Today we take a look at whether Kalyn Ponga should be punished for refusing to play for Australia, the sacking of Kevin Walters, and suggestions that a large SCG crowd signals Sydney's preference for AFL.
Read on as we tackle some of the big talking points in this week's Real or Not.
Kalyn Ponga should be forced to play for Australia
NOT REAL: Kalyn Ponga this week notified the Newcastle Knights that he would not be available for selection in the Australia squad to play Tests against Tonga and New Zealand in the Pacific Championships in late October. Ponga feels that he owes the Knights and wants to focus on his preseason with them.
"I want to win a comp, for me anything short of that, isn't success," Ponga explained.
"My focus has never shifted from wanting to win a premiership with the Knights, that has been my goal since I joined the club in 2018 and continues to be my focus.
"When I'm done, I want to look back at my career with a positive reflection, including people saying he was a great signing and represented our community to the best of his ability.
"For now, I don't feel like I have earnt that yet. That's why I have made this decision and will work hard every day to chase those goals."
The announcement set off a storm of opinion, some suggesting it was his right to sit out, others insisting that he be given a ban for disrespecting the honour of representing his country. There is a contractual requirement for all players to be available for representative selection, unless they have retired from that level of competition or are injured at the time. But does any coach, at any level, want a player to be forced to play for them?
Ponga's allegiances have always been a bit murky, with his stated objective at one point being an All Blacks jersey, due to his Kiwi heritage. He has previously ruled himself out of Queensland selection, which was accepted more readily as he had just returned from a serious injury. This time he is putting his club first, and that should be his prerogative.
With Ponga having made that decision, Australia coach Mal Meninga should look to someone who is more passionate about the jersey, someone who has dreamed since childhood of one day pulling on the fabled green jersey with the double gold V. There are plenty of players just waiting for the chance to represent Australia at the highest level of rugby league. Ponga should be crossed off the selectors' list for this season and beyond, allowing him to focus on being at his best for the Knights.
Walters deserved to continue as Broncos coach
REAL: It is always the coach, he is always the first to feel the sharp cold edge of the axe when the results aren't what the club had hoped for. We see it time and again, regardless of the talent at his disposal, regardless of how poorly the front office has been managed and in the case of Kevin Walters regardless of a wretched run with injuries.
Brisbane Broncos coach Kevin Walters was given his marching orders after three years at the helm. He took over the role in 2021, after the club suffered the ultimate embarrassment of collecting the wooden spoon in 2020. They crept up the ladder to finish third last in 2021 and in 2022 looked to be on their way to playing finals football before crashing out with a late season slump to finish ninth. In 2023 they all but won the premiership, running the Panthers ragged early in the second half of the grand final, before some Nathan Cleary magic snatched the trophy from their grasp.
With some of their best players missing for large chunks of the 2024 season, the Broncos limped home in 12th position. With serious Brisbane-based competition for sponsors and fans arriving two years ago in the form of the Dolphins, the club felt the need to take definitive action.
"I'm grateful to the club for providing me with the opportunity to be head coach, and we have come a long way from the wooden spoon to last year's run to the grand final," Walters said in response to his sacking.
"I wish the team and the club all the best."
One of the Broncos' most revered characters, punted just 12 months after finishing a very close second in one of the world's toughest professional competitions. From the outside it appears to be a rough call, one totally devoid of any empathy for the very real excuses behind this season's slump. If the Broncos don't have a very good replacement in mind, it would appear to be at best a crazy knee-jerk reaction. It is very easy for a club to spiral into a painful cycle of coach hiring and firing, without achieving anything significant -- just ask the Tigers.
Swans' Prelim crowd proves AFL is Sydney's most popular code
NOT REAL: Of course not, but that is pretty much what some publications were pedalling after Channel Seven commentators noticed the empty seats at Allianz Stadium last week as the Swans played next door at the almost packed SCG. A more accurate summation would have been that the Swans, playing a Preliminary Final at their home ground, drew more fans than the Week 2 NRL final between the Sharks and Cowboys.
There are many factors to explain the poor crowd at Allianz, without even mentioning the benefits fans enjoy when watching the game from the comfort of their loungerooms. The Sharks are far from the most popular NRL club in Sydney, their home ground barely held 20,000 fans at its peak and has been reduced to under 14,000 this season due to construction. When the works are completed it will return to around the 20,000 mark. Were the locals crying out for a 40,000-seater? No, not really, everyone seems quite happy with regular sell-outs around the 20,000 mark.
Their opponents on Friday night were from Townsville, which is quite a drive away. Seats on flights to Sydney were so limited that the players missed out and had to be chartered down by the NRL. You literally could not have seen any more Townsville-based fans turn up for this game.
On top of all that, NSW Train Drivers announced industrial action for the night, refusing to run any additional trains, and cutting off one of the main ways a Cronulla local would make their way to the Moore Park precinct.
Of course the AFL has greater crowd attendances all year, but it's a little early to claim the mantle of Sydney's favourite code, even if it is made with tongue firmly planted in cheek.