ANTHONY TUPOU'S drafting into the Australian team for the Rugby League World Cup is as ridiculous as it is morally corrupt. The ability for players to swap teams is not only a damning reflection on the authenticity of the tournament but further shows the extreme lack of patriotism in professional sportsmen today. However, the Tupou incident has been additionally soured due to the fact he was selected over a much superior player - the Tigers' Chris Heighington.
Tom Watson, Concord Don't glorify bingeing For two days now we've been shown the Manly players celebrating their win. How? By binge-drinking on a penthouse balcony especially hired for the purpose. I've just seen an item on the news now where one of the players has been shaved by someone else, resulting in several cuts on his neck. No, he says, I wasn't sleeping at the time, just comatose. Everybody laughs.
We all recognise that this type of drinking is not good for one's health and so often results in violent or boorish behaviour. So why do the media insist on glorifying it? If the players want to act in such an immature manner after winning a game, do the media have to show it all with such a smile on their face so that the kids think this is acceptable behaviour?
Don't think we can blame the players as they simply do not know any better. But the providers of the venue and alcohol, and the media that show it to be such fun, should be ashamed of themselves.
Selwyn Shapiro, Paddington
As so many of us revel in the excitement of Sunday's premiership win, we at Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, are doubly thrilled. The Sea Eagles' impressive victory was made even sweeter by the generosity of the club. Congratulations from all the staff, patients and their families at Sydney Children's Hospital.
Adam Check
CEO Sydney Children's Hospital Foundation Unwelcome Matt The non-selection of Matt Orford in the Australian squad is nothing short of disgraceful. How the selectors can justify Scott Prince's selection is a mystery. While Orford guided the Manly team to thrashing after thrashing of their opponents all the way through September and into October, Prince played one Origin game in June followed by weeks of recovery from a broken arm and then led his team to 13th on the ladder, hardly ideal preparation for a rugby league tournament. The only person who will be relieved is former Eastern Suburbs player Kevin Hastings, whom Orford will usurp as "The Best Halfback Never To Represent Australia".
Pankaj Rao, Broadmeadow
Have I missed something? In 1973, the rugby league grand final was between Bobby Fulton's Sea Eagles and Tommy Bishop's Cronulla Sharks. After Manly's magnificent win, the most anti-social behaviour I noticed was overloaded cars driving up and down with horns blaring. Fast forward 35 years to another magnificent Manly win, and the cars are replaced by golf buggies down Manly's Corso so residents and fans could congratulate their team. At Brookvale Oval, fans mingled with the team and had photos taken with their "heroes". There was mutual respect. Nowhere did I read about street riots, bonfires and open drunkenness as was reported when the Bulldogs won the grand final in 2004. Maybe we are "silvertails", but we know how to hold our silver spoons and what to dish out with them.
J-Alice Hofler Put it on the back page Adelaide United defeated the Uzbek side FC Bunyodkor 3-0 in the first leg of the semi-final of the Asian Champions League. This is Asia's premier club competition, and to progress this far undefeated is a freakish performance indeed. That the Herald has relegated its coverage beneath an alleged "stoush" between cricketers and further nonsense in that sport they'd like to think is football is utterly pathetic.
Dan Gocher, Petersham Letters letters@smh.com.au Fax: 9282 3492 GPO Box 3771, Sydney 2001 All letters and email (no attachments) to the Herald must carry the sender's home address and day and evening phone numbers for verification. Please keep letters under 200 words. We may edit the letter for legal, space or other reasonable reasons and may, after publication in the newspaper, republish it on the internet or in other media.
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