Are SL players less likely than NRL to get drunk and nasty? : Wed Nov 21, 2018 10:59 pm  

Scathing attack on alcohol as the cause of frequent atrocious public behaviour by NRL players just published in the Sydney Morning Herald by a prominent columnist: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/the-common ... 50hgu.html We rarely hear of such bad public behaviour, under the influence of alcohol, from SL players (Zachary Hardaker would be one prominent exception). It seems that Super League players are better disciplined and better behaved off field than NRL players. Why is it so? It can't be because the young British men drink less than their Australian equivalents. I have not seen any evidence of that. On the contrary.

Scathing attack on alcohol as the cause of frequent atrocious public behaviour by NRL players just published in the Sydney Morning Herald by a prominent columnist: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/the-common ... 50hgu.html We rarely hear of such bad public behaviour, under the influence of alcohol, from SL players (Zachary Hardaker would be one prominent exception). It seems that Super League players are better disciplined and better behaved off field than NRL players. Why is it so? It can't be because the young British men drink less than their Australian equivalents. I have not seen any evidence of that. On the contrary.

Re: Are SL players less likely than NRL to get drunk and nas : Wed Nov 21, 2018 11:26 pm  

I don't know what or if any social economic issues play a role here - are some of the factors due to being better paid & mostly living in places that are big City holiday destinations, that may tempt young guys with cash on the hip to party more which in turn leads to drinking problems. Or is it the higher profile the game has down under and thus more pressure on the players a cause, who knows. Is there generally a bigger drinking culture among the NRL teams compared to SL?

This part of the article makes interesting reading though especially when you think what happened to the likes of Tim Smith & Kevin Locke at Trinity or Joel Tomkins at Wigan.

Time and time again, year after year, the common factor in footballers either ruining their own lives, the lives of others, or the reputation of the game in general, is ... excess of grog.

But does the NRL do the obvious and bring in huge penalties for getting vexed as a newt?

Of course not. And there are two obvious reasons why not.

The first reason is that it would be bloody well un-Australian to do so. Getting fall-over rat-faced vexed is simply what Australian blokes do, don’t you know? And the second reason is that when the game is heavily sponsored by grog companies, those sponsors might take a very dim view of the NRL doing what all alcoholics need to do, which is to say “I need help, I have a real problem with alcohol.”

We know it does. We can see it does. But can the NRL see it?

Re: Are SL players less likely than NRL to get drunk and nas : Thu Nov 22, 2018 3:14 am  

JEAN CAPDOUZE wrote:

It can't be because the young British men drink less than their Australian equivalents. I have not seen any evidence of that in my role as a live in barman on an extended OE!. On the contrary.

Edited for Accuracy

Re: Are SL players less likely than NRL to get drunk and nas : Thu Nov 22, 2018 6:42 am  

Shifty Cat wrote:

I don't know what or if any social economic issues play a role here - are some of the factors due to being better paid & mostly living in places that are big City holiday destinations, that may tempt young guys with cash on the hip to party more which in turn leads to drinking problems. Or is it the higher profile the game has down under and thus more pressure on the players a cause, who knows. Is there generally a bigger drinking culture among the NRL teams compared to SL?

This part of the article makes interesting reading though especially when you think what happened to the likes of Tim Smith & Kevin Locke at Trinity or Joel Tomkins at Wigan.

There seems to be. Even the Australian captain-elect got drunk and lost his position! But the reason for this is a mystery to me.

Re: Are SL players less likely than NRL to get drunk and nas : Thu Nov 22, 2018 8:44 am  

I’m not sure SL players are less likely to get ‘’drunk and nasty’’. Lower profile so less likely to get caught maybe.

Re: Are SL players less likely than NRL to get drunk and nas : Thu Nov 22, 2018 8:50 am  

Trainman wrote:

I’m not sure SL players are less likely to get ‘’drunk and nasty’’. Lower profile so less likely to get caught maybe.

This is the answer to yet another question that didn't require asking imo.

Virtually every SL player could wake up face down in the gutter in the middle of Leeds any number of times yet 99% of the time nobody would know or care who they were. Local news at best unless there was some especially henious element to it.

The drinking culture in the Aussie game maybe different in some ways but IMO it's no greater than in SL just better reported.

Re: Are SL players less likely than NRL to get drunk and nas : Thu Nov 22, 2018 10:04 am  

Bringing the divide of SL and NRL into is silly, each player are there own man (or woman).

Re: Are SL players less likely than NRL to get drunk and nas : Thu Nov 22, 2018 10:42 am  

vastman wrote:

This is the answer to yet another question that didn't require asking imo.

Virtually every SL player could wake up face down in the gutter in the middle of Leeds any number of times yet 99% of the time nobody would know or care who they were. Local news at best unless there was some especially henious element to it.

The drinking culture in the Aussie game maybe different in some ways but IMO it's no greater than in SL just better reported.

Good point, also, the weather is hotter in Aus, maybe it's all that thirst quenching. I know I drink more in hot weather.
Tis no excuse for bad behavior from the NRL players though.

Re: Are SL players less likely than NRL to get drunk and nas : Thu Nov 22, 2018 11:18 am  

Drinking is also on the decrease among young people in the UK. This could also be a factor.

Re: Are SL players less likely than NRL to get drunk and nas : Thu Nov 22, 2018 11:50 am  

It's the level of celebrity involved that is the key factor. League players in Australia are at the top of the food chain sports-wise. they have more money, more media attention and more fans. This means that their behaviour is under the microscope to an extent that far exceeds what our players have to live with. It also means that there is the potential for more of an entitled "don't you know who I am attitude" that can lead to young men making fools of themselves. There is an extent to which young sportsmen believe they get a free pass on bad behaviour because their talent allows them to do so. It probably protected them a lot through school and early adult life and by the time they are highly-paid professionals they believe that this is the natural order of things.
The comparison really should be with NFL players in the States and footballers over here. These people live similar lives, in which they are told time and again throughout their early lives that their talent entitles them to anything they want. They are then put in an environment where they are constantly scrutinised by journalists who know that some of them will slip up and create a headline story.
None of which is to excuse the players involved for their poor choices and bad behaviour.