BY CURTIS WOODWARD

@woodward_curtis

Let us deal in an absolute fact to begin this yarn: rugby league has got it right so far in 2022 and the battle between attacker and defender is as even as it has been in quite some time.

How refreshing to see a tackler given the opportunity to actually win the ruck for a change. To dive into the “arm-wrestle” and not have to worry about the idiotic six again rule or their legs buckling, collapsing in a heap from pure exhaustion as a Tom Trbojevic or James Tedesco runs right down the centre of the field for their 33rd tackle bust and 4th try of the match.

It’s been a good start to the year.

Then on Monday, we all spat out our Corn Flakes as one.

The NRL began one of their blitzkrieg “hit and run” media missions.

ARLC chairman Peter V’landys wants wrestling out of the game!

It’s back!

We’re all doomed!

Alas, this is not the case.

But let’s go with it for a second, anyway.

Emperor Pete wants MORE fatigue in the game, telling The Herald, “so that we see the best of the likes of James Tedesco, Tom Trbojevic and Kalyn Ponga”.

We see enough of them already. They are great players but we don’t need to see them trampling through withered props and second-rowers who have been busting their arse all afternoon for nothing.

V’landys, once heralded as the great messiah during lockdown, has emerged as a trigger-happy cowboy with no real feel for the sport as a spectacle and what it should mean to die hard fans.

His underling, CEO Andrew Abdo had a couple of peculiar things to say this week too.

“We don’t do things by gut feelings,” Abdo said.

“We do things through proper data. We want to remind the coaches and players that if you do it [slow down the ruck], you will be punished.

“There is no policy or rule change happening. We monitor the data and trends of every game and review that information each week.”

What does ‘proper data’ even mean?

You mean game stats?

And punished…?

By the referee with a penalty, yeah?

When asked on Tuesday about concerns of a referee’s crackdown, the very same type that destroyed the game in 2021, V’landys took a cheap shot at the rugby league community on Twitter.

“Those concerns are coming from the Twitter brigade who don’t represent the majority of fans,” he began.

“There have been a lot of letters coming in that we are letting the wrestle back in.

“We have noticed it ourselves through the statistics. We log on as directors to the statistics.

“They were alarming.”

Yeah, there are a few idiots on Twitter but the majority are sensible, passionate supporters and far more educated on rugby league than those damn dirty heathens over on Facebook.

Better still, V’landys said “there have been a lot of letters coming in…”

Really?

Letters?

The ones people used put in those old things called envelopes?

So we are meant to believe that the older demographic, the ones in their 70’s and 80’s enjoyed the crackdown last year so much, the blowout scores, little to no ferocity in defence, fullbacks scoring tries like the big kid in Under 8’s from twenty metres out and the lack of mongrel and fight in the underdogs… week after week?

Those 70-year-olds who grew up on the likes of John Sattler, Tommy Raudonikis and Arthur Beetson, took the time to send the NRL snail mail to complain about the “wrestle” coming back into the game and slowing the game down?

Come on!

@woodward_curtis