A key part of the process as they endeavour to rebuild his life is a meeting between Julie and the NRL. There are concerns for Burgess, who is showing signs that life as he knows it now is overwhelming.

The family are fuming because they believe the game has abandoned Burgess. Yes, the sport did plenty for him, but he also played a key role in some of the code’s most memorable moments of recent times. His 80-minute performance playing with a fractured eye socket as Souths ended a 43-year title drought in 2014 will be remembered as one of the most courageous displays seen on the field.

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Even his most fierce critics will agree that he is a modern great and, with his life in order, an asset for the game. Right now Burgess has never felt more like a commodity: used up, damaged and tossed away. Rabbitohs co-owner Russell Crowe has offered support, as has chief executive Blake Solly, but the only contact Burgess has had with anyone from the game’s hierarchy is with ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys. Notably, it was the former Rabbitohs hardman who, some months ago, reached out to the boss of the game. He received a supportive ear on a human level.

However, the NRL’s front office has run a mile from Burgess, who is still fighting to clear his name after a damning News Corp report made explosive allegations about drug use and domestic violence. Burgess strongly denies the allegations. He has made some poor decisions in recent times. He was charged with traffic offences and allegedly failed a drug test when stopped in the Southern Highlands last month. He also plans to appeal his conviction last month for intimidating his former father-in-law. However, he is adamant a lot of what has been said about him is not true.

Burgess is not looking to avoid responsibility for his poor behaviour, but clearly he and his family feel he needs support.

Rights and wrongs

It was significant that incoming Nine Entertainment Co – owners of this masthead – chief executive Mike Sneesby was at the NRL launch on Thursday where he was spotted in discussions with V’landys. The AFL and some disgruntled league figures have been critical of the deal V’landys struck with outgoing Nine CEO Hugh Marks, saying the NRL got a poor result compared to the AFL.
Those pushing that line may not want the facts out there.

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Last year, COVID-19 forced the NRL to reduce the number of premiership rounds by 20 per cent (from 25 to 20) and also removed the trans-Tasman Tests (Nine and Fox Sports), Pacific Tests (Nine and Fox) and state championships (Nine and Fox). The Nines (Fox only) has also been cut from future years. This is a total reduction in content of 25per cent in 2020. No one will confirm the exact figure, citing commercial confidentiality, but sources close to the negotiations claim Nine’s reduced broadcast deal is less than the reduction in content.

The adjustment in broadcast agreements for the NRL and AFL was over three years; 2020, 2021 and 2022. The NRL says you can’t look at one year in isolation. The NRL chose a larger reduction in 2020 as opposed to an even spread over three years to reflect the reduction in content last season. The AFL’s deal is split evenly over three years. It is also worth noting that Telstra did not reduce its rights fee for the AFL in 2020. It had a direct contract with the AFL. The NRL did not get that benefit as its agreement for digital streaming is with Foxtel, not Telstra.

Howzat for talent

The Liddiard name is famous in league circles. David and Glen both made their mark in the code and Glen has also been the Panthers’ Indigenous player liaison for many years. Now Glen’s son Tyran is starting to make his mark in sport.

He is a rising star in cricket circles. At 23, he is something of a late bloomer but he is making his mark as a wicketkeeper-batsman. He has played for the Australian Indigenous XI and is a key part of Penrith’s first-grade team. Cracking it for a start at NSW is not easy given the Blues’ depth. Breaking into the big time may mean a move – and Glen has reached out to his old friend Phil Gould for help.

Gould is now giving Tyran advice on who may be a good manager or advisor as the youngster attempts to make it in the big time.

Moses proves NRL is powerless

The NRL’s ongoing failure to control player agents is embarrassing for the game.

Head office made a big deal of its new accreditation rules for managers and backed up the initiative by deregistering one of the most prominent agents, Isaac Moses. It was a good move, which finally sent a message to agents that the NRL was going to take a stand on integrity issues. Or at least it should have.

Moses promptly showed up to watch the NRL’s hottest property, Joseph Suaalii, play a trial game last weekend in Queanbeyan. Moses chose not to sit inconspicuously at the back of the grandstand or on the hill. Instead he sat among the youngster’s family, who he knows, where every camera pointed at Suaalii’s entourage would get a shot of him. You could not get a better example of an agent thumbing his nose at the game.

More than that, it was a horrible look considering the lengths one of the game’s most respected men, Tim Mannah, went to during a gruelling process to give evidence against Moses and provide a case for the NRL to ban the agent. The NRL banned Moses in June for breaching his obligations as an agent in 2017 by “counselling, procuring and assisting one of his clients [Mannah] to give evidence to the NRL that was false and intended to mislead an investigation by the NRL Integrity and Compliance Unit.” He lost his appeal to that decision in January.

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And what was the NRL’s response to Moses’ appearance at Suaalii’s senior debut? It said it might hamper his chances of returning as an agent in a few years’ time. It is the same soft action the game’s administration has taken to addressing bad player behaviour in some cases.

Under the NRL’s ban, Moses can act as an “adviser” to players. He may not be able to directly negotiate their contracts, but he can attend games, hang around with players and give them all the advice they want. Someone “warned off” in the racing industry is prohibited from entering a racecourse or training facility. They cannot have an interest in a racehorse. However, in rugby league it seems a deregistered agent can sit in the grandstand and cheer on the best young talent to emerge in years and there are no repercussions.