BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, better known as CTE, is arguably the most confronting, damaging and controversial issue affecting rugby league right now.
And no drama has explored this topic with more depth, raw emotion and insight than Brendan Cowell’s new ABC miniseries Plum. Cowell’s TV show, based on his own book of the same name, tells the moving story of Peter ‘Plum’ Lum, a rugby league legend who is struggling in retirement.
Lum is a former Cronulla, NSW and Australian great, a renowned hard man, living in Sydney’s Sutherland shire with his girlfriend and his son Gavin, a promising young junior battling to make it into the NRL. But Lum is diagnosed with a brain disorder and battles to keep hold of his family and friends as his life sadly falls apart.
This miniseries is not just about concussion and brain injuries, it is about love, relationships, suicide, mental health, fatherhood, dementia and rugby league’s wider position in Australian life. It explores the role of alcohol and drugs in modern-day Australia, and the part the media and fans play in the NRL and its treatment of professional players.
Cowell is a rugby league tragic who lives and breathes footy and has appeared in everything from Game of Thrones to Avatar. A talented actor, writer and director of stage and screen, in Plum the 48-year-old has created something that any rugby league person can relate.
Like This Sporting Life and The Final Winter, Plum is a fantastic probe of the sport’s impact on people and their environment.
It is Cowell’s tour de force, a moving piece of art with a great cast and some memorable cameos including James Graham, Andrew Johns, Paul Gallen, Matt Nable and Mark Carroll.
You can watch a trailer of Plum here.
While the program deals with CTE, dementia and the struggles that many former players deal with right now, it also explores the vicious media cycle, the intense spotlight players are under and the notion of them as cannon fodder used up and spat up for the fans’ entertainment.
Plum is also very funny and memorable at times, with some great one-liners such as “No son of mine will play for Manly”.
While the drama has already aired on ABC, hopefully it will be picked up by a streaming service so footy lovers across the world can enjoy this powerful series, from New Zealand to Newton Abbey. It really is must-watch viewing.
