The Australian Rugby Union "is plotting the biggest overhaul" of its disciplinary process since the game turned professional, and it is looking to rugby league "for inspiration," according to Georgina Robinson of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. The ARU believes the balance of power on disciplinary issues "has shifted too far into the hands of the well-organized" Rugby Union Players' Association and wants to make a significant correction, turning to a rival code with "plenty of experience with misbehaving footballers, for inspiration." The two parties "agree on one thing." The present code of conduct, which covers every player from grassroots to elite rugby, "is a cumbersome catch-all that often leads to disciplinary issues -- and ugly headlines -- being dragged out for weeks on end." The ARU's document "is a radical departure from the present system and effectively works on an assumption of guilt until innocence can be proven." It was sent to RUPA nine months later, in January, and is modeled "on the NRL's code of conduct." It "would give the ARU the power to name its price and penalty when a player transgresses, and gives the player only the right to appeal the sanction" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 3/26). In Sydney, Adrian Proszenko wrote rugby league players "have united in calling for the NRL's maligned integrity unit to be held to account following concerns over the inconsistent sanctions from the game's behavioural watchdog." At the Rugby League Players' Association annual general meeting a number of issues were broached, "including demands for an extra two weeks' annual leave to prevent burnout through to reaction to a proposal to reduce the interchange." Another hot topic "was the NRL's integrity unit, which has come under fire for its handling of recent incidents." Several players "raised the integrity unit as a talking point among the players before the meeting." Roosters player Matt McIlwrick said, "Everyone wants it to be consistent, that's the main thing" (SMH, 3/26).
