Radley to get the sack? Moral issues galore!
In the latest episode of the Kenty Blitz, Kenty and Woz tackle the explosive allegations surrounding Victor Radley and Brandon Smith. With the Sydney Roosters reportedly considering sacking Radley, the team explores the legal and moral complexities of the case, the potential hypocrisy of the NRL's drug policy, and the impact of police leaks on the game's reputation.
The peril of the police leak
Kenty began by expressing extreme caution due to the legal sensitivity of the current allegations. He noted that the public is currently only seeing one side of the story.
"It's the accusation according to police... their statement of facts which will be submitted and you can as a reporter go and request to see that."
He highlighted the difficulty of discussing the case while charges are active. "Once charges have been laid from a legal point of view you're essentially only allowed to talk about the allegation... and the rejection of the allegation."
The Roosters' "preemptive strike" on Radley
The conversation turned to reports that the Roosters are looking to terminate Victor Radley's contract, despite no charges being laid against him. Kenty suggested this move stems from earlier comments made by Chairman Nick Politis.
"Nick Politis the chairman came out some months ago... he said that if any rooster player is seen found taking drugs or is seen over a substance and snorting it that they would sack him."
Kenty questioned the consistency of this stance. "Neither of those things have occurred... so where that sits with the rooster legally I think I think Victor in legal cases with the roosters in fairly solid ground."
Hypocrisy in the NRL drug policy
Kenty was particularly critical of the disparity between how these allegations are handled versus a standard positive drug test.
"If a player goes out snorts cocaine turns up the next day gets drug tested gets found positive he gets a first strike against him where not even his club is told about it."
He argued that the public nature of the Radley case has forced a different, more severe reaction. "This is where we get into this really ugly territory now where everybody basically reacts according to their own moral stance."
Wayne Bennett’s resolute defense of Brandon Smith
While Radley faces uncertainty at the Roosters, Wayne Bennett has taken a significantly different approach with Brandon Smith.
"Wayne Bennett is still standing by Brandon Smith... he's been resolute and he's come out very early and he said he said that he's understands the situation he believes that there's not much to it."
Kenty contrasted this with the silence from the Roosters. "Victor Radley's got not a comment from his club so... it's ended up on page one."
The role of players as role models
Addressing the "moral police" debate, Kenty acknowledged that whether players like it or not, they are held to a higher standard by society.
"Every endorsement a rugby league player signs every third party a rugby league player receives it's because of his status as a role model."
"Young kids do not hang posters on their wall of their parents they put up footballers... they trade footy cards and they look up to these guys."
Fatigue and the "coaching charade"
In the "Ask Kenty" segment, Kenty dismissed the idea that short turnarounds are dangerous for players, suggesting that coaches use "sports science" to avoid dealing with the one thing they can't control: fatigue.
"The one thing coaches cannot coach against is fatigue. They can make you bigger, they can make you stronger, they can make you faster, they can make you fitter but once you are tired which leads to bad decisions or lazy decisions... a tired player can't get there."
Watch the full episode on Fanatics TV.
