A BELIEF that international rugby league can be a saviour for the game's financial woes coupled with the knee injury that almost wrecked his season have prompted Australian captain Darren Lockyer to shelve thoughts of representative retirement.
In a wide-ranging interview on the eve of tomorrow night's World Cup clash with England in Melbourne, Lockyer told the Herald of the frustration caused by the knee problem that forced him to miss this year's Origin series. He also spoke of the recent off-field problems at the club.
But Lockyer was most passionate about the future of international football and the role the World Cup can have in building interest - and revenue streams - to enable the game to grow and keep the top players from being poached by rugby union.
"For our code to keep its best players, our international game needs to be healthy and generating good revenue so we can pay our best players the same money they can get elsewhere," he said. "Rugby union earns a lot of money through their international game and they are able to pay players more than league so if we don't act it's going to be pretty hard to stop the players going.
"Personally, I would never leave because it's the game I grew up with and I wouldn't want to give it a kick in the guts, but when kids are young they probably don't see that side of things. They think that they are being rorted here and they want to go somewhere they can get looked after.
"Obviously there are a few clubs in Sydney struggling financially so I just think there is a great opportunity with this World Cup to build a platform to get the international game to where it needs to be.
"I think that when NSW plays Queensland next year in Origin, we should have Tonga playing New Zealand or Tonga playing Samoa the same week. There are a lot of kids in the NRL who are from those countries and if you can give them the dream of playing for their home nations you're going to see a lot stronger game."
Admitting he had thought of quitting representative football 12 months ago, Lockyer said missing May's Centenary Test and the Origin series because of the knee injury had reinforced how much he valued playing for Queensland and Australia.
The lone survivor of the Kangaroos' last World Cup campaign in 2000, Lockyer also acknowledged that standing down from representative matches was at odds with his desire to see the game prosper on the world stage.
"I guess I was toying with the idea before I did my knee but I really want to be a part of the international game becoming a big event for this code," he said. "Prior to the Tri-Nations [starting in 2004], the international game was on its death bed, so to speak, and that's probably why guys were retiring from rep footy because it wasn't that appealing.
"But I think after the knee it gave me a rest mentally and physically, and I thought you only live once, and you only get to play for your country and your state so many times. I've enjoyed every minute of playing for Australia and I can just see now that we're starting to get some momentum with the international game."
Lockyer's knee injury, which required a reconstruction last year, forced him to miss New Zealand's Centenary Test against the Kangaroos 12 months ago in Wellington, the All Golds' tour of England in which he was to recreate the role of Dally Messenger, Australia's Centenary Test at the SCG and Origin.
"It was a tough year and there were moments where I just thought I don't know if this thing is going to get right," he said.
Off the field it has been a difficult season, too, with Broncos players embroiled in a number of incidents that have led incoming coach Ivan Henjak to move to end the club's booze culture.
"There's been some dramas that didn't do our club any good but it's happened now and it's obviously going to change some things at the club so I'm sure that we'll be in good shape by the start of next season," he said. "Ivan is a very disciplined man himself and having guys around him like Allan Langer and Shane Webcke will be good."
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