THE relationship between rugby league and its fans could almost be described as abusive.
No matter how many controversies NRL players commit to blacken the game, fans of the footy code keep turning up wanting more. If we're honest, for many, the controversy is half the appeal.
That's certainly the case for Newcastle sports-comedy band Yeah Nah. The band fronted by Knights fans Josh "Greg Smith" Ballico and Sam "Adrian Bubb" Cupitt have enjoyed success with The Ballad Of Joey Johns and Queensland Heads, but now they've expanded their love of NRL controversy and culture to a debut album.
That Was Enormous What You've Just Done - inspired by the Channel Nine caller Ray Warren's habit of talking directly to players while commentating - was released on Wednesday.
"It can be a game that is hard to love at times, but it has something that keeps you coming back," Cupitt said.
Cupitt sums that up perfectly in the tainted love song, My Narelle, where he sings, "She's occasionally abusive/ But she's trying to be more inclusive, my Narelle/ My American friends don't know she exists/ She's pretty loose when she's on the piss/ I wanna spend my weekends with her but she's always in the news/ my Narelle."
The album also features an updated version of At Least You Don't Play For Manly, and ode to rugby league's mindless brutality (More Tape), a dirty blues-rocker about their distaste for penalty goals (Taking The Two) and a song about the time Ballico saw Knights legend Owen Craigie eating in a Chinese restaurant (Chopstick Craigie).
"It's a hilarious game and it doesn't really make any sense," Cupitt said. "The more rules you put into it, the stupider it gets.
"It's just one of those things that is always churning up something just because it's controlled chaos."
The album was recorded over a weekend at an Airbnb in the Cessnock hills and features performances from Pom (harmonica, guitar), Half-time Hot Chips (bass), Mr Jubilation (drums, vocals), Jason Comets (lead guitar) and Chanel Nein (keys, vocals).
"Mr Ballico, Greg Smith, loves an album and he was always adamant we could get one," Cupitt said. "After a few years of fart-arsing around, he put things in motion that it would actually get done."
Yeah Nah launch That Was Enormous What You've Just Done on May 5 at the Hamilton Station Hotel, with support from The Main Guy & The Other Guys and Loverlamp.
