The NRL and Fox Sports have been left embarrassed, with the face of Fox League, Matthew Johns, involved in an advertising campaign to promote the game’s great rival, the AFL.
Peter V’landys has spent his years as chairman of the ARL Commission taking swipes at the AFL as he tries to make rugby league the dominant code in the country and he watches every move the AFL makes like a hawk. He is also very aware of what his broadcast partners are doing and what their on-air talent are saying. Take it as fact that he will let the networks know if he thinks AFL is getting what he sees as too much coverage, let alone good coverage.
Johns is promoting the AFL on his podcast, which is sponsored by News Corp. He is not only talking up the AFL during what are known as “live reads” (ads read out live by the stars of the show), but the commercials are designed to get people to attend games in the school holidays. Johns is entitled to make money any way he sees fit, but I’ve been told he did not earn money promoting the AFL. It’s what the image-conscience NRL thinks that matters.
In the commercial, Johns talks up the good value of the AFL and the benefits of going to a game.
“Parents, the school holidays are here and I’ll tell you a good way to entertain the kids, attend a good old game of Aussie rules live,” he says. “And the best part, between now and July 21, kids 14 years and under go free, so you can enjoy the sport without breaking the bank.
“Feel the excitement together, cheer for incredible ‘spekkies’, as they call it, and experience the energy of a stadium filled with cheering fans. And it’s more than just a game, it’s an opportunity to bond, create lasting memories and share in the excitement of sport. Make the school holiday one that is talked about for years.”
The high-flying Sydney Swans and (inset) Matthew Johns.Credit: Getty
There is no question that if the game’s other broadcast partner, Channel Nine, and its stars Andrew Johns, Brad Fittler, Cameron Smith or Phil Gould were promoting the AFL, the News Corp media and their magazine shows would be running wild with the story. Expect the hatchet men to keep their axes clean.
Nine is owned by Nine Entertainment Co, which owns this masthead. I also work for Nine news.
V’landys did not want to comment when contacted.
We called Johns for comment and, initially, he said he had nothing to say. He called back a short time later with the cryptic comment: “Pulled Danny”. So by that, are we to assume he won’t do it again?
It’s particularly surprising given Johns has never been very complimentary about the AFL. I’ve heard stories about Johns giving former AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan a spray at a corporate event about what he thought of the AFL’s push into western Sydney.
The Blues’ hit parade
These are the moments of “Blue murder” in Origin II in Melbourne that embodied the hard-edged coaching style of Michael Maguire and signalled to Queensland that their days of being the interstate bullies are over.
The gritty moments walked a fine line but defined NSW’s stunning performance, and paved the way for the flashy stuff that led to the best half of attacking football a Blues team has ever produced. After the game, Jarome Luai joked with me that Liam Martin was on report “five times”.
I have had an expert analyst pick out key moments in the game where the Maroons were manhandled in acts that, in other years, have been owned by Queensland.
(Clockwise from top left) Stephen Crichton slams Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow; Reece Robson pulls Jaydn Su’a’s hair; Reece Walsh gets a “facial”; Jarome Luai hits Daly Cherry-Evans; Stephen Crichton’s grapple on Cherry-Evans and Liam Martin dumps Reuben Cotter.
Some of the moments included: Stephen Crichton slamming Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow back into the in-goal; Reece Robson’s hair pull on Jaydn Su’a; Angus Crichton and Latrell Mitchell giving glamour boy Reece Walsh an old-fashioned “facial”; Martin lifting Reuben Cotter; and Mitchell shoving Walsh in the in-goal area.
The key hit in the second half was Mitchell’s shot on Xavier Coates. The Blues feared he could have been banned for weeks. Luai’s off-the-ball hit on Daly Cherry-Evans and Crichton’s grapple on DCE were examples of the Blues targeting the playmaker. And Mitchell’s second-half tackle on Walsh, with a body slam, highlight NSW’s domination.
It was a brutal approach, and even without Mitchell for Origin III, it told Queensland that the Blues would not be dominated or intimidated. This will figure in the minds of Maroons coaches as they prepare to take on the “Bully Blues” on home soil in the decider on July 17.
Most of the public focus has been on the brilliance of the likes of Mitchell Moses, Zac Lomax and Mitchell in game two, but the match was won in the trenches.
