What match over the weekend was this coach talking about? ‘The first half was diabolical. The second half started better but we fell into the same traps. I don’t think X would be too happy with the way they played either. It wasn’t a pretty game to watch’.

Most people reading the Sunday papers would say that the game was the Super 14 match between the NSW Waratahs and the Queensland Reds, with X standing for Eddie Jones. In fact, it was the Sea Eagles 16 - Bulldogs 14 league clash at Telstra Stadium, with Des Hasler being the real X.

The heading for the match report in the Sun-Herald was: ‘Monaghan magic gets Manly home.’ This was a positive heading for what was a boring match as Steve Folkes’ critical comments on the quality of the play (or better it’s lack of quality), which were buried deep in the story, amply demonstrate. Rather than point to the mediocre nature of the game, the reporter and his sub-editor highlighted (as they entitled to, and should have done) to one of its few bright spots, the kick-and-catch by Michael Monaghan that saw him set up the winning try for his side.

Now turn to a comment piece in The Sunday Telegraph on the Waratahs-Reds match written by the self-styled The Big Man, Darryl Brohman. The headline of the piece reveals everything we need to know about what it says and why it was written: ‘They dished up bore-athon we expected.’

Clinton Shifcofske scored a try off a kick-and-chase for the Reds that was far more spectacular than the Monoghan catch, yet no mention was made of this in the column. Admittedly, Brohman is the Oliver Hardy of sports journalism. The column was intended to be humourous, which it wasn’t. But it’s hard to know what was more objectionable, the appallingly bad jokes or the intention behind the column which was to trash rugby as a spectator sport.

Rugby writers have been fearless in pointing out what’s wrong with the game, when this needs to be said. Their honesty, in fact, is in mark contrast with many league reporters who write as cheer leaders rather than as objective commentators giving the truth to their readers.

So I’ll begin to learn to cop this sort of Brohman nonsense sweet when the sports editors of Sydney’s leading newspapers begin to allow rugby identities to write about league as fearlessly and as recklessly as league identities are allowed to write about rugby. Unfortunately, this won’t happen. League experts are allowed to pontificate (invariably in a negative way) about rugby. But rugby experts are never allowed to pontificate about league.

What can the editorial supporters of the ‘greatest game of all’ possibly be worried about?
You tell em Spiro