Weak-Gutted Dog People, and other stories

Matt Cleary had just filed his first match report for News Ltd when Ricky Stuart called Penrith's fill-in 5/8th Jaeman Salmon a "weak-gutted dog". And the story of the match would never be the same

So - weak-gutted-dog-person-gate, eh?

Bit of a thing, isn’t it.

Our Stick, Ricky Stuart. Off chops. Unfiltered. Inside voice blaring on the outside, amplified, like Spinal Tap’s speakers, up to 11.

And not just outside or even in a crowded room. But it was out there, to everyone. All channels. All media. All at once.

Viral.

I’d just chopped out my first match report for Uncle Ruprecht’s Newscorp when zing! Sticky slammed Panther boy Jaeman Salmon for kicking Tommy Starling near the nads.

And I knew, immediately, that the story of the match was no longer Dylan Edwards (hero) or the Raiders’ chances of beating a fully-fit Penrith should they through happenstance meet again in 2022 (zero).

“It aint on”: Ricky Stuart. Pic: Fox Sports.

But rather it would be this piece of classic Aussie tough-kid pub and prison talk that Stuart had allowed to squirt out of his spleen and up through his bile ducts before shouting out his gob into the great public sphere.

What to make of it?