Queenslander
04-05-06, 12:17 PM
Loyalty
by Darren Lockyer
Thursday May 04, 2006
Source: The Australian
AS a professional footballer I fully appreciate the reason I am able to earn such a good living is due largely to the media coverage we get, but I am getting sick of some of the criticism of modern-day players for their supposed disloyalty.
The latest targets, admittedly in different situations, have been my Test team-mates Karmichael Hunt and Mark Gasnier.
Karmichael has been copping it from all corners for pledging his allegiance to Australia, as has Gaz, since it came out he is considering a switch to rugby union. Unfortunately, a lot of the criticism has come from former players.
While most people have eased off criticism of the way the game is played these days, some have taken to criticising today's players for looking out for themselves off the field.
They say it is impossible to compare players from one era to the next and I think it is similarly tough to expect players these days follow the same guidelines as in past eras, when football training and travel didn't ruin opportunities for higher education or industry training.
Football is a profession these days, so the scenarios are totally different and people need to appreciate that.
As an NRL player you have a maximum of 12 years to make your mark on the field and your money off it. That is, if you are lucky and don't have injuries that can end things prematurely.
Karmichael may have been born in New Zealand but has decided he wants to make his mark in an Australian jumper and that's the end of it. Brent Webb, Frank Pritchard, the Cayless brothers and Jake Webster were born in Australia but have opted to play for the Kiwis. That's their decision and I fully respect it.
It's how they feel in their hearts and it is no business of anyone else to tell them they can't feel that way.
Karmichael made his decision as a 17-year-old and has never wavered from it, despite some huge pressure from the New Zealand public, players and staff.
Everyone playing for the Kangaroos tomorrow night is proud to have him on our side - as I am sure the Kiwis will be having Webb and Co. in theirs.
As for Gaz, it is just a different application of the same principle.
People talk about loyalty to the game and to a club and there is certainly an element of that. But what about loyalty to his future family and trying to create the best living for them?
That is the loyalty Ron Barassi put at the top of his list when he left Melbourne to join Carlton in the 1960s, in what remains one of the biggest moves in AFL history. It's incredible to think the same argument continues today.
I don't think anyone would pass up an offer of two or three times their wage to switch workplaces and no-one should be vilified for trying to get the best deal they can for their own benefit and that of those they support.
I had a similar dilemma when I was 23 and rugby union made an approach to me. The money was slightly better than in league but, in the end, the risk just outweighed the reward.
I can tell you what, though, if I was offered what Matt Giteau will get, I would be pulling on a Western Force jumper next season. Anyone who says that is disloyal is kidding themselves.
Loyalty, in my mind, is putting in 100 per cent for whichever team or organisation you are playing for. If you can walk away at the end of your career and say you gave everything you had for every team you ever played for, you have done your service.
No-one should ask more of a player than that.
I don't know if I can remember being part of an Australian squad more "keyed up" for a Test match than we are for tomorrow night's.
That loss in last year's Tri-Series final hurt and that, combined with the excitement of working with a new coaching staff and the fact it is Andrew Johns' last game in the green and gold has made for a really good build-up.
Some people have questioned whether Joey and I are suited to each other and asked whether we play our best in the same team because we supposedly didn't play that well together last year.
In the first game, which we lost to New Zealand, the whole team struggled for cohesion and Joey was on one leg because of a knee injury. He was still hopping around in the second match, but I actually thought we did really well that day.
We have played enough footy with and against each other that we really know each other's games inside out. We have trained really well and we complement each other's style. Everything is set up for a monumental battle and hopefully the fans pack out Suncorp Stadium and help us get some revenge.
by Darren Lockyer
Thursday May 04, 2006
Source: The Australian
AS a professional footballer I fully appreciate the reason I am able to earn such a good living is due largely to the media coverage we get, but I am getting sick of some of the criticism of modern-day players for their supposed disloyalty.
The latest targets, admittedly in different situations, have been my Test team-mates Karmichael Hunt and Mark Gasnier.
Karmichael has been copping it from all corners for pledging his allegiance to Australia, as has Gaz, since it came out he is considering a switch to rugby union. Unfortunately, a lot of the criticism has come from former players.
While most people have eased off criticism of the way the game is played these days, some have taken to criticising today's players for looking out for themselves off the field.
They say it is impossible to compare players from one era to the next and I think it is similarly tough to expect players these days follow the same guidelines as in past eras, when football training and travel didn't ruin opportunities for higher education or industry training.
Football is a profession these days, so the scenarios are totally different and people need to appreciate that.
As an NRL player you have a maximum of 12 years to make your mark on the field and your money off it. That is, if you are lucky and don't have injuries that can end things prematurely.
Karmichael may have been born in New Zealand but has decided he wants to make his mark in an Australian jumper and that's the end of it. Brent Webb, Frank Pritchard, the Cayless brothers and Jake Webster were born in Australia but have opted to play for the Kiwis. That's their decision and I fully respect it.
It's how they feel in their hearts and it is no business of anyone else to tell them they can't feel that way.
Karmichael made his decision as a 17-year-old and has never wavered from it, despite some huge pressure from the New Zealand public, players and staff.
Everyone playing for the Kangaroos tomorrow night is proud to have him on our side - as I am sure the Kiwis will be having Webb and Co. in theirs.
As for Gaz, it is just a different application of the same principle.
People talk about loyalty to the game and to a club and there is certainly an element of that. But what about loyalty to his future family and trying to create the best living for them?
That is the loyalty Ron Barassi put at the top of his list when he left Melbourne to join Carlton in the 1960s, in what remains one of the biggest moves in AFL history. It's incredible to think the same argument continues today.
I don't think anyone would pass up an offer of two or three times their wage to switch workplaces and no-one should be vilified for trying to get the best deal they can for their own benefit and that of those they support.
I had a similar dilemma when I was 23 and rugby union made an approach to me. The money was slightly better than in league but, in the end, the risk just outweighed the reward.
I can tell you what, though, if I was offered what Matt Giteau will get, I would be pulling on a Western Force jumper next season. Anyone who says that is disloyal is kidding themselves.
Loyalty, in my mind, is putting in 100 per cent for whichever team or organisation you are playing for. If you can walk away at the end of your career and say you gave everything you had for every team you ever played for, you have done your service.
No-one should ask more of a player than that.
I don't know if I can remember being part of an Australian squad more "keyed up" for a Test match than we are for tomorrow night's.
That loss in last year's Tri-Series final hurt and that, combined with the excitement of working with a new coaching staff and the fact it is Andrew Johns' last game in the green and gold has made for a really good build-up.
Some people have questioned whether Joey and I are suited to each other and asked whether we play our best in the same team because we supposedly didn't play that well together last year.
In the first game, which we lost to New Zealand, the whole team struggled for cohesion and Joey was on one leg because of a knee injury. He was still hopping around in the second match, but I actually thought we did really well that day.
We have played enough footy with and against each other that we really know each other's games inside out. We have trained really well and we complement each other's style. Everything is set up for a monumental battle and hopefully the fans pack out Suncorp Stadium and help us get some revenge.