Kenty’s next move
The sacking of Paul Kent from News Corp and Fox Sports was forecast in this column a few weeks ago. I heard it had happened, but the spin doctors at both organisations were ducking for cover. They were not interested in confirming the information and instead dropped it in a friendly space in one of their papers on Monday.
Kent pleaded guilty to affray on Wednesday after failing to convince a court his depression and alcohol problems should spare him from punishment for his role in a drunken brawl outside a Sydney pub.
Kent is now making subtle inquiries around town about doing a podcast based on his opinions on rugby league. It was what he was paid to do by News Corp for many years and it will be interesting to see whether it takes off.
Paul Kent leaving court on Wednesday.Credit: Kate Geraghty
During his last enforced break from journalism, Kent did part-time work at a funeral parlour under the guise that he was interested in writing a book about the industry.
There have also been rumblings that he is going to take legal action against News Corp. His lawyer, George Elias, was publicly critical of the lack of help his client had received from his previous employers. I have contacted Elias to ask whether he would be pursuing legal action and received denials. I have also asked Kent, but I’ve heard nothing back.
Brown and out?
Chad Townsend’s signing with the Roosters is a smart move on so many levels, and one that has the conspiracy theorists on high alert.
Townsend does several things, including giving the Roosters an on-field coach. He still has fire in his belly to be a success in first grade.
Townsend is managed by Chris and Gavin Orr. Now here is where it gets interesting. The Orrs also manage Parramatta’s Dylan Brown. The Eels No.6 can get out of his deal at Parramatta at the same time Townsend’s Roosters deal ends, at the end of 2025.
It kind of makes sense, and a club as smart as the Roosters would have been well aware of those details.
The Townsend signing also ends a push from Lachlan Ilias’ manager, Braith Anasta, to get his client into the red, white and blue. It may lead now to Anasta looking to another of his former clubs, the Bulldogs, to find a new home for Ilias.
Anasta has been very vocal in his support of the Bulldogs’ rebuild and has been singing the praises of coach Cameron Ciraldo and general manager Phil Gould.
Dylan Brown on Thursday.Credit: Getty Images
There have been murmurs of interest from Newcastle, but you get the feeling Anasta would love to see Ilias in the blue and white.
The Bulldogs have had success this year with Toby Sexton in the No.7 jumper. Sexton has expressed a strong desire to stay at Canterbury when his contract ends. The Bulldogs also have Drew Hutchison as a halfback option and a rising star in Mitchell Woods.
Fan to crow about
In a week where rugby league lost one of its true on-field wild men in Geoff Robinson, the passing of a fan who displayed similar enthusiasm has received much less coverage.
Brian Cooley may not be well known by the public, but to an 11-year-old boy falling in love with rugby league, he was a figure of mystery and intrigue. He was just that guy who yelled his head off in support of the Roosters, and drank from a bottle in a brown paper bag.
He later became known as “Roosterman”, cackling out his war cry, which always began with, “Are you ready?”
Brian passed away during the week at the age of 80.
His head covered by his distinctive Roosterman cap and his raspy voice were a huge part of growing up. My best mate and I would look at him in wonderment at games.
Upon hearing of his death, I spoke to his daughter, Jessica. She told me her dad was Indigenous and while he never told people who his favourite player was, she let the secret out.
Brian “Roosterman” Cooley.
“It was Artie, big Arthur Beetson, and Dad got to meet him, and that meant so much to him,” she said. “He first went to a game in 1973 and fell in love with this sport. He was a great dad and grandfather, but ... rugby league was his life.
“He saw all the good and bad days at the Roosters, and the last game he went to was the opening of Allianz Stadium. It’s nice to hear he meant things to people. He used to have beer in that bottle in the old days, and then when they stopped allowing you to bring that in, he’d empty out some poppers and put the beer in there. I used to tell him to settle down at the games, but he’d never listen.”
It is fitting the Roosters will honour one of the great teams, the 1974 premiers, in the first match after Cooley’s death, and 50 years after their 19-4 win over Canterbury. They will also acknowledge their most-capped player, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
What fans won’t see is that after the game, Jessica will present her dad’s headwear to the club. And there is no question it will end up in an important place at the Roosters.
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