Off The Wall

When I flew out of Brisbane on Sunday morning, the headline screamed that Josh Dugan would be the Broncos saviour.....on an obscene value contract. By the time I arrived in Los Angeles, the deal was off....after more appalling behaviour by Dugan.

Lets not kid anyone, the Broncos emerge from this incident with their credibility significantly diminished. Those running the club, the board, the CEO, and the coaching staff need to have a good hard look at themselves. In my view, by openly grovelling to Dugan, and offering him a contract most Broncos, indeed any NRL player, could only dream of, the Broncos administration has  out desperation before integrity.

But justice has been done because thanks it Dugan himself, they have fallen flat on their face.

However, the Broncos a not the only group deserving of condemnation in this sorry saga. The NRL has been weak and ineffective. It was consulted when the Raiders courageously dumped Dugan...

Surely, surely, the NRL should be in a position by now to decide whether to register Dugan elsewhere in 2013? One would have to go back to the David "Moffo" Moffatt administration to find a more inept administration running the game!

At a time when the game desperately needs good publicity, the NRL as allowed the Dugan issue to drag on and on, and on. What must parents with young boys and girls who play and love the game tell them when they ask about Dugan? And what must sponsors weighing up future involvement be thinking?

The stage should never have been reached when the Broncos or anyone else could even contemplate signing him, let alone for a fee comparable with what he was getting at the Raiders. The Broncos would not have embarrassed themselves, and the game would have not endured days and days or negative coverage had the NRL been decisive.

The Raiders deserve to be supported for showing real leadership. The NRL should be embarrassed by its failure to uphold it.