A Lesson in Rugby League Conduct and Winning Attitude
OK. Lets get straight into it. I will start with Reece Walsh.
I am a huge fan of this kid and I think he can go any where he wants in this game, but a word of advise from me. SHUT YOUR BIG MOUTH.
I can see he is brilliant, has speed to burn, energy, talent, a will to win and all the things that go with great players, but your mouth is going to get you in trouble. As a young player I was coached by my coaches to talk all game, especially to referees, opposite players were sledged, their families were sledged, and I got accolades for this behaviour.
As I look back with some maturity ,not only has the game changed, but I regret my behaviour back then. Some horrible things were said to the opposition on the paddock about their wives, girlfriends, parents ,etc all in the interest of trying to put them off their game and for my side to win. This was coached by almost all coaches and I hope that has now stopped. I think its still fair to ask the opposition to check the scoreboard, or remind them they dropped the pass or similar, but there is no need to mention innocent family members .
As for Reece I watched the Broncos yesterday and he argued with the officials all game. Let me tell you this, once the ref has made a decision,99 times out of 100, they will not change that decision because a player starts yelling at them. In fact they often target that player in the future paying extra attention to their play. I notice all through Origin, Reece was talking and with 20 seconds to go ,instead of walking away from an incident with the NSW players, he gets involved, throws in a head butt on Jarome Luai, gets sent from the field, and cops a fine. Not good enough. And his coach will tell him so. For me, he need to learn to bite his tongue a bit, let the skipper do the talking, and concentrate on your own game.
Yes ,be competitive and try your best, but you have to learn the accept the decisions made on field by the officials. They will get some wrong, but suck it up and put your energy into the next play. This is a TEAM sport, and you are hurting your TEAM. All the games over the weekend had some terrible decisions by the on field officials, side line officials, and the bunker. God knows what they are looking at, or NOT looking at! But like I say a player has to accept the decision. Right or Wrong. Over the season they even out, you win a couple you shouldn’t have, and you lose a couple.
Some will see this article as criticism, but it is not meant to be so, it is advise and I hope Reece takes this advise. I thing he will cop a fine from the NRL. I thought the Broncos arrived with a very poor attitude and just by running out on the field they would win this game. Hopefully a lesson learned here today. I warned the Broncos in my weekly article to be careful with this game following a bye, and with the turmoil in the Titans all week, after sacking their coach, that they would be out to upset their neighbours, and they did just that.
It again proves how important the mental side of the game is so important. Wrong attitude = Loss
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