Geordie Sure…?

Usually the 2 old brothers give me enough crap via texts and twitter but at the moment they both seem to have writers block to write the next blog so I’m afraid you’re stuck with me again. But I know they’re actually both typical dumb rugby players that put a front on about sounding intelligent. So I thought I’d have a go at a second blog hopefully it’ll be more like God Father 2 and less like Speed 2. But we’ll soon find out.

So my chosen topic is… Are Rugby League players becoming too soft?

I know we are in the era of the Reality TV star and the likes of Jersey Shore, The Only Way IS Essex and I hasten to say it Geordie Shore, aren’t helping our great nation at the moment. But it seems our favourite Rugby League players are slowly turning into these people.

The only players that had tattoo’s ‘back in the day’ were islanders, players that wanted to show how much they loved their Mum, or from drunken nights out. Like the tattoo a young, and impressionable, Chris Thorman received on his arm at the start of his Super League career that just read….‘Chris’! Which he still gets stick about it today. He never did get the rest of the letters to finish off Christopher. He has now got an even better tattoo to cover up his great name. Now it seems to be different in Rugby League you need not to have a sleeve or tattoo.

I know the weather isn’t the greatest thing at the moment and its every players favourite thing to train shirtless or at least in a vest in the sunshine to show the guns off and to turn a nice shade of bronze. But players are now restoring to the GTL (Gym Tan Laundry). Trust me I know the sun is pretty rare up North but that doesn’t mean Gateshead Thunder players plus York City Knights very own answer to Joey Essex – Matt Garside, need to take regular organised trips to the local tanning salon Tanastic for their 8 minute top up.

Poor Jamie Foster has a Devils own job of keeping the hair gel out of his eyes when it rains (hopefully his new hair salon might be able to help him out on that score now), but gone are the days of the short back and sides or shaven head. Players are straightening their hair with electric straighteners or even getting it chemically done. A little bit like Paul Thorman had to do to tame his beehive/ mullet. Even when Nathan Hindmarsh’s long hair was annoying him and getting in his eyes he didn’t head to the Salon to get it trimmed, he asked the Parramatta physio for some scissors and cut his fringe completely off.

So to conclude I know we still have hard men in Rugby League with the likes of Sam Burgess putting huge shots on in the NRL, Adam Blair and Glen Stewart’s epic fight on the touch line and Paul ‘the grub’ Gallon and his never ending work rate. But I’ll leave you with this Barrie Mac used to take his eye out before he used to play!

Neil’s London Skolars are back in action away at Barrow Raiders this Sunday (20th) at 2pm.

t: @NeilThorman