By DANNY LOCKWOOD
I thought Blake ‘we don’t do bad news’ Solly had left the RFL for pastures new? Who’s running the show these days, Tony Blair‘s ex-PR bulldog Alastair Campbell?
It’s always been the modus operandi of the police and NHS to erase negative publicity from their virtual worlds via confidential ‘agreements’ with errant employees.
A copper kicks lumps out of a drunk, does some unfortunate damage, and the next thing you know he’s being allowed to take early retirement on a full pension. Occasionally ‘ there’s an element of a ‘bad back’ involved in retiring through ill-health.
In the NHS gold-plated payouts tend to be reserved for chief executives who have failed abysmally, accrued huge debts and/or mortality rates. but walk away with a year’s six-figure salary and a fat-cat pension.
At least the RFL’s parting with Richard Silverwood this week didn’t involve public cash. It’s rugby league cash, but not the public’s, such as that’s a plus.
I was left wondering what the much anticipated “next stage in my career” for the newly ‘retired’ senior Super League ref could be. Not many pensions kick in at 40 and having been a referee for 15 years I’m not sure what trade or profession Silvers has to fall back on.
Right until the Magic Weekend in May. he was still the top match official in the northern hemisphere. One or two of his colleagues might have been in better form, but none had a CV to match.
A young man who has always enjoyed his social down time (ahem) my experience of Richard was that he was generally one of the thicker-skinned of his breed.
None of them like getting a serving from a sarcastic mutt like me, but most understand that in order to enjoy the profile and the privileged stage they occupy, it goes with the territory.
He did, and he loved the limelight that the job brought him – which more often than not involved a huge amount of weekly public opprobrium.
I doff my hat to referees, one and all. But in Silvers’ case there‘s not much brass to be made taking pick-up games in the Pennine or National Conference leagues.
So what do we really have here?
Richard Silverwood was involved in something during the Magic Weekend that brought him back under the scrutiny of his employers. He had served two previous suspensions.
Even based on the ‘three strikes and out’ premise, I think we can safely rule out his latest carpeting on missing a forward pass, or having the audacity to penalise someone for not playing the ball correctly.
By all accounts he was brought up before the RFL beak for being a bit of a naughty boy.
There’s been no suggestion of ‘bad’ behaviour as in police involvement.
But it’s no good asking the bloke and it’s an even bigger waste of breath quizzing the RFL because both parties have shaken hands, sworn each other to silence, the RFL have likely signed a decent severance cheque and they’ve allowed Richard Silverwood to fall on his sword with some measure of dignity.
More importantly for a 40-year-old match official with possibly his best years ahead of him, it’s a sadly premature end to an excellent career.
Sure, there’s the possibility of following Russell Smith and Ashley Klein Down Under to pursue a career in the NRL — and watching some of their rubbish officiating recently, they need the help. Suggesting
that he shack up with Zak Hardaker might not be the most helpful piece of advice never dispensed however.
The problem that leaves us with is twofold.
I can understand the bunker mentality of the ML as an employer, not wanting any dirty laundry hung out in public, but still, there is a legitimate public interest in the dismissing of such a high profile individual.
There’s zero transparency and it leaves a faint whiff, frankly.
And secondly, the referees’ department is down to the bare bones as it is. The game can do without losing such experienced talent as Richard Silverwood, it‘s a shame all round, really.
SPEAKING of referees and bunker mentalities, it was a wonder that
beleaguered South Sydney coach Michael Maguire didn’t run straight from the Allianz Stadium pitch last Monday and throw a hand grenade into the grandly titled Bunker that houses the NRL’s central video ref team.
If Mags’s grenade didn’t obliterate the crew, I reckon Brisbane boss Wayne Bennett would have gladly kicked the door in a few days later and finished the job with an AK47.
The manner in which the Bunker managed to rub off a Joe Burgess try against Manly that could have won the game for a Bunnies team in freefall was bad enough.
It didn’t help that not until much later did they show a new angle of the touchdown which, when slowed down to freeze frame. (still unconvincingly) cast doubt.
But the game isn’t played in freeze frame, it was a great effort by the returning Wiganer.
Brisbane’s late disallowed score against the Roosters, meanwhile, was highly unlikely to change the outcome but still, six points is six points.
The excuse for erasing that perfectly good score could only have been dreamed up on a faraway planet in a distant galaxy, by someone who knows absolutely zero about rugby league.
It was a disgrace, and with the Bunker having the luxury of more cameras than Curries and more angles than Pythagoras, there wasn’t a single excuse apart from the fact that the idiots in the Bunker are, well idiots.
Guilty as charged.
