entertainment

It's OK, Malcolm. You don't have to be good at sport-talk. You've got other strengths.

Malcolm Turnbull is good at loads of things.

For example, he looks super smart-casual in a leather jacket.

He has a superior turn of phrase.

He makes a top-notch yabby pasta.

Malcolm Turnbull is great at loads of things. Just not sports talk.

But take one look at Malcolm Turnbull and you know he’d rather be sipping a martini and posh-laughing in his private box than hanging with the boys down the pub watching footy.

This was evident in the stilted speech he made at Rugby League’s night of nights, the Dally M Awards, held at the Star in Sydney last night.

Turnbull had memorised key moments in his team the Roosters’ loss to the Broncos last weekend with which to draw political analogies. These flew right over the heads of most present.

Turnbull’s remarks were met with bemusement from the players.

“I thought that was a very good pass… it just went to the wrong person,” he said, referring to Shaun Kenny-Dowall’s wild throw that possibly cost the Roosters their grand final position.

“There’s a lot of luck in rugby league and there’s a lot of luck in politics. Shaun Kenny-Dowall’s pass was intercepted by Darius Boyd and then Ben Hunt did not [throw] quite so long a pass and of course set up a try. It’s the result of course that matters.”

Rrright.

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Video via Dally M Awards

Matty Johns also drew some laughs welcoming the PM “Tony Abbot” to the event.

“I’m sorry. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, of course — it’s just so bloody hard to keep up with you blokes Malcolm!” he said.

“They reckon coaching is cutthroat. Wow.”

Awkward banter.

I just wanted to tell the Prime Minister: You don’t have to pretend to be anything other than who you are. Maybe the Rugby League crowd isn’t your speed.

Perhaps you’re more comfortable with QCs and investment bankers. Perhaps you’d rather chat about the republican movement or reminisce about your time at Oxford. Maybe you’d prefer just be relaxing in your Point Piper estate with Lucy, a glass of Grange, and the complete works of Cicero. And that’s OK.

You do you, Malcolm.