Jason CROKER [
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Wed April 29, 2009
by Steve Mascord
WE are all fascinated by a moral dilemma - particularly one that doesn't involve us - and there is certainly one such poser that has come into sharp focus with the Greg Bird verdict.
On one hand, Bird was punted by Cronulla as soon as he was charged earlier this year. As everyone who reads this site knows (unless you meant to type in relief.com), Brett Stewart was banned for four weeks after he was charged with sexual assault.
But in the UK, we have this week seen Leon Pryce and Stuart Reardon each convicted of assault and so far all we have seen is a "formal warning'' from St Helens to Pryce.
It's easy to accuse the Brits of being soft.
But Stewart was stood down for hurting the image of the game. Neither Pryce nor Reardon would have featured anywhere near the front or back pages of the nationals in the UK because rugby league is a relatively obscure northern sport. People who don't follow the game would not have heard of their offences nor maybe even of their names.
So what damage did they cause to the image of the game? They hurt their clubs in the eyes of other rugby league fans, yes ... but surely the damage they caused the sport is far smaller than that inflicted by Bird or Stewart.
I'm being the Devil's (or maybe I should say devils') advocate here and let me say this: my opinion is that both of them should have been heavily fined and stood down.
But when we start justifying action based on intangibles like "harming the image of the game'', we are pushing off at the top of a very slippery slope. What do you think?
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IF THERE is one debate in rugby league that is so boring it could put you to sleep in a scrum, it's whether or not City-Country should be scrapped.
And no debate is more indicative of the ideological malaise that is endemic in our sport. That is, that we never learn from our mistakes and end up arguing over the same old things every ten years or so, thereby preventing us from ever really entering new territory.
We even got rid of City-Country because we decided it had outlasted its usefulness, only to bring it back when the strategy to win back alienated Super League-era fans was deemed to be "back-to-basics''.
How embarrassing, then, to arrive at the exact same decision a few years later, for exactly the same reasons!
No, the final call on whether City-Country should be scrapped forever deserves to be taken by the people who brought about its resurrection: Country football fans.
Do you care who wins City-Country? Do you get excited to see the maroon and gold go around? Would you go out of your way to see one of these games live?
Recently, the crowds at City-Country have been awfully quiet. If even the bushies don't care anymore, it's time to scrap the game and this time remember why we scrapped it and keep it scrapped.
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HOW much you are interested in the Parramatta imbroglio probably depends on whether you follow Parramatta.
Certainly, Denis Fitzgerald's fall from grace has been spectacular.
But one thing you learn working in the media is that if sex sells best, fame comes a close second. Put them both together ... but I digress.
Parramatta are losing, the Leagues Club is bleeding money, and a bunch of familiar names from the glory days pops up promising salvation. The result was as predictable as someone somewhere saying something unkind about a referee this weekend.
But let's hope these familiar faces, elected based on public familiarity rather than business acumen, actually do make a difference.
Remember, Fitzy was just a retired player once too.
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WHAT an elegant piece of logic from Sydney magistrate Roger Clisdell in the Bird case this week.
If the whole thing was really just an accident, why try and pin an accident on someone else? As they say, commonsense is not really all that common.
But there was one thing in the evidence that seemed a bit curious to us here at Discord HQ. Katie Milligan was reported to have told a nurse: "My flatmate put glass in my eye, I don't know why he's lying."
Americans do not say 'flatmate'. They say 'room-mate'.
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AS far as chestnuts go, it's sizzling and inviting.
Should Jason Croker and Clint Greenshields be chosen for France in this year's Four Nations? On one hand, they are not French but then neither is Justin Murphy.
Would including them all be an insult to the proud traditions of international rugby league, particularly considering 'Toots' was an accomplished representative player in Oz.
On the other, France look like being - in the words of Ricky Stuart - "legless'' in said tournament so as long as supercoach Bobbie Goulding makes it clear the selections are only short-term, what's the harm?
Tell us what you think.
THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT ... AND THAT'S NOTThe 16 teams ranked in order of entertainment value
1. Canberra: Throw it around like there's no tomorrow.
2. Wests Tigers: Benji did them no harm on Sunday.
3. Penrith: Can you remember two better individual tries than Jarrod Sammut's and Michael Jennings'
4. South Sydney: Are concentrating on their defence right now but still try enough to make JT go bald.
5. Gold Coast: Preston and Princey make the compulsory viewing
6. Newcastle: Constructive and creative
7. North Queensland: Great to watch - but only when they're winning.
8. Warriors: Not quite as spectacular as in the Ali Lauitiiti days, but still..
9. Brisbane: Have the players to be far more entertaining than they are.
10. Bulldogs: Getting results without being completely boring.
11. St George Illawarra: See Brisbane above.
12. Melbourne: Inglis, Slater et all put the tangy icing on a dense, dull cake
13. Manly: Depends on whether one B Stewart is present.
14. Sydney Roosters: Not throwing much at their opponents.
15. Parramatta: Playing badly is rarely entertaining.
16. Cronulla: Look at the "points for" column.
Thu March 29, 2007
Source: www.raiders.com.auCaroline Chisolm High School and Lyneham High School are the two big winners in junior Rugby League this week in the ACT, after taking out this year's Jason Croker and David Furner Shields at Northbourne Oval.
Caroline Chisolm won the Jason Croker Shield on Wednesday after defeating Kaleen High School 20-0 in the final, in the year's 7/8 division of rugby league sevens.
Then Lyneham High School took out the David Furner Shield on Thursday, as they defeated Melrose High 14-8 in a tightly fought contest.
Trailing 8-0 with only a few minutes on the clock Lyneham High School scored three unanswered tries, to over run the previously undefeated Melrose High in the year's 9/10 division of rugby league sevens.
Raiders assistant Coach David Furner was on hand to present the shield named in his honour, and said it was great to see such a great game of rugby league.
"Today's final was a great display of rugby league and was played in good spirit," Furner said. "Lyneham High deserved to win this years competition, but full credit must go to the way the Melrose High team played today."
The Jason Croker and David Furner shield's are part of the Canberra Raiders High School and College rugby league programs, and Raiders junior development officer Leigh Woodbridge said it was great to see so many people participating.
"We have had children from all over the region here during the past few days and it's been a great display of the seven a side game," Woodbridge said. "Hopefully all the schools continue on next semester to play in the 13 a side competition."
News sent by:
www.raiders.com.au
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 2009 engage English Super League
Les Catalans Dragons
15 games; 3 tries, 12 points.
[View] Round 1 [14 Feb 09] L 8-30 v Huddersfield (H). [BE]
[View] Round 2 [21 Feb 09] W 40-20 v Warrington (A). [SR]
[View] Round 3 [27 Feb 09] L 12-28 v Hull FC (A). [SR]
[View] Round 4 [07 Mar 09] L 22-24 v Castleford (H). [SR]
[View] Round 7 [27 Mar 09] L 14-42 v Leeds (A). [SR]
[View] Round 8 [09 Apr 09] W 28-24 v Harlequins (A). [SR]
[View] Round 9 [13 Apr 09] W 40-24 v Wigan (H). [SR]
[View] Round 15 [06 Jun 09] W 32-30 v Leeds (H). [CT]
[View] Round 16 [07 Aug 09] W 18-16 v Salford City (A). [CT]
[View] Round 17 [20 Jun 09] L 12-24 v Warrington (H). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 18 [27 Jun 09] W 22-20 v Castleford (A). [CT]
[View] Round 19 [04 Jul 09] W 23-12 v Hull KR (H). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 20 [10 Jul 09] L 22-24 v Wigan (A). [CT]
[View] Round 23 [01 Aug 09] W 34-0 v Celtic (H). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 26 [05 Sep 09] L 20-34 v Wakefield (H). [BE]
======================================================================================================
2008 engage English Super League
Les Catalans Dragons
22 games; 2 tries, 8 points.
