NRL players begin to push back against ‘negative agendas’ with alternative media careers

Josh Mansour speaks at the NRL grand final week launch in Sydney. The former Panthers player is among those who have become disillusioned with rugby league media. Photograph: Matt King/Getty Images

It’s NRL grand final week, and with the same sense of inevitability that Penrith and Melbourne made it to the premiership decider, players and coaches of the two clubs have had to wade through the usual morass of manufactured drama cooked up by the rugby league media.

But the relentless hunt for new controversies – and new villains – is now facing pushback from players and coaches.