The Greenburg hypocrisy called out ( The Australian )

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/opinion/will-swanton/todd-greenbergs-treatment-of-nrl-coaches-as-illconceived-as-their-reactions-to-referees/news-story/d3e696626800e3c4fba84ed71875f5a5Todd Greenberg is meant to be the voice of reason. Not the voice of condescension. He’s meant to be above tit-for-tat verbal sniping. He’s meant to solve the problems, not exacerbate them.He’s meant to intelligently work his way through the NRL’s blatant problems with referees. What the boss of the game doesn’t need to do is treat his coaches like they are churlish children. His treatment of Trent Barrett and Shane Flanagan has been as immature and ill-conceived as their reactions to their teams’ losses. They have the heat-of-the-moment excuse. Greenberg does not.Greenberg demands that coaches such as Barrett and Flanagan front press conferences after every match. No restrictions are placed on the journalists’ questions. And yet the coaches are handcuffed in what they can and cannot say.Barrett thinks his Manly Sea Eagles have been dudded by officialdom. He deserves the right to say so. Howlers contributed to their loss. The Cronulla Sharks’ Flanagan peeled off a list of incorrect calls that were as long as your arm. His players lost their heads and their season because of it.Manly lost because they probably deserved to. Cronulla lost because they definitely deserved to. That doesn’t mean the referees failed or succeeded. The issues are not mutually exclusive. Flanagan has the right to vent on behalf of his club and its fansGreenberg wants fierce tribalism in the NRL. He wants the passion. He wants the blind loyalty. When Flanagan and Barrett are asked what they think of the referees, what does Greenberg want them to do? Lie? He wants the game to grow up. The game is 111 years old. If Greenberg wants the game to grow up, make it a national competition like the AFL has done instead of dismissing expansion as too difficult.Greenberg has ridiculed the very thing he promotes. NRL advertisements and website copy for the next Sea Eagles-Panthers and Sharks-Cowboys matches will highlight this weekend’s stinks. Guaranteed. His organisation promotes alcohol and gambling, yet wants to crack the whip about drinking and punting. Why not grow up as an organisation and find sponsors with better messages?What does Greenberg stand for there? Anything or nothing? What Greenberg failed to see was that Barrett and Flanagan were not just talking for themselves and their players. They were speaking on behalf of every Sea Eagles and Sharks fan. Every aggrieved supporter.So when Greenberg bagged the criticism of the officials, he bagged every person who had booed the ref. He should have made his point in a more reasonable fashion. Telling everyone to grow up was not the way to do it. He should have let them be pissed off. He should have let it settle for a couple of days.He should have actually confronted the issues. The James Maloney sin-binning was incorrect. The Jason Taumalolo try showed the folly of the bunker’s procedure. It was impossible for the referee to make a call. He had to make a call. It was impossible for the video to see anything. So the referee’s call became official.Josh Addo-Carr’s try was the wrong decision. It was a blatant forward pass. Andrew Fifita did not knock the ball on. Dylan Walker was not off-side. Tyrone Peachey had to have knocked-on.Greenberg’s response was to get high and mighty in his own press conference. He “called out” his coaches — the blokes at the coal face of the sport.What about calling out his referees? They are full-time professionals. They are not performing like it. If Greenberg wants to protect the refs, he needs to go all the way or not at all. What about the players who swarm around the whistleblower and give him a mouthful? Greenberg made no mention of them.The coaches are easy targets. Why did he not call out Jake Trbojevic? Paul Gallen? Any player who argued with the referee? Those on-field interactions are more damaging than post-match press conferences.Poor refs, eh? The poor old things, according to Greenberg. No one will want to be a ref if we keep taunting them, he says. Spare us. Refs-in-the-making are going to do it regardless. It is in their blood, and bravo for that.Greenberg should have used his office to calm the tensions. To methodically go through it all, piece by piece. To show some understanding of the passion involved.The refs cannot be criticised? What a crock. Here’s a few questions for Greenberg about Barrett and Flanagan. How much time and effort do NRL coaches invest in their jobs and in their players? How keenly and sincerely are they moulding the futures of young men at their clubs? How much praise does he give them for that? If they love their players like sons, why would they not defend them like sons when they are hurting? How understandable is it that they are gutted after a season-ending loss?The coaches are not asking to be interviewed. They are forced to be interviewed. If you tell someone they must answer questions, they must be allowed to answer them honestly. If Greenberg doesn’t like what the coaches say in press conferences, he should cancel the press conferences.Refereeing errors were obvious. Spectacularly so. It does not mean the referees caused the losses of the Sea Eagles and Sharks. But for the love of Harold Horder, the issues are separate. A team can lose of their own accord. There can be clangers that still need to be addressed.Greenberg was unwilling to respect the fact that the coaches, players and fans of each tribe were appalled. Let them be. Recognise the duress the coaches are under. If any question from journalists is fair game, why not the answers? The NRL boss puts the coaches in an impossible situation. He does not want them to talk about the refs? He puts them where they are going to be forced to talk about the ref.Good on Barrett. He was overemotional and overwrought. So he should be. That’s the emotion of sport. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it wrong. Does Greenberg not have empathy for that?Eleven months of hard toil came to nothing for Manly and Cronulla. Barrett put every inch of his soul into Manly’s season. When he was pissed off about how it ended, he was fined and told to grow up. For what? For trying so hard? For defending his players? Ditto for Flanagan. Greenberg said it was time the coaches were called out. It was a poor response from head office. It solved nothing. How about someone calls out the amateur officiating and the NRL’s role in it? The message is that we just have to put up with mediocre officialdom. The message is a poor one and does a great sport a disservice.Tony Archer is the referees’ boss. Where’s the Tony Archer press conference? If coaches cannot talk about the referees, let’s hear from Archer. Coaches demand a lot from their players. Greenberg should demand a lot from his referees.Instead, their performances are not up for debate. What a crock. Greenberg should have stood there yesterday and said he understood the emotion of Barrett and Flanagan because of how much was at stake. He should have been the voice of reason and nothing else. Everyone has a role to play. The refs. The coaches. The CEO. Greenberg has compounded errors of judgment with a fumble of his own.