[View] Round 1 [09 Feb 08] W 21-14 v Castleford (A). [SR] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 4 [02 Mar 08] L 18-38 v Warrington (A). [SR]
[View] Round 5 [08 Mar 08] L 18-20 v Bradford (H). [SR]
[View] Round 6 [15 Mar 08] W 24-10 v St Helens (H). [SR]
[View] Round 7 [21 Mar 08] W 24-22 v Harlequins (A). [SR]
[View] Round 8 [24 Mar 08] W 28-20 v Wakefield (H). [SR]
[View] Round 9 [29 Mar 08] D 28-28 v Hull FC (H). [SR]
[View] Round 10 [04 Apr 08] W 20-16 v Huddersfield (A). [SR]
[View] Round 11 [11 Apr 08] W 26-24 v Wigan (A). [SR]
[View] Round 12 [26 Apr 08] W 38-30 v Castleford (H). [SR]
[View] Round 13 [04 May 08] W 18-16 v Harlequins. [SR] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 14 [17 May 08] L 10-28 v St Helens (A). [SR]
[View] Round 15 [24 May 08] W 48-0 v Huddersfield (H). [SR]
[View] Round 16 [08 Jun 08] W 24-16 v Bradford (A). [SR]
[View] Round 17 [14 Jun 08] W 45-38 v Wigan (H). [SR]
[View] Round 18 [21 Jun 08] W 52-14 v Warrington (H). [SR]
[View] Round 21 [12 Jul 08] W 32-26 v Harlequins (H). [SR]
[View] Round 22 [19 Jul 08] L 24-37 v Leeds (H). [SR]
[View] Round 23 [01 Aug 08] L 16-30 v Hull KR (A). [SR]
[View] Round 27 [07 Sep 08] L 24-34 v Harlequins (A). [SR]
[View] Finals Week 1 [13 Sep 08] W 46-8 v Warrington (H). [SR]
[View] Finals Week 2 [20 Sep 08] L 26-50 v Wigan (H). [SR]
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2007 engage English Super League
Les Catalans Dragons
21 games; 6 tries, 1 field goals, 25 points.
[View] Round 1 [11 Feb 07] D 10-10 v Hull FC (A). [SR]
[View] Round 2 [17 Feb 07] L 16-18 v Wigan (H). [SR]
[View] Round 3 [24 Feb 07] W 30-22 v Leeds (H). [SR]
[View] Round 4 [03 Mar 07] L 0-10 v Salford City (A). [SR]
[View] Round 5 [11 Mar 07] L 20-40 v Wakefield (A). [SR] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 6 [17 Mar 07] W 23-22 v Huddersfield (H). [SR]
[View] Round 7 [25 Mar 07] W 29-22 v Bradford (A). [SR] 1 Pts; 1fg
[View] Round 8 [06 Apr 07] W 34-20 v Hull KR (A). [LK] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 9 [09 Apr 07] L 16-38 v Harlequins (H). [SR]
[View] Round 10 [13 Apr 07] L 10-53 v St Helens (A). [SR]
[View] Round 11 [21 Apr 07] W 27-16 v Warrington (H). [SR]
[View] Round 18 [30 Jun 07] W 24-22 v Warrington (H). [SR] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 19 [07 Jul 07] L 22-30 v Harlequins (A). [SR]
[View] Round 20 [14 Jul 07] L 20-22 v Hull KR (H). [SR]
[View] Round 21 [21 Jul 07] L 18-34 v Hull FC (H). [SR]
[View] Round 22 [05 Aug 07] L 22-42 v Huddersfield (A). [SR] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 23 [11 Aug 07] W 21-0 v St Helens (H). [SR] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 24 [19 Aug 07] L 18-22 v Warrington (A). [SR]
[View] Round 25 [01 Sep 07] W 38-20 v Wakefield (H). [SR] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 26 [09 Sep 07] L 8-40 v Bradford (A). [F8]
[View] Round 27 [15 Sep 07] W 30-14 v Harlequins (H). [SR]
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2006 NRL Telstra Premiership
Canberra Raiders
25 games; 3 tries, 12 points.
