Slamming the door on hypocrisy

So Des Hasler slams a door in anger, and suddenly we have journalists raising the issue of player privacy. A mountain out of a molehill? Yes. Not only that, but this kind of passionate display from a coach should be viewed as a positive advertisement for the game rather than a cause for debate about dressing room cameras and post match sanctuaries. Some of sports' great television moments have come from 'behind the scenes' footage and this can only be good for our game.

The Manly coach, and club, have since admonished the footage, claiming it 'crosses the line' and have called for the policy on dressing room cameras be reviewed. Why? It doesn't paint them in a bad light and if anything, Hasler et al should be congratulated. I believe Des's actions promote him as a motivated human being and a Coach who loves his club. As a league fan, I don't expect my team to win every week but I want them to 'put in' every week, I want them to care as much as I do. Des has shown us that there are plenty who can deliver on this.

Invasion of privacy? Or the greatest moment in Rugby League history?

The response to seeing this footage has been mostly positive.

Certain section of the media, on the other hand, feel it is their duty to remind us of issues such as privacy when something absolutely hilarious has happened. We didn't see anything untoward, no dressing room nudity, no blood, needles or stitches. Why waste your breath and your pages blowing this out of proportion?

These are the same media outlets that paid for photos of Benji Marshall being harassed by buffoons at a Sydney Nightclub. Remarkably, instead of using that incident to spark a privacy debate, they do so after Hasler's efforts in the Eels dressing room. Under a banner of trying to provoke thought and shape opinions? Oddly hypocritical.

Obviously this blog is about putting the 'fun back into footy' so my angle is admittedly biased towards the flippant - but I believe this is all great for the game, just as other dressing room 'emotional' moments have shown:

• The famous 60 Minutes footage from the Western Suburbs dressing room in 1979. Tommy Raudonikis and teammates slapping each other in pre-game preparation for a match against Manly. Roy Masters, The Magpies' coach at the time, paces amongst them like a General motivating his troops to fight for good against evil, spitting wonderful words of hate and anger and preparing his men for a bloodbath. This moment has become part of League's tribal history and is now the topic of a wonderful documentary.
• Darren Lockyer 'tackling' an ice bucket in post match dressing room celebrations in 2009. Hilarious! This showed fans how much winning means to NRL players. A great advertisement for the game and for the Black Prince himself.
• On a much happier day Des Hasler invites the Sea Eagles mascot into his victorious dressing room after the mascot had beaten up a pitch invader. Brilliant footage. Seeing the joy and camaraderie between team mates in this instance only strengthens the NRL's case that Rugby League still has a soul, still has a spirit, and is still the Greatest Game of All.

The above examples help sell the game to the public as it brings us closer to the action. This is something the paying customer will always want, whether that payment is for a ticket to the game or for a pay TV subscription. None of it would have been possible if we paid attention to muck-rakers and blowflies in the media. There is nothing wrong with debate, but not when it is instigated by a group responsible for so many examples of ‘invasions of privacy’, almost crippling the NRL's marketing capabilities. They don't have enough credibility to suddenly present the existence of a moral compass.

Do not mess with this bloke.

If the majority of players and coaches want these cameras removed, then it would be hard to argue. However, I’m sure they realise that any good publicity for the NRL is good publicity for players as well. None of this footage has ever cast them in a bad light and if anything, they can look even more like the grand warriors that children see whilst growing up idolising them.

From this, and from a business perspective: more publicity = more marketing power = more advertising = more dollars.

The Manly club feel this footage is a breach of protocol ...but I say to Des and Manly, be proud of what you have done and do more of it. You have no reason to feel violated by these images being released, or that your privacy has been abused, or that your behaviour is anything less than impressive. Long may it continue.

Your passion is our product.

Des is one of this blogs favourite league characters. We love the surly, witty and hilarious way he addresses the media in post match interviews. When prompted to comment on the referees performance after Manly's loss to the Wests Tigers in round 1 this year, Des delivered the following response... "what’s the point?" Short and sweet and fantastic.

The Eels are lucky that Des didn't burn down the Western Stand.

Other snippets of Hasler’s best lines include:
"This is going to be a beauty. Shame we're not going to be talking about football."
"The game is professional, the officialdom isn't."
"Rugby league is a great game; it has to be to survive errors like the one two minutes from full-time."

Magnificent. Wikipedia got it right to list these under his Bio.

Also, why hasn't anyone raised the issue of poor carpentry at Parramatta Stadium? Did nobody else notice how fragile that door was?

If uncovering some shoddy workmanship was the worst that Des Hasler did, I am impressed. Consider his position for a moment: Manly blow a 20 point second half lead, the opposition score a 109 metre try and the referees allow a forward pass (the likes of which I've never seen) that lead to another try. All against a hated rival! I would have forgiven Des if he set fire to the entire stadium after all of this, let alone slam a door.

So instead of viewing this as a moment of controversy, might I suggest that the NRL use this footage in next year's advertising campaign? Along with the aforementioned Magpies 1979 footage, play some inspirational music in the background and let's have some fun, damn it. Just like Kieran Foran did after Hasler busted down that door. Notice Kieran having a little giggle about his coach’s dressing room exit strategy? Ah the sensational innocence of youth.