"Probably them trying to spin it to make it look like they have matched it and it will look bad on him if he doesnt take it lol.
We did that to Hayne before he went titans."

"This account has never accurately leaked any information that hasn't already been posted from a reputable source. Bunnies have no cap space. They cannot afford 3, 1 million dollar players who aren't spine players and be competitive. If he resigns…"

"We're more aligned and Ryles' mindset helps R&R. Guys like Williams who we liked for years, or the likes of Walker, Iongi, TDS, Ryley Smith who might not have got a look in under BA, meet what Ryles is after."

Replies

Dave September 13, 2017 at 12:42pm

A lot of great points made however I do see a problem with this article

When calling out the bad calls

A) not all of thrm were actually wrong.
B) In many cases the calls themselves were right but the consistency was wrong

Take the Parra game penalising Ma'u for bumping Slater off the ball was the right call the wrong call was not giving a penalty to Parra when Taka was taken out.

The Maloney sin bin was correct
However the sharks should have gotten a penalty and maybe even a cowboy in the bin for lewis getting taken out 3 times.

Overall i agree with this article but whoever wrote it needed to be correct when thry called out errors made by others and he was not
- Wizardssleeves official receipts > Dave September 13, 2017 at 1:18pm
  
  Yeah this writer nailed it . Agree some of the refs calls were correct however as old mates flagged here , the coaches are forced to comment without the chance to see the super slow mo angles .
  
  If they don't call the refs on it the fans grill the coach for not venting , if they do they'll be grilled by the NRL . Maybe the coaches shoud get 15 minutes to view bunker footage before the pressers ?
Parramaster September 13, 2017 at 1:24pm

Totally agree with the article - if todd greenburg cant see there is a massive issue with the refereeing within the nrl he is blind. Coaches, player, journos, ex referees and most importantly fans are all saying that the reffing needs improvement throughout the whole season not just the finals. Its not the number of calls which are wrong its the crucial ones that relieve pressure or lead to a try. Its a matter of quality over quantity i.e. a crucial wrong reff call that leads to a try
Mapik September 13, 2017 at 1:26pm

Spot on. Greenburg is so far out of his depth it is laughable.
Parrakeet September 13, 2017 at 1:40pm

NRL 360 showed Peachey hand not touching ball from side view. DCE flicking ball into Peachey's chest gave ball a mind of its own. I on game day saw ball not played at while jumping all over the place. Manly are spewing still. Hardest wrong decisions were against Eels by a mile.
- Wizardssleeves official receipts > Parrakeet September 13, 2017 at 1:55pm
  
  We certainly copped the worst blunders of the weekend yet because BA didn't draw attention by critising the referees Greenburg hadn't once had to address it . Nor did Paul Kent or any other media outlets .
  
  Greenburg totally disregarded the bad refereeing performance during our game when taking aim at coaches .
Parrakeet September 13, 2017 at 1:42pm

Greenburg is not out of his depth he just thinks everyone is an idiot but him.
MeelK September 13, 2017 at 1:43pm

Thats a great article. Really gets the message across that its not just the coaches who are pissed off about how the game is being reffed. Also quite rightly points out how amateur Greenturd is.
Kramerica September 13, 2017 at 2:09pm

Exactly right Wiz - ours was by far the worst refereeing performance.

I respect BA for showing the constraint he did in the presser but I really wish he had of let fly like the other two did - the refs deserved it.

Maybe after being so horribly shafted last weekend the "luck" will flow our way this weekend..
- Dave > Kramerica September 13, 2017 at 2:26pm
  
  BA did it the smart way
  
  Even with the bad calls Parra still got more of a chance then thry would have due to his comments during thr week before the Storm game.
  
  While its not saying much Parra do have probably the top 2 refs at least in the eyes of the NRL this week and they are very likely to be the GF refs.
  
  BA never said the refs cost parra the game all he asked was why the Storm's 1st 2 tries didnt go to the bunker and why Taka didn't earn a penalty right on HT when he was taken out on the kick chase.
  
  Barrett and Flanagan both outright said the refs cost them the game.
  
  BAs approach could well see the tables turned this week and parra getting most of the 50/50s had manly or Cronulla still been alive they would have gotten even fewer calls go their way

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