In the past week, the biggest news in Rugby League has been one player. Unfortunately, as is so often the case with our great game, it has not centred around a great performance, a matchwinning piece of brilliance. In fact, it hasn't been about any performance of any kind. I am, of course, talking about that infamous idiot from St George-Illawarra, Anthony Mundine.

Why? Mundine, for the second time in 12 months, claimed that he missed out on Test selection due to his race. His column in the Australian was filled with venom, essentially claiming that he should've been chosen as Australian five-eighth ahead of Brad Fittler, the Australian captain. That Mundine was carrying an injury that caused him to miss the Dragons clash with the Broncos, and their clash with Penrith a week later, seemed to have escaped his mind.

Likewise the proud history of Aborigines representing Australia also slipped his mind. Names such as Arthur Beetson, Steve Renouf, Cliff Lyons et al obviously hold no meaning for Mundine.

Hence, he came up with another reason. Some of the selectors don't like him. Can you blame them? Last year he all but called them corrupt after he wasn't chosen for the end of season Tri-Series. His representative career consists entirely of the 1999 State of Origin series, where he came off the bench for the Blues.

Fed up, he fled overseas, and "The Man Hunt" began, with reports ranging from Hawaii, to London, to Canada sprawled across our newspapers.

There is a reason why he has not been more prominent on the representative scene, and it's nothing to do with race, creed, culture, personal vendettas or any kind of bias. It's attitude. Mundine has plenty of it, but not a team oriented attitude. It's no secret that during his one ill-fated year at the Brisbane Broncos, Mundine did not get along with the majority of the squad. His individualism, while it can be a great trait, often came at the expense of the team or the team's goal. During that season he made his grand claim that Laurie Daley was running on old legs and that he was the best five-eighth in the world and that he was out to prove it.

When the NSW Supreme Court ruled Mundine had to return to the ARL after breaching his contract to sign with Super League and the Broncos, Brisbane didn't put up a fight. Remember when Gorden Tallis was told a similar thing, to return to the Dragons or not play at all? Tallis chose to sit out and the Broncos supported him to the hilt. They saw what a great player he had the potential to be and what a wonderful team oriented attitude he had.

Contrast that with Mundine. You got the impression the club couldn't get him on a plane to Sydney fast enough. I think they signed his boarding pass!

Mundine's apologists can claim all that they like that he media have ambushed him, and that they misquote him or quote him out of context, even put the words in his, ever-widening, mouth. Same say he's refreshing in that he speaks his mind and doesn't sugar coat it with meaningless cliches as the majority of sportspeople are trained to do these days.

On that last point, he should be congratulated. People do want to hear what players really think, but there's a way to do it. And it comes back to that word that gets bandied about by Mundine ad nauseum. Respect. It's a two way street. To get respect from others, you have to respect them. They have to earn your respect, you have to earn theirs. Mundine claims that he will only listen to people he respects. Well, if he expects people to rush out in an attempt to gain his respect, he's got another thing coming. Greats of the game such as John Raper and Reg Gasnier have been critical of his demeanour in the past, and Mundine has had the audacity to label them "has beens", "yesterday's men" etc. True, they were players of a past era, but they were players who commanded great respect through their deeds for St George, New South Wales and Australia, and their continued support of, and contribution to the game.

They were also men who respected those who had gone before them, and what the game of rugby league was all about. Afterall, it was originally a game for battlers, for salt of the earth men who needed an extra quid to survive and still enjoy the sport they were best at. Mundine is in no way a battler, and most footballers will admit they have a pretty sweet deal these days. If only Mundine could be thankful for what he has, perhaps he would earn respect of everybody.

While in the past week, the St George-Illawarra club has come out in a united front, claiming they will support Mundine and see him through whatever problems caused him to flee the club as he did. Well, some players have said how they feel, just like Mundine. Co-captain Craig Smith is one. "I will have a hard time forgiving him when he returns". Smith is clearly not going to accept Mundine abandoning the club at a time they need him most.

His close friend, also co-captain of the Dragons, Nathan Brown, was another burned. He was amazed that Mundine didn't have the courtesy to talk to him about it as well. Former captain Mark Coyne said the thought of Mundine walking out on the club and disappearing overseas was "hard to believe". Evidently everyone was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and believed there had to be something seriously wrong for him to take such a drastic step.

That sympathy and understanding, however, must've been washed away with the Sun-Herald on the 30th of April. The previous day, Mundine had phoned his favourite "pen pal", Herald reporter Danny Weidler. Andrew Voss of the Nine Network's Footy Show summed the article up best; "absolute drivvel".

Whether what Mundine stated in the article is true or not is irrelevant. Why wasn't his contact with the club? The club that pays him a rumoured $600000 a year? The club that has given him the start in Rugby League that kids dream about? The club that, despite him kicking them in the teeth by defecting to Super League and archrivals Brisbane, welcomed him back with open arms in 1998? The club that tried as hard as they could to accommodate him and Trent Barrett despite the two playing the same position?

The reason is simple, and it's been in our faces for the past week. Headlines. He is nothing more than a publicity junky who just loves seeing his own name in print, his own face on TV, his own voice on radio. He is a show pony of the highest order. What respect he had before will be all but gone. Even the most staunch St George supporter must be fed up to their eyeballs with his flagrant disregard for the 73 year history of the great club, a club which won 11 straight premierships in the 50s-60s.

Anthony's father, Tony Mundine, is a man who commands great respect. A great boxer in his time, and regardless of your opinion on the validity of the sport, was a great Australian sporting champion. However, his encouragement to Anthony to leave the game, allegedly egging on Mundine's incorrect belief that the selectors were "out to get him", is irresponsible.

Mundine, according to his "brother" Weidler, is expected back in Australia on Wednesday, and likely will line up against Auckland next week. However, his future beyond this year is clouded. The common belief is he will quit Rugby League and attempt a career in boxing. Maybe a few smacks to the head will knock some sense into him!

I just hope the Dragons don't let him know if the Origin selectors left him out of the 17 on Monday night.