CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
It’s not even round one of the respective NRL and AFL seasons, and already it feels as though the two codes have swapped places.
While the AFL is known for their unrealistic and aggressive attempts at expanding into new markets, it was only the NRL that launched their 2024 season in Las Vegas – in a hope that our domestic rugby league competition could might recruit some Americans fans
Meanwhile, the AFL has made the very NRL decision to only play this week’s fixtures in New South Wales and Queensland.
And much like the occasional Perth or Melbourne Origin match, this decision appears to have only pissed off their base while gifting uninterested out of towners the opportunity of sitting in a half full stadium to watch a game they don’t understand.
However, when it comes to on-field antics, the paralleled universe is now very clear.
It seems to be Opposites Day in Australian sport, as the AFL is making grand announcements about introducing protocols to minimise concussions. This comes after St Kilda’s Jimmy Webster copped a seven-match ban for a sickening bump on North Melbourne captain Jy Simpkin.
The ban is one of the longest sanctions the AFL has imposed in years.
Meanwhile, the NRL is now forced to confront a very AFL-esque racism scandal, after allegations that controversial Sydney Roosters prop Spencer Leniu racially villified Brisbane star Ezra Mam by calling him “a monkey” during Vegas round.
The NRL judiciary is now panicking over what would be a suitable punishment for this kind of on field bigotry, with a lengthy suspension looking more likely than the AFL playbook of forcing both players to do a photoshoot and immediately sympathise with a ‘slip of the tongue’.
The Spencer Leniu scandal has left the Australian media grappling with the suggestion that people who aren’t white are also capable of being racist, a scenario they were much more eager to explore for the 24 hours where Matilda’s star Sam Kerr appeared guilty of it.
