Suspended sentence
Jesse Bromwich and Kevin Proctor have been banned from the Rugby League World Cup in the wake of allegations of cocaine abuse. Shaun Eade and Hamish Bidwell debate if the punishment fits the crime.
Harsh call but it needed to be made
‘‘The [World Cup] is an incentive to behave, not an excuse for lighter punishment.’’ Shaun Eade ‘‘Bromwich and Proctor have made fools of themselves but they have the potential to do more good for the Kiwis than those who have stood them down.’’ Hamish Bidwell
New Zealand Rugby League has sent a message to all its players with the sanctions handed out to Jesse Bromwich and Kevin Proctor. Forcing them out of the World Cup was harsh, but you can lock in that any other players with desires of wearing the Kiwis jersey this year will opt against drugs for the rest of the season.
It was a message that needed to be sent with New Zealand co-hosting the World Cup later this year.
A repeat incident during the tournament would cause a significant shadow of negativity over an event that should be basking in a positive glow.
Bromwich and Proctor are now a perfect cautionary tale to any aspiring Kiwi player as to the standard of behaviour acceptable when they are with the team.
They are a concession from New Zealand Rugby League that the soft punishments which have been handed out in the past were not working.
With the Kiwis playing so few tests each season, a ban from the national team until the end of the season is fair considering the damage they caused the game’s image.
The fact that there is a World Cup later this year should be irrelevant to their punishment.
The major tournament is an incentive to behave, not an excuse for lighter punishment.
The whole situation became more laughable when the Titans and Storm started blaming the NZRL for a lack of supervision of the players.
Both men are 28, a good 10 years past the age when requiring supervision goes out the door. If they can’t have some drinks after a match without succumbing to snorting some nose candy, they have mush bigger issues than missing the World Cup.
Perhaps it speaks more to what is wrong with the culture of the Kiwis and why they have failed on the field in recent years. It seems some players are there for the party rather than the jersey – and there were several players who were guilty of not putting their full effort onto the park on Friday night.
While both men took ownership of their actions, they stopped short of admitting their use of cocaine.
Both were conveniently too drunk to remember, like that is a good enough excuse the night after a test match where you got trounced by a very beatable Aussie side.
Yes, there were once the good old days where getting sozzled after a game was the norm. It went hand-in-hand with both the 15-man and the 13-man codes. But now in a world of high performance sports, coupled with the surveillance society we live in, those days are over.
This is one of those rare moments where New Zealand Rugby League got everything right – aside from dragging their feet until Sunday night to make a proper statement.
The organisation has identified an issue and have taken quick steps to fix it. In other words, they did their job.
Leaving Bromwich and Proctor out of the mix for the World Cup was the only real option they had.
And for those concerned about New Zealand’s chances at the World Cup without the duo, fear not.
Bromwich and Proctor are not going to be the differentiating factor between the Kiwis winning the cup or not.