Monday 15 June 2020

Official NRL Grub Rankings - 2020 Season

I submitted the following article to The Roar a few weeks ago. Despite my best efforts to tone it down, it was rejected for being a bit too spicy, which is fair enough.

But nothing is too spicy for my personal blog.

Here's my previous stuff that they have accepted:

And here's the rejected...

OFFICIAL NRL GRUB RANKINGS - 2020 SEASON

The footy is back. Which means it’s time to unveil the most hotly contested player ratings going
around: the NRL Grub List.

In rugby league circles, ‘grub’ is traditionally the preferred insult to throw at an NRL player you don't
like for a myriad of reasons, from legitimate grub behaviour like excessively dirty play, to just being
from the wrong state or playing for the wrong club.

It is like ‘flog’ in AFL, although ‘grub’ is not also used to cover-up thinly veiled racism towards a
former Australian of the Year.

If you disagree that someone is a grub, or whether they have committed a grub act, the strongest
possible defence is to exclaim "it's not his go!". This leads to a stalemate, with no clear determination
of the players grubbiness.

It’s a highly contentious issue. Which is why I have developed the official countdown of the top 20
grubs.

The only strict rule is that I’m only ranking based on footy-related grub behavior, not off-field
indiscretions. So smashing someone on the field is in, but smashing someone on a Bali trip is out.

Also, this is not a reflection of a players actual character, just an acknowledgment of their white-line
fever.


Let’s commence the 2020 countdown…