[View] Round 1 [11 Mar 06] W 27-14 v Sea Eagles (A). [SR]
[View] Round 2 [19 Mar 06] L 32-70 v Knights (H). [SR]
[View] Round 3 [26 Mar 06] L 20-56 v Roosters (A). [SR]
[View] Round 4 [01 Apr 06] W 21-20 v Panthers (H). [SR]
[View] Round 5 [09 Apr 06] L 12-30 v Bulldogs (H). [LK]
[View] Round 6 [15 Apr 06] W 18-14 v Warriors (H). [LK]
[View] Round 8 [29 Apr 06] L 28-30 v Broncos (A). [LK] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 9 [06 May 06] W 30-10 v Eels (A). [LK]
[View] Round 10 [14 May 06] L 28-38 v Sharks (H). [SR]
[View] Round 11 [20 May 06] L 12-22 v Knights (A). [LK]
[View] Round 12 [27 May 06] W 15-14 v Cowboys (A). [LK]
[View] Round 13 [03 Jun 06] W 24-22 v Rabbitohs (H). [SR]
[View] Round 14 [12 Jun 06] W 28-26 v Bulldogs (A). [SR]
[View] Round 15 [18 Jun 06] L 12-22 v Storm (A). [LK] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 16 [25 Jun 06] W 42-10 v Roosters (H). [SR] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 17 [01 Jul 06] L 12-18 v Eels (H). [SR]
[View] Round 18 [08 Jul 06] L 12-24 v Panthers (A). [SR]
[View] Round 19 [16 Jul 06] W 20-18 v Tigers (H). [SR]
[View] Round 20 [23 Jul 06] W 31-12 v Dragons (H). [SR]
[View] Round 21 [29 Jul 06] L 8-21 v Rabbitohs (A). [SR]
[View] Round 22 [06 Aug 06] W 30-18 v Broncos (H). [SR]
[View] Round 23 [13 Aug 06] W 19-18 v Tigers (A). [SR]
[View] Round 25 [26 Aug 06] L 18-22 v Storm (H). [SR]
[View] Round 26 [02 Sep 06] W 26-24 v Sharks (A). [SR]
[View] Finals Week One [09 Sep 06] L 12-30 v Bulldogs (A). [SR]
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2005 NRL Telstra Premiership
Canberra Raiders
19 games; 2 tries, 8 points.
[View] Round 3 [28 Mar 05] W 25-18 v Souths (A). [LK] 4 Pts; 1t (46th)
[View] Round 4 [02 Apr 05] W 42-22 v Dragons (H). [LK]
[View] Round 5 [10 Apr 05] W 24-16 v Roosters (H). [LK]
[View] Round 6 [17 Apr 05] L 14-36 v Sea Eagles (A). [LK]
[View] Round 7 [24 Apr 05] L 10-46 v Storm (H). [LK]
[View] Round 8 [01 May 05] W 14-10 v Knights (A). [LK]
[View] Round 9 [07 May 05] W 26-18 v Panthers (A). [LK]
[View] Round 10 [15 May 05] L 26-32 v Sharks (H). [LK]
[View] Round 12 [28 May 05] L 16-30 v Roosters (A). [LK]
[View] Round 14 [11 Jun 05] L 12-20 v Broncos (H). [LK]
[View] Round 15 [19 Jun 05] L 10-28 v Bulldogs (A). [LK]
[View] Round 16 [25 Jun 05] W 23-22 v Cowboys (H). [LK]
[View] Round 17 [03 Jul 05] W 22-14 v Panthers (H). [LK]
[View] Round 18 [09 Jul 05] L 0-20 v Storm (A). [LK]
[View] Round 19 [17 Jul 05] W 26-18 v Eels (H). [LK] 4 Pts; 1t (65th)
[View] Round 20 [23 Jul 05] L 16-24 v Warriors (A). [LK]
[View] Round 21 [30 Jul 05] L 18-24 v Broncos (A). [LK]
[View] Round 22 [07 Aug 05] L 14-22 v Tigers (H). [LK]
[View] Round 24 [20 Aug 05] L 28-31 v Cowboys (A). [LK]
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2004 NRL Telstra Premiership
Canberra Raiders
1 games; [View] Round 1 [14 Mar 04] W 21-12 v Dragons (A). [F8]
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Croker, Jason
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