KEY POINTS:
The contrasting faces of rugby league showed themselves in wonderful fashion last week.
On the one hand, league distinguished itself by moving swiftly to fix the problem over its confusing obstruction laws which denied Warrior Nathan Fien a perfectly acceptable try against Souths.
This was a fast response to an unsatisfactory situation and begs the immediate question - what would it take for the same thing to happen in rugby?
The threat of nuclear war, probably. Rugby has been living with lunatic rules like the tackled ball and the new scrum laws for what seems like an eternity.
But rugby's ship of state wallows in its ocean of rules like an oil tanker holed at the waterline. Their administrative process gallops along like a Galapagos tortoise.
Rugby league: "This obstruction rule is stupid. Let's all get together on a conference call, sort it out and apply it."
Rugby union: "The tackled ball rule is stupid. But we can't do anything until after the World Cup. Let's all go to the bar and feel up the waitress."
Rugby league: "There's no point in hanging on to something if it isn't working."
Rugby union: Snoring noises. Gin breath. The sound of arteries hardening. Although we should be fair - the IRB is suddenly moving, after years of inaction, to address the weakened teams and meaningless tours issues.
But before we congratulate league too heartily on its ability to identify a problem and act, there's the small matter of Wade McKinnon shoving referee Jason Robinson aside. I quite felt like giving Mr Robinson a shove myself, such was his refereeing especially after the disallowed Fien try.
It's the response of the Warriors - McKinnon and CEO Wayne Scurrah - that set off the bullshit detector louder than one strapped to the back end of a Charolais bull force-fed with habanero chillies.
"The contact I made was totally accidental. That's all I can say about it. I'm not denying the charge but there was no intent to it, no malice. I was just running across, covering our line," said McKinnon in a prepared Warriors media release.
"It's really unfortunate for Wade," said Scurrah. "It was obviously an accident."
All righty, then. Here's what I saw. McKinnon and Robinson had a running verbal feud on the field. Robinson gets in McKinnon's way, accidentally. McKinnon, covering across field, raises his arms and shoves the ref. It wasn't the raising of arms to cushion an impact. It was pushing someone away.
Let's put it another way. If McKinnon's shove was an accident, then Bill Clinton doesn't like girls; Sheryl Crow uses a whole roll of toilet paper every bathroom visit; Paris Hilton is a virgin; Dancing With The Stars actually has a deep and significant meaning; and John Hopoate wears boxing gloves - not, as everyone thinks, because he is a boxer but to keep him from, er, examining his opponents.
I find it hard to believe McKinnon - who has been one of the standouts in the NRL - said out loud the words so stirringly attributed to him in the press release. How it often works, you see, is that the Warriors run up the release and then get sign-off on it.
I heard McKinnon on the radio once, answering questions by rarely straying into more than one syllable. Fair enough. You don't win games by being good in the media. But you do win friends.
Which is my point, really. Turn it up, Warriors. Match the considerable on-field form with the off-field stuff.
Tell it like it is. People respect you more if you admit it, take it on the chin and then cop the penalty. They don't admire transparent attempts to smudge black into grey.
The Warriors are good to watch this year - but they still need credibility, not plausibility.
