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TEDDY Atlas is a boxing trainer who trained Mike Tyson in Tyson's early days and who now mumbles his way through some of the smartest commentary in sport today on ESPN's Friday Night Fights.
Atlas has trained numerous world champions. Mike Moorer was another.
Above his talent as a technician, Atlas understands the psychology of athletes. The small mind games they play with themselves to get ready for a fight and, sometimes, to get ready for a loss.
Occasionally, Atlas will be calling a fight and just before viewers nod off at home into a deep slumber he will announce that the fighters have come to a "silent contract".
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Benji Marshall has been unable to spark a revival at the Dragons. Source: News Corp Australia
The silent contract is when both fighters in the ring realise the result is inevitable, so the losing fighter makes a deal that he won't try to win the fight while the dominant fighter makes a deal that he won't try to hurt his opponent.
Both then coast through to a lazy, uninspired points decision, and everyone but the fighters go home unhappy.
St George Illawarra are making that silent contract every week. The Dragons have no desire for contact football.
They played South Sydney on Monday night like they were afraid of offending them.
In their first game since the players had their coach sacked, for their lack of performance as well as his, it would be fair to believe the Dragons would, at the very least, come out with enthusiasm.
A professional footballer who wants to remain a professional footballer would have. Even if, in his heart, he knew he was outmatched. The warriors in our game would have declared they were going to take to their opponent for as long and as hard as they could.
Benji Marshall speaks to dejected team mates after the Rabbitohs score a try. Source: Getty Images
If the Dragons were looking for inspiration they needed to go back only five days to watch NSW beat Queensland.
The Blues know the tremendous talent in the Maroons line-up. They know that if Queensland are allowed to score 16 points or upwards they will likely get beaten, and so they defended better than any NSW team has before.
And they did so because they know defence is an attitude. And they won the game.
Not the Dragons.
They let the Burgess brothers, Sam and George, run for 194m and 181m. These two men enjoy the contact. They also know the Dragons pack would not bruise a grape at the moment and so they took advantage of the soft run, carving them up.
The Dragons have the softest pack in the NRL. Every opponent's game plan is the same: just go through the middle.
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Tom Burgess runs the ball for the Rabbitohs. Source: Getty Images
For most it would be a terrible stigma to live with, but the Dragons seems comfortable with it. They are fortunate it is a whole lot easier and cheaper to replace one coach than it is to replace a playing roster.
Otherwise, Steve Price would still be employed and a few of them would be lifting furniture for a living next week. That's if you could get them to work.
The Dragons need to realise touch football players don't get paid to be professionals. And being professional is as much an attitude as a financial contract.
At the Roosters, the reigning premiers, they often talk of the "one-percenters".
Jeff Fenech spoke about it when he was dominating world boxing: the great ones aren't great because they do one thing 100 per cent better than the average person. It's because they do 100 things one per cent better.
So on Monday Benji Marshall tossed a pass on the ground on the last tackle when he should have been looking to kick. He put a kick into Row H. Another time he went to kick and took a peak at a Rabbitoh flying in to monster him and he dropped the ball.
Sam Burgess is tackled by Josh Dugan. Source: Getty Images
That effort from the Souths players was a one percenter. Marshall's wasn't. But Marshall still found time for the no look pass. What is he practising at training?
And don't tell me Marshall has been out of the game. He missed only three more games than Luke Lewis, who starred for the Blues last Wednesday.
And Lewis had a dislocated shoulder and a cancer scare to deal with while Marshall was doing an extended pre-season. With every excuse, the Dragons are sealing their silent contract. Other teams can smell it.
Many years ago Warren Ryan walked into the Knights' dressing room and looked at Andrew Johns.
Dragon's Benji Marshall after knocking on against the Rabbitohs. Source: News Corp Australia
"Andrew, stop with all that frivolous crap," he said.
Then he looked at Matthew Johns.
"Matthew, stop going sideways," he said.
Then he looked at Owen Craigie, with barely a pause.
"Son, you've lost all desire for contact football," he said.
Sometimes, the coach needs to deliver a truth that's needed, not convenient.
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