One brush-off that is gaining currency is "That was in the past". Not-so-ancient history: South Sydney coach Michael Maguire tried to brush off the Crowe-Keary bust-up as "in the past". Credit:Getty Images Michael Maguire said it in relation to the Luke Keary-Russell Crowe spat. And, on Friday, Brett Ferres said it in relation to him being sacked by Huddersfield when reportedly caught in flagrante with a teammate's wife (I say 'reportedly' – no-one has denied the incident happened). Let's get this straight. The beginning of this sentence was in the past. We cannot report on the future and no-one can type fast enough to report on the absolute present. All events discussed are in the past.

"That's in the past" carries no more meaning than "no comment". But because it's a newish way of saying "no comment", it doesn't look as blunt. Yet. If Luke Keary had stormed out on Denzel Washington, that would be gossip and not real news in the opinion of Discord. The reason it belongs in the public domain is because it could have an impact on the field. Russell Crowe is the owner of Souths. If Keary ever leaves South Sydney, it could fairly be considered a contributing factor. Fans who prop up South Sydney through memberships, merchandise, tickets and the rest deserve to know why a star player is or is not at the club. Likewise, if forward Ferres had been involved with John Terry's wife, that would be gossip.

But it was his friend and teammate Craig Huby, and prompted him to leave the club. (Interestingly, his other two attempted brush-offs in Friday's Rugby League World magazine, "I don't regret anything in life" and "Something happened for a reason" are actually laden with meaning) Two Super League players – Ferres and Justin Carney – have been forced to change clubs this year due to these sort of incidents. The balance of power in the competition has actually been affected by events in the bedroom. We are well on the way to getting a whole team called the Cheetahs. That's why it's news and not gossip. The impact is on the field. All of which brings us back to earlier editions of this column concerning Todd Greenberg, Ben Barba et al. If you're looking for a new rant on why Todd Greenberg should not be the new NRL CEO, you won't get one here. Just hit up Google. Suffice to say I think Jim Doyle would do a fantastic job.