Tweet
haun Kenny-Dowall deserved better than that from the Roosters.
No, I’m not talking about cutting him. Rare is the player who becomes a one-club icon and most are forced out in some fashion or another. SKD’s departure just happens to coincide with a decent reason: a possession charge. That’s nothing to sneeze at. It’s a serious charge and we shouldn’t take that lightly.
I’m talking about that piss-weak excuse of a statement on the Roosters website announcing he was being released, effective immediately.
When we’re speaking about a player who is the second-leading tryscorer in the club’s century-plus history who once answered the question “which club would you refuse to ever play for” with “Souths”, and who loved the club more than players in this business-first era ever do, a statement on his departure from the club – scandalous or otherwise – is no place for aphorisms.
The superlatives should have flowed like blood from SKD’s jaw on the 6thOctober, 2013. He earned at least that much.
Yes, he was frustrating as hell. He was prone to a fumble, loved a sideways run and his defence didn’t have you confusing him with Matt Cooper. He once threw a pass right to Darius Boyd in a grand final qualifier and on more than a few occasions had fans going for a concussion test after the collective group either slapped their heads in frustration or headbutted the chair in front of them.
Shaun Kenny-Dowall wasn’t the perfect player. But he was a Rooster.
Sure, there’s no way you can really polish a turd, and SKD’s possession charge (no matter how you think that night went down) is certainly a turd. But the Roosters didn’t even try to roll the turd in glitter.
Instead, their tactic was to send off a player who had literally bled for the club with a few terse words, a refusal to comment further, and the callow tactic of avoiding blasting the news onto Twitter and thus having to respond to fans who’d want answers.
I won’t reprint the statement, as you can read it for all its glory on the club’s website. But it was a few paragraphs wishing him all the best. That’s it. No stats, no acknowledgement of his role at the club, his rapport with fans or any recognition of what he did in 2010 and 2013. No video, no pomp, nothing. Just the media statement version of a smokebomb.
I don’t give a shit why they cut him. He deserved a proper send off, if not in a game then at least in a statement that had warmth and emotion. Not the cold, harsh truth and nothing else.
Screw the club. They read the tea leaves wrong on this one and didn’t understand the depth of feeling the fans had for a player that was both maddening and endearing, who we watched become more than just a backpacker who trialled at the club in his teens. We watched him grow up, we supported him through the shitty times and loved him through all the good, and his departure requires more than a regurgitation of the statement reserved for Paul Carter or, heck, even Todd Carney.
So without further ado, this is an attempt at acknowledging Shaun Kenny-Dowall’s long career at one of the code’s foundation clubs. It’s an attempt to give him a semblance of the send-off he has earned, one that the club deemed unneccessary.
Shaun Kenny-Dowall: a Roosters Career in Numbers
(Stats courtesy of The Rugby League Project)
Games Played: 224
Tries: 121 – second all-time at the club
Goals: three (from five attempts – he kicked them the year we won the spoon)
Premierships: one (2013), a tryscorer in a premiership
Grand Final Appearances: two (2010,2013)
Finals appearances: 13 – seven tries in the finals
Win-loss record 2007-2017: 114 wins, 109 losses, one draw
Rep career: 21 matches for New Zealand, nine tries, 12 wins and nine losses
Awards: 2010 RLIF Centre of the Year, equal leading tryscorer in the NRL, 2010 (21 tries)
No, I’m not talking about cutting him. Rare is the player who becomes a one-club icon and most are forced out in some fashion or another. SKD’s departure just happens to coincide with a decent reason: a possession charge. That’s nothing to sneeze at. It’s a serious charge and we shouldn’t take that lightly.
I’m talking about that piss-weak excuse of a statement on the Roosters website announcing he was being released, effective immediately.
When we’re speaking about a player who is the second-leading tryscorer in the club’s century-plus history who once answered the question “which club would you refuse to ever play for” with “Souths”, and who loved the club more than players in this business-first era ever do, a statement on his departure from the club – scandalous or otherwise – is no place for aphorisms.
The superlatives should have flowed like blood from SKD’s jaw on the 6thOctober, 2013. He earned at least that much.
Yes, he was frustrating as hell. He was prone to a fumble, loved a sideways run and his defence didn’t have you confusing him with Matt Cooper. He once threw a pass right to Darius Boyd in a grand final qualifier and on more than a few occasions had fans going for a concussion test after the collective group either slapped their heads in frustration or headbutted the chair in front of them.
Shaun Kenny-Dowall wasn’t the perfect player. But he was a Rooster.
Sure, there’s no way you can really polish a turd, and SKD’s possession charge (no matter how you think that night went down) is certainly a turd. But the Roosters didn’t even try to roll the turd in glitter.
Instead, their tactic was to send off a player who had literally bled for the club with a few terse words, a refusal to comment further, and the callow tactic of avoiding blasting the news onto Twitter and thus having to respond to fans who’d want answers.
I won’t reprint the statement, as you can read it for all its glory on the club’s website. But it was a few paragraphs wishing him all the best. That’s it. No stats, no acknowledgement of his role at the club, his rapport with fans or any recognition of what he did in 2010 and 2013. No video, no pomp, nothing. Just the media statement version of a smokebomb.
I don’t give a shit why they cut him. He deserved a proper send off, if not in a game then at least in a statement that had warmth and emotion. Not the cold, harsh truth and nothing else.
Screw the club. They read the tea leaves wrong on this one and didn’t understand the depth of feeling the fans had for a player that was both maddening and endearing, who we watched become more than just a backpacker who trialled at the club in his teens. We watched him grow up, we supported him through the shitty times and loved him through all the good, and his departure requires more than a regurgitation of the statement reserved for Paul Carter or, heck, even Todd Carney.
So without further ado, this is an attempt at acknowledging Shaun Kenny-Dowall’s long career at one of the code’s foundation clubs. It’s an attempt to give him a semblance of the send-off he has earned, one that the club deemed unneccessary.
Shaun Kenny-Dowall: a Roosters Career in Numbers
(Stats courtesy of The Rugby League Project)
Games Played: 224
Tries: 121 – second all-time at the club
Goals: three (from five attempts – he kicked them the year we won the spoon)
Premierships: one (2013), a tryscorer in a premiership
Grand Final Appearances: two (2010,2013)
Finals appearances: 13 – seven tries in the finals
Win-loss record 2007-2017: 114 wins, 109 losses, one draw
Rep career: 21 matches for New Zealand, nine tries, 12 wins and nine losses
Awards: 2010 RLIF Centre of the Year, equal leading tryscorer in the NRL, 2010 (21 tries)
Comment