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John Hopoate has taken to You Tube to have his say on modern rugby league. Source: Gregg Porteous / News Limited
JOHN Hopoate has got his finger, err, on the pulse.
Or so he says, anyway.
The disgraced former NRL star this week released a bizarre You Tube video blasting NRL boss Dave Smith for turning the game soft.
Famous for sticking his fingers in a part of the male anatomy that even Sam Burgess would regard as sacred, Hopoate is concerned for the future of rugby league.
Banning the shoulder charge was one thing, but the recent crackdown on flying fists was the last straw for the man whose last act in the NRL was a horrific tackle on then Cronulla front-rower Keith Galloway, which incurred a 17-week suspension.
So what's so bad about the modern game? Take it away Hoppa...
"Fighting. How can we take fighting out of rugby league? It's a man's sport. You should be getting charged for not throwing a punch.
"And yet we give players two weeks for throwing a little jab. How embarrassing. Bring it back!"
In an odd attempt at irony, Hopoate chooses a game of croquet with an elderly lady named Roseanne as the setting for his soapbox.
And while he concedes, today's players are fitter, faster, better athletes, he believes the men of steel who dominated the 70s and 80s were a more worthwhile asset to the sport.
"Players have gone soft ... they're sitting out because of a cork. I don't think it's the players' fault, I think it's the heirarchy that has made these guys into a bunch of pansies.
Click on the video at the top of the page to see a sample of John Hopoate's You Tube rant!
"If you asked blokes back in the 70s and 80s if these players would make it on the field, none of the calibre of players these days would even lace a boot to run the same field as these guys back in the 70s and 80s.
"Better athletes, just not as tough."
It's unclear whether or not Hoppa includes his son Will, who will return to the NRL for Parramatta next year, or Jamil, who is contracted with Manly, in the 'soft' category.
Foxsports.com.au was curious to know more about Hopoate's vision for the future of rugby league, but when contacted for comment on the You Tube video, Hopoate hung up.
While he was unwilling to elaborate on his views in an interview, Hopoate is not the only former player agitating to have the NRL review their ban the biff policy.
On Monday, Rugby League Hooker of the Century Noel Kelly blamed the politically correct stance on fighting for the Sam Burgess 'squirrel grip', saying the players need to take their frustration out somehow.
South Sydney legend George Piggins was of the same view.
"Like fair dinkum. Did they read the paper the other day with that piece in The Telegraph about how much the crowds are down? Piggins told The Daily Telegraph.
"They will want to take a bit of a look at it and start worrying about the game being good to watch.
"Isn't frustration a good defence. There has to be a bit of give and take in the game and that's not just because he is a Souths players."
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