everyone is entitled to an opinion, however it’s disappointing that rather than celebrating our Hall of Famers and Immortal we try to find fault,” he said.
“We have had four years to consider who should be inducted. We had a committee meeting last year. We expanded the committee this year to have greater Queensland knowledge. The committee for the first time included two women. There were nine journalists on the committee, each with at least 25 years’ experience, with four having over 40 years’ experience.
“The NRL historian drafted a bio on each person considered. Committee members could nominate others. I have never seen in rugby league before the universal acceptance of Ron Coote as the Immortal. So the committee got it 100 per cent right.”
I need to declare that I was asked to be part of the selection process, but could not participate because it clashed with my work schedule when I was in the Blue Mountains covering the NSW State of Origin team. Being asked to participate was an honour, but one I may now never receive again after this column.
There is no question that those making the decisions were extremely well qualified, but the omission of previous judges and living Immortals is a legitimate concern that has been made by those arguing for a new process.
The last time Immortals were selected, in 2018, the late journalism great Ian Heads was chairman of the committee. Immortals Bob Fulton, Wally Lewis and Andrew Johns (who was unfortunately absent ill), and other league luminaries Norm Tasker, Ray Warren, Phil Gould, Wayne Bennett, Steve Crawley and Todd Greenberg were the judging panel. Another Immortal, Graeme Langlands, died earlier that year. The living Immortals should have been given a say this time.
Les Boyd was a controversial addition to the Hall of Fame.Credit: Fairfax archives
The problems around the selection process kicked off with a tweet from Darryl Brohman, who was horrified that Les Boyd was included in the Hall of Fame. How Boyd got through remains something of a mystery, given he was a late nomination.
In 1983, NSW’s Boyd hit Queensland’s Brohman with his elbow in a State of Origin match, shattering his jaw. The incident lives in rugby league infamy. Only three games into his comeback the following year, Boyd was again suspended for 15 months for eye gouging Canterbury’s Billy Johnstone. It effectively ended Boyd’s career in Australia.
I don’t know how I would have reacted when he was nominated in a room full of powerful figures, but on ability alone, Boyd would be well behind plenty of other players from his time.
The Hall of Fame selection panel needs more time and greater education to make decisions. There is also no question that the heads of the game, V’landys and NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo, should be part of the process, and a couple of senior journalists or commentators need to be included. However, the key figure should be league historian David Middleton, who understands the players of the past better than just about anyone.
Bennett bristles at political footy talk
Wayne Bennett is angry at suggestions he snubbed his Hall of Fame induction as a protest against the way the award was decided.
Bennett was a no-show, but it had nothing to do with rugby league politics. While he believes the way the awards are selected needs some level of consistency, and perhaps a different panel format, he was not making some sort of bold statement when he didn’t front. He asked Sam Burgess to collect his Hall of Fame honour, which the former South Sydney star was delighted to do.
Organisers did try desperately to get Bennett via video link to be interviewed by John Quayle, but could not make it happen.
Sam Burgess accepts Wayne Bennett’s award on his behalf.Credit: NRL Photos
Delany’s actions hard to forgive
If you haven’t spoken to Patrick Delany, it’s probably a reasonable question to ask: How is he still the boss of Foxtel?
It won’t be asked by the hatchet men at News Corp, who are on his payroll, but it is being asked widely throughout the media and sporting landscape. Many people asked me during the week to demand his sacking. They are disgusted by his behaviour. Others say it was merely a joke and should be overlooked.
It’s certainly not for me to demand anything.
A photo emerged online last Sunday of Delany in a Nazi-style pose when he was chief executive of Fox Sports. Delany, who is now chief executive of majority News Corp-owned Foxtel Group, later apologised.
Foxtel chief executive Patrick Delany performing a Nazi salute in a Fox Sports studio.
The context Delany provided initially was that he was somehow mimicking a pose made by football supporters. It has since emerged he was imitating Mark Bosnich’s infamous incident at Tottenham’s White Hart Lane in 1996.
After a brief but heartfelt chat with Delany, he made it clear to me he believes he is not antisemitic. His level of regret was significant and his apologies fair dinkum. He has Jewish ties to his family. Does that make it OK? Others can answer that, including his family.
The video was taken 12 years ago, as far as this column can ascertain, and there was no immediate apology. He will say that is because he doesn’t remember it happening. He didn’t know the video was taken. That’s his story and we need to accept that. We read and hear that he has talked to all the right people and made all the right noises, but why do it in the first place?
You may be wondering why this is appearing in a sports column. Well, for a start, Delany is one of the most powerful men in Australian sport.
You may also be wondering why I’m on my high horse? Those who read this column closely will know I’m Jewish. It’s not something I make a big deal of. I’m not religious. I don’t involve myself in politics or comment on things that don’t relate directly to me.
Despite heartfelt apologies and a personal call that was sincere, I can’t let Delany’s actions go without comment. My late father would be ashamed of me if I did. The Nazis destroyed my family. My grandmother’s account of what took place, which I sent to Delany, is harrowing to listen to.
If anyone is interested, Google Irene Weidler. She talks of her time at the Auschwitz concentration camp and coming face-to-face with one of the most notorious mass murderers in history.
However, her account, harrowing as it is, does not truly capture what my father went through as a five-year-old. It impacted his entire life. And that, in turn, obviously had a flow-on effect on mine.
Of course, none of this is Delany’s fault; he just acted without thought. We all make mistakes, but some are harder to forgive than others.
Trell it how it is
The biggest requirement South Sydney will place on Latrell Mitchell going into next season won’t be found in a contract or a clause.
The club will make it very clear to him that his role for the Rabbitohs is as a footballer, and that needs to be his top priority.
Embattled South Sydney star Latrell Mitchell.Credit: Getty Images
That might sound simple and implied, but given Mitchell’s huge public profile and role in the Indigenous community, it is something the club wants made clear to him. In other words, they want him to focus on his sport rather than spending time as a community leader.
That may be hard for Mitchell to do, and Souths aren’t saying he should ignore what is important to him, but instead it will be made clear that his priorities need to be football and family. They want him to limit his engagement in other areas.
How that sits with Mitchell remains to be seen, but you can be sure that is the message Souths bosses and incoming coach Wayne Bennett will ram home to Mitchell in the coming days, weeks and months.
Mitchell has done it tough since a photo of him in a Dubbo hotel standing over a substance became public because he realises better than most that he is a role model to so many. More than that, he knows he has put pressure on the people he loves: his family and teammates.
Mitchell has accepted the NRL’s proposed sanction of a one-match ban and a $20,000 fine for bringing the game into disrepute.
Mitchell has been attacked by his detractors in recent times, and he can’t argue with some of the commentary. What is interesting is that the concerns raised by former assistant coach Sam Burgess when he left the club last year – about the special treatment given to Mitchell and others – has again come to light, and his opinions are even more respected now.
Mitchell knows he has to make up for his indiscretions and that he can again dominate the game. And don’t think for one second that rival teams have been ignoring what has been going on with him.
If Souths were to be unable to establish common ground, half a dozen clubs would be picking up the phone to his agent to secure his services.
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