Canberra Rugby League chief executive Kevin Neil has every right to be suspicious of the selection of the 25-man squad picked by Australian Rugby League selectors for next month’s World Cup in England.
The facts speak for themselves. Not one player who has signed up for the Super League was selected. Nor was any of the five star Canberra players who took the ARL to the NSW Industrial Court last week and won a ruling that they must been considered in the selection process. Nor was any Super League signee from the premiership Bulldogs side, yet all four ARL faithful in that side were.
The conclusion is obvious. Selection was made on allegiance, not merit. This selection was done in bad faith. It was a selection done by the dinosaurs of the ARL to stave off the onset of the effect of the meteoric Super League and the mammalian teams who will inevitably inherit the game when the Super League goes on to the world’s pastures.
The statement by ARL chairman Ken Arthurson that the court’s decision was considered carefully can only mean that it was considered so it could be carefully circumvented. He and the ARL’s selectors have stretched their credibility beyond breaking point.
Their actions give substance to Neil’s comment, “”With a disgraceful decision like that and the ARL showing the court absolute contempt, people will now fully understand why the Canberra Raiders looked for an alternative to the ARL.”