Former NRL star George Burgess, 33, takes up violent new sport slammed by experts
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Rugby league star George Burgess is taking up a new Aussie sport known as 'run it straight' - dubbed the 'dumbest game ever'.
The former Wigan Warriors prop, 33, will compete for AUS$20,000 at the RUNIT Championship League in Melbourne this week, The Sun reports.
Burgess, who originally hails from West Yorkshire in England, retired from rugby for a second time last year.
The 33-year-old spent the majority of his career in Australia playing for South Sydney.
'Run it straight' is a simple sport involving two competitors, who charge at each other at high speed on a 20-metre-long 'battlefield'.
George Burgess recently made a return to rugby league with the South Eastern Seagulls.
One player holds a rugby ball while the other attempts to tackle the runner, resulting in bone-crunching hits.
RUNIT's rules state that 'victory belongs to the one who dominates the collision'.
The sport has been criticised by health professionals, including leading neuroscientist Dr Alan Pearce.
'I was pretty gobsmacked, speechless actually when I saw this competition idea starting because for me as someone who has seen hundreds of footballers and rugby league players who are now struggling with brain injury and long-term impairment it is really troubling,' Dr Pearce told news.com.au.
You can watch the 'run it straight' challenge in the player above
La Trobe associate professor Alan Pearce has warned against the sport.
'I just cannot understand how they could take the most violent aspect of sport and just turn it into a spectacle where the objective is just to try and knock out or hurt your opponent.
'In a lot of these other sports (such as NRL, AFL and rugby union) you're trying to avoid direct contact whereas this is purely running at each other, it's insanity.'
RUNIT plans to hold an event in New Zealand next month.
The hope is then to expand to the UK, USA, and Saudi Arabia later this year.
Organisers have hit back over claims the sport is dangerous, but did slam the running of unlicensed 'backyard' events.
A RUNIT spokesperson said, via The Daily Mail: 'Yes, a knockout can potentially occur, but this is not the aim of our game.
Souths Sam Burgess with his brothers Tom and George after victory in the South Sydney v St. George-Illawarra NRL Semi Final at ANZ Stadium, Homebush. Picture: Brett Costello
The first ever RUNIT competition takes place this week in Melbourne. Image: RUNIT YouTube
'The aim is to dominate contact - whether you bump someone over or land a good, clean hit.
'We disallow tackles below the waist and above the shoulders. A knockout, like any other combat sport, is a by-product.
'Unlike any other combat sport, however it is not our aim.
'Athletes are screened by a doctor pre and post matches, medics are present, and medical waivers inclusive of drug and blood tests are completed prior to any participation.'
Fans have been left baffled by the new sport as it prepares for a showcase in New Zealand.
Commenting on a viral video of a competitor being KO'd in an unlicensed event, one fan sighed on X: 'Dumbest game ever.'
Another said: 'This just looks super dangerous.'
The RUNIT organiser added in response: 'The video we felt was horrendous and backyard events such as that one was very disappointing to see.'
- This article first appeared in The Sun and was republished with permission
Originally published as 'Dumbest game ever': Former NRL star, 33, takes up violent new sport slammed by experts
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"This is bigger than me," Meninga said. "This new pioneering venture over to WA and the opportunity to be involved in the growth of the game, to grow a club the Perth Bears is too good to refuse. "I feel very honoured, very nervous, and I think it's a huge responsibility." The Bears can talk to off-contract players come November 1, but their hardest challenge may be winning over fans, sponsors and a media who are already heavily invested in the AFL. "Mal is an Immortal of the NRL, he is also an Immortal of our national sporting landscape, Mal is part of the Australian identity and we're honoured he's taken this opportunity," said club chief executive Anthony De Ceglie. "We've gone from one Bear in me, to two Bears in Mal, we've doubled our staff overnight. "It's small steps, we need to listen to the legacy of the North Sydney Bears and the fans in WA who have a proud tradition and who have kept the candle burning and we need to marry those two things together to make this a huge success." A former high-ranking executive at Seven West Media - the company which owns the AFL broadcast rights - De Ceglie knows the NRL's 18th side has work to do. Already the local Seven West-owned newspaper The West Australian has been critical of the venture which has been backed by WA State government cash. "Normally if you're doing something right, you have a few critics along the way," De Ceglie said. "I've been totally blown away by the amount of messages of people who want to get involved in the Perth Bears … I'm very optimistic this will be a huge success. "It'll be up to the Perth Bears to earn the respect of the newspaper. "If we're a success on the field, and if we're a success off the field, then we should be in those sports pages. "If we're not, the only people missing out are the readers of the newspaper." Meninga is yet to finalise his coaching staff nor a recruitment team who can help him bring the Perth roster together with a relatively short lead-in time. When the Redcliffe-based Dolphins entered the NRL in 2023 they missed out on several big-name targets in the recruitment space. But their squad - which won nine of their 24 games in their inaugural season - earned the respect of rival clubs for their effort and determination. "I don't think we'll have too many worries about talking to players and managers about the opportunity to come play in Perth," Meninga said. "We've got a story to tell. We have to understand what we're trying to achieve and that's my job initially to get the right people and resources around us to help understand what that story is."
