Doing it for Number 1

I never thought i'd devote a whole piece to Mark Gasnier, but his signing with French rugby club Stade Francais reveals something about the guy.

Columnists like Andy Wilson and Gorden Tallis have written about his hypocrisy, and the effect on rugby league. But i'm more interested in motivation.

Players say a lot of things in interviews. How much they love their club. How proud they are to be selected for their state. How strong the team spirit is. How they are honoured to be part of the history of the game.

Then a foreign club, in a different sport, comes along with a fistful of euros. Suddenly all of that passion, team spirit, honour go out the window. At least they do if the player is as self-centred as Gasnier...

I've had to react to it and I think this is the best reaction for me

My opinion of Gasnier has never been terribly high, but now it's lower. And it seems i'm not alone. A poll on the fox sports website asked what should be done to prevent situations like this. Currently, the most popular repsonse is "Do nothing - the NRL doesn't need these blokes". I guess Gasnier got one thing right:

I'm not going to be missed that much.

Speaking for myself, he's not going to be missed at all.