NRL: The anatomy of a juicy rumour

Krisnan Inu. Photo / Simon Baker

Where's there's smoke there's fire. Right? That's why, no matter how much the Warriors protest, people will believe there is a rift between coach Ivan Cleary and Krisnan Inu, the new recruit not selected for the opening match.

There's not, of course, but that hardly matters any more. For what it's worth, here's what really happened, how an unsubstantiated rumour gets into the news cycle and becomes fact.

Inu was left out of the Warriors' first team of the season. A Sydney tabloid journalist with an Eels obsession phones Cleary for comment. Cleary says simply that Inu was left out on form.

The journalist calls Inu's manager, who insists his client is happy. The journalist calls Cleary again asking him to deny there is an issue. Cleary refuses, correctly believing that a denial would only lend credence to the story.

The journalist writes the story anyway, using a line from Cleary - "he knows what he did and that will stay between us" - to back up a suggestion of an incident "behind closed doors". Cleary was talking about Inu's form.

Once the story is out there, it assumes a life of its own. The Herald notices it and asks Cleary if it is accurate. "No, it's completely inaccurate and unfortunately there has been some really poor journalism there. It was a misquote and completely off the mark," Cleary says.

He makes the denial in a media scrum with radio reporters present. It might be a classic case of rumour-plus-denial, a questionable journalism technique, but what the hell, it's a snappy sound-bite. The story spreads. David Gallop is asked for his views on the "feud". Gallop says he hasn't heard a thing, which is also reported.

For what it's worth, I believe Cleary. It's not always the case. Coaches fudge the truth. They do it to protect players.

Cleary's preferred MO is to avoid situations where he might have to lie by refusing interviews. He's fooled me with cryptic answers, but I've never known him to outright lie. So I believe him when he says there's no rift. The question is, do you?