It was as recently as August 4 that we learned a round seven game between Manly and Parramatta was under investigation. Who can forget the Herald's startlingly detailed report on who placed what bets, where and when? The League subsequently admitted it had been caught off-guard by the issue. The NRL Integrity Unit can hardly leave people who could reasonably be seen as a risk of passing on information to punters in their jobs right now while these issues are looked into. The likelihood is, officials and/or players will be stood down. But will they tell us the truth when it happens? Will people be "on annual leave" or "overseas for a family occasion" when they don't show up for work? Or will everyone – clubs, individuals and the league, come clean?

The rugby league media is not as robust as it once was. Going to games in Sydney now reminds me of the 1980s – half a dozen reporters, only one or two who have the time to go to the dressing rooms. Clubs would be better off throwing a net over them and dragging them into the sheds in a desperate bid for some publicity, rather than keeping them out. There's hardly a quorum. That means a missing player or official here and there could very well go unnoticed. And good policing is often done by stealth. If you suspend someone and don't tell anyone, following that person's actions can lead you to bigger – to coin a cop's phrase – "perps". But rugby league is a public business. There is a degree of accountability that a money laundering or car-stealing scheme does not have to satisfy. There are countless stakeholders relying on administrators to run a tight, honest ship and they want to know that something is being done over match-fixing.

Discord advises the NRL and clubs to go on the front foot if and when these stand-downs start occurring. Match-fixing allegations leave a bad taste in the mouths of everyone. More secrets just make things worse. Judiciary consistently inconsistent It is always dangerous to pass comment on judiciary hearings you did not attend. News reports are just that – news reports, not official minutes that are required to include all the evidence.

But the confounding thing about the Ryan James case is that the tribunal was told not to consider James Tedesco's injury in deciding on guilt, but to consider the broken jaw when determining grading. So they found him guilty – and then lowered the grading? As the kids say – WTF? I remember in the 1990s that Michael Bolt, as a former player, brought in a list of previous charges and penalties in a bid to introduce some consistency to the disciplinary process. He was a decade ahead of his time and didn't last on the panel. We could do with some more like him today. Loading