BY GEORGE CLARKE
RYAN Papenhuyzen set tongues wagging in late October when he walked away from the final year of a NRL contract with the Melbourne Storm worth the best part of $1million.
At his best – before a string of broken bones and head knocks left him slightly gun shy – the fullback was one of the most electrifying players in the competition.
He won the Clive Churchill Medal in the 2020 Grand Final and were it not for the fact he broke through in an era laden with quality number ones, he ought to have played for NSW State of Origin or Australia.
Prior to his exit from Melbourne, Papenhuyzen, below, had been heavily linked with a move to R360, the breakaway rugby union competition that has dominated paper talk over the last few months.
Papenhuyzen had met with R360 – the rebel start-up league fronted by Mike Tindall – in Melbourne at around the time of the British and Irish Lions tour.
His decision to walk away from his Storm deal is an interesting one on two fronts. Firstly, it shows that he desperately needs a break.
Papenhuyzen’s body has been through a great deal and nobody could begrudge him wanting to earn a buck while he is still physically able to.
The fullback was outgunned by Reece Walsh in this year’s Grand Final and threw two foolish offloads as the Storm attempted to defeat Brisbane. Secondly, it gives him some wiggle room.
The NRL came out strongly, when it threatened players with a 10-year suspension for even talking to R360.
Now a free agent, Papenhuyzen can talk to whomever he likes with no concern he may be blacklisted. Where it may get interesting is if he seeks an NRL return further down the track.
The proposed 10-year ban was brought about at the behest of clubs. Existential threats to the NRL are nothing new and trigger a PTSD in the wider discourse which originates from the Super League war.
At the turn of the millennium it was the Australian Rugby Union (nowadays known as Rugby Australia) and the lure of the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
Then came the spectre of French union and the AFL, who poached Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau briefly.
Japanese rugby union was the next invasive species midway through the 2010s, along with America’s NFL, where Jordan Mailata, Jarryd Hayne and Valentine Holmes have all had varying degrees of success with Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets respectively.
In short, the menace of R360 is nothing new but the secrecy in which it has thus far been shrouded has allowed speculation to run rampant in the NRL as much as anywhere.
In a media discourse that deals in absolutes only – a halfback is either the GOAT or on the scrapheap dependent on whether his team wins or loses – R360 has been dressed up as the grim reaper knocking at the door.
Players will leave in droves and clubs will be gutted for their coaching staff and best administrators.
The NRL will be going to market for a new TV deal short on star power at a time when it is looking for an extra 60 bodies to fill the coming expansion teams in Perth and Port Moresby.
Peter V’landys likened R360 to a “competition out of a cornflake box” in the lead-up to the NRL grand final.
He accused R360 of “counterfeiting a code” some weeks later when the NRL issued its threat of a 10 year ban to any player or agent who engaged with the breakaway competition.
“The commission has a clear duty to act in the best interests of rugby league and its fans – and we will take all necessary steps to protect the future of the game,” V’landys said.
But unlike the previous threats to the NRL’s playing stocks, what is anyone who is tempted by R360 actually signing up for?
The NFL, AFL and various rugby union competitions all have pre-existing supporter bases, stadiums and TV deals.
The NRL’s interest in taking a more hands-on involvement in Super League is because all those things exist and they can see a mutually-beneficial upside.
So far, we know nothing about where R360 teams will be based, who is funding them and how they plan to turn a profit.
It’s a bit like agreeing to buy a house on a new estate that hasn’t been built yet, as sold by someone with little or no experience in land development.
Sure, there may be a glancing interest in the early years, if it gets up and running for its mooted 2026 start date.
Rugby union’s World Cup is the following year and you would imagine R360 is targeting a start date 12 months out from then, to prove they are legitimate, and then lure players on the decline and looking for a bank balance top-up in the latter years of their career.
It’s already met with short shrift from eight existing unions – Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, England, Scotland, France and Italy – who have urged caution to prospective defectors.
LIV Golf may be the best comparable example. There was a blaze of publicity as Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson hopped off the PGA Tour for the riches of Saudi Arabia.
But does anybody care how the 4Aces, the Crushers or Fireballs fare at LIV Golf events? LIV Golf can have its moments of fan madness and fun, but nothing will ever compare to the prestige of Rory McIlroy completing the career slam by donning the green jacket at the Masters this year.
R360 couldn’t have Walsh’s heroics to end a 19-year premiership drought. Nor Nathan Cleary’s redemption game in 2023. It couldn’t have James Tedesco capping a most remarkable season in history in 2019.
Players want to win titles, Origins, Tests, Grand Finals. Can anybody honestly say it’s worth sacrificing that for a few dollars more to run around in front of bemused sheikhs?
And for every player tempted to join R360 someone is ready to take their place.
Injuries and concussions have meant Papenhuyzen’s stock had been on the wane in the years since he burst onto the scene in 2020 and announced himself as Billy Slater’s heir.
But as he departs Melbourne, Craig Bellamy will turn to a homegrown Victorian talent named Sua Fa’alogo.
For everything R360 can offer a player, it will never have the depth of talent enjoyed by the NRL.
The loss of Papenhuyzen may be felt in the short term, but there will always be someone else waiting in the wings.
The game won’t die. It will move on to its next big thing and Papenhuyzen’s heroics will be but a shadow of the past.