Shane Webcke orders tell-all rugby league book pulped

[Kaz]

DEVELOPING: FORMER rugby league hardman Shane Webcke wants thousands of copies of his new book to be pulped before its release.

The book, Hard Road: Tough thoughts on a tough game, was scheduled for release on April 1 and extracts were to run in Sunday newspapers.

Webcke confirmed today he had made the decision to withdraw the book.

Chapter 15 was to be titled 'Boys Behaving Badly" and Chapter 16 was to be "Broncos Behaving Badly".

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/stor ... 80,00.html

 

[Nashy]

Wonder how much the Broncos paid him to do this.

 

[Kaz]

I was thinking it was the NRL paid him.

 

[Coxy]

Disappointed if the decision has anything to do with outside influence.
However, if he has made the decision himself because the game is copping enough negative criticism now as it is, and doesn't think it's the right time to publish this and thus fan the flames, then I have full respect for him.

 

[Nashy]

I guess he'd be the sort of ex-player who would so this more for the game too.

 

[Kaz]

I think he made the decision himself because of all the things that have happened this year.

Remember Webcke was the only player to stick to his guns & not go OS because of terrorism.

 

[Nashy]

I think he made the decision himself because of all the things that have happened this year.

Remember Webcke was the only player to stick to his guns & not go OS because of terrorism.

That has aboslutely nothing at all to do with this. In anyway, whatsoever.

 

[Coxy]

Yeah, that (not going OS in 2001) IMO was a bad decision by Webbie, in fact quite ignorant.

But then, it was HIS decision to make and I applaud him for standing by it.

 

[Kaz]

Nashy

It just proves he won't be swayed by money.

He is a man of his word.

 

[QUEENSLANDER]

wonder if any of these will pop up on ebay

 

[Jazza]

Did he start the book before he was offered a coaching role? Because it would cause tension if there was anything in it about the behaviour of players he's now coaching at the broncos... Perhaps that's why he culled it.

 

[fenomeno]

This would have been a great book, hopefully it gets released at a later date.

 

[Flutterby]

I'm very disappointed if the decision was driven from any outside influence. Personally I think Webbie (given the high regard in which he is held) telling them exactly what he thinks of the recent player behaviour may be one thing that will make some of these players actually pull their heads in. But I also can't blame him if it is critical of the Broncos - given they are one of his current employers

 

[ethos]

Whatever the reason, it'll definitely help sales when the book is released.

 

[winnie_992]

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Sport/2 ... 15280.html

The book, made available to AAP, has a chapter entitled Broncos Behaving Badly in which he questions the Broncos' handling of the 2008 nightclub scandal, where there were allegations of a sexual assault against three players.

Webcke said the players caught up in the allegations should never have been allowed to play in the finals series match against The Storm shortly thereafter.

'As far as I'm concerned, their behaviour went far beyond the boundaries of what is acceptable,' Webcke said in the book.

He went on to say: 'Meanwhile at the Broncos, something that really narked me was that even as a storm raged around the three players involved in the Alhambra Lounge incident, it simply didn't appear to be important to them. They were seen laughing and carrying on as if nothing had happened.'

The sequence of events left Webcke, who attended the match against the Storm 'not really caring if they won or not'.

In another chapter, How the Game Failed Joey, a reference to Newcastle great Andrew Johns' battle with drugs and depression, Webcke maintains that the Knights, the NRL and the ARL administration 'all the way to the top' knew about Johns' 'lifestyle and problems'

Interesting article on bigpond, it shed a little bit of light on some of the possible reasons for not releasing the book. Would definately make sense not to release it with some of the comments supposedly in the book. You'd have to think this wouldnt have helped the Hunt situation either nor would it have helped the NRL or the game of league in the community, espeically after recent events.

 

[Coxy]

Judging by that, I'd say he decided it best to pull it or risk being sacked by the Broncos! :P

 

[Flutterby]

Nova were saying this morning that they got an advance copy of the book - they are selling it on Ebay (profits to RSPCA).

 

[mrslong]

He bagged the crap out of Hunt, Thaiday & Boyd according to the Courier Mail......considering he's coaching Thaiday atm maybe that's why, maybe he wrote it in a moment of anger and now regrets it.