While the greatest game of all is getting great raps and exposure over in the UK throughout the Rugby League World Cup, some of our young talents, thinking their behaviour will be swept under the rug, are getting themselves unnecessary exposure at home.
The NRL, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, the Canterbury Bulldogs and the NRL’s integrity unit are investigating and incident that happened last weekend which involved Rabbitohs rookie of the year Dylan Walker and Bulldogs-bound Tyrone Phillips.
After both were allegedly involved in a violent brawl that left three men battered in hospital. A South Sydney spokesman confirmed that the club had forwarded details to the NRL.
“We’re aware of an incident at a venue that (Walker) was at,” the spokesman said. “He’s told us he wasn’t involved.
We’ve reported it to the NRL Integrity Unit.”
Bulldogs chief executive Raelene Castle confirmed she had spoken with Phillips, and that she had been in contact with the Integrity Unit.
“We are aware that there’s been an incident, and we’re in communication with the Integrity Unit,” Castle said. “We’re awaiting the outcome from the police investigation.”
Two of the three men suffered serious head and abdominal injuries.
Even if the police investigation and the NRL’s investigation comes back in favour of these two boys, why do they feel the need to out themselves in a situation like this anyway?
This season was one filled with continue off field controversy, from Blake Ferguson, to Ben Te’o, to George Burgess, to Josh Dugan, and now these two.
The formula seems consistent with all of them – Alcohol + Stupidity + Big Ego + other surrounding idiots = problems.
As a rugby league supporter, there comes a time where you just get sick and tired of this.
There is something that the NRL must do, inject more education, place a security team at each club to escort players out, get a check off system that enables all clubs to know when and where there players are.
It may sound like an extreme measure, but surely the NRL and the 16 of its clubs are partly responsible in looking after their own.
Especially so for the younger boys. Men take forever to hit maturity anyways, so to be have a big ego, be immature and drunk is an absolute recipe for disaster.
As a Rabbitohs supporter, I hope both boys have nothing to answer for, but its disappointing to see more negative violent, and anti social behaviour be connected to our RL boys.
Cameron
Roar Guru
"As a rugby league supporter, there comes a time where you just get sick and tired of this." That's is about 50% of the reason my interest in the game has diminished. I'm literally over it. Id rather be annoyed at the political side of rugby league then my own players whom I look up to... Well, at least did once when I was younger.
Adam Everitt
Roar Rookie
“We’re aware of an incident at a venue that (Walker) was at,” the spokesman said. “He’s told us he wasn’t involved. With all due respect, the fact that Dylan Walker was at the scene of an incident he had nothing to do with isn't really newsworthy. Of course, there have been a few instances in the recent past where players have been involved in unsavoury incidents - we in Britain see a few and often welcome over problematic NRL players. However, the fact remains, the percentage of RL players in trouble is very small and efforts to encourage players to follow a strict code of conduct is showing to be effective. Now where's Blake Ferguson?
ciudadmarron
Guest
Slater sure copped a beauty didn't he... Anyway, I think there is a particularly pertinent issue in Zee's article - "Especially so for the younger boys. Men take forever to hit maturity anyways". I for one am sick of hearing men described as boys. In the eyes of the law they are men and should have to learn about responsible behaviour like anyone else and cop consequences like anyone else. If anything, they get more education about what is reasonable behaviour than any other young men in the country and yet when they stuff up we hear all the excuses. Sure they have a bit more cash than a lot of others and their faces are in the paper. I don't see why this should excuse them from community standards of behaviour.
Football_illiterate
Guest
care to complete this post now? or are we just taking cheap shots??
Zee
Roar Guru
Oh God. Imagine It did. GI.. Goodwin.. Merro.. Walker .... Fergo Woahh... ahh wont get my hopes up but fingers crossed
Squirrel
Guest
Slater what a legend
Muzz
Guest
Hahahaha well your a chance, he has to play somewhere and could make all the difference.
Zee
Roar Guru
Slater in a jail cell..... now theres karma workin its magic
Zee
Roar Guru
YES YES YES YES YES YES. He may be a dickhead of highest order but hes takwn the right steps WE ARE SCREAMING For a lethal centre. He needs a strict approach and I believe Madge will grt best outta him
Muzz
Guest
WHAT???
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Right on cue... Just in on Twitter Nine News Sydney @9NewsSyd #BREAKING: Confirmed that one @auskangaroos player has been detained by police at the #WorldCup in #England. #9NEWSat6 #NRL
JGK
Roar Guru
Does anyone know any more about Billy Slater's arrest?
samarni
Guest
Papers write anything to get a story, just because they were in the same location means nothing. We are talking about 2 mature young men who have dedicated 10 yrs of their young lives to this sport to make a future. I can asure you they were not involved
Muzz
Guest
Zee, If the South Sydney members were given the opportunity to vote on whether the club should sign Blake Ferguson,how would you vote?
蜘王
Guest
Shame on Dylan Walker!! How dare he be in a carpark at the same time as a fight broke out. Deserves 20 years in prison. Seriously though, the articles all say he was allegedly present when the fight took place. they do not say he was involved. only that he was there. that's not illegal. it's not being "wayward"
Mantis
Roar Guru
There are idiots everywhere, and sadly they rarely learn from their mistakes until it is too late. It occurs every day all over the world, it just so happens that these idiots are in the public eye.
catcat
Guest
It's the sponsors who ultimately decide...being a professional sportsperson means you essentially work in marketing and promotion part of the time, the rest of the time is sport related. If you don't like it play amateur sport.
Storm Boy
Guest
It's dangerous to expect all of us to behave to the standard now expected of NRL players? Really? Raising the bar of public behaviour by all of us to that level is dangerous? I seriously doubt coming down harder on footballers than the everyone else will make our streets any safer.
Billy Bob
Guest
Yes Storm Boy, and let's assess how many of the non-NRL idiots have had their images hyped to the stratosphere on Nine and in the Telegaph and sister papers. The hype feeds the egos that is part of the problem outlined in the article. And the hype creates expectations in the minds of young fans, some of whom might think its okay to go out and get involved in drunken brawls. Because their overhyped heroes do it. Not commenting about these two players - as I hope that they were not involved. But the principle of moral equivalence that you are offering here is a dangerous one. All codes have appeal to young sport loving idealists, and also to young people under pressure to make good life choices. All codes need these fans. All codes have a responsibility to offer leadership, and not excuses, to these fans.
Storm Boy
Guest
Quite right. And let's not let it end there just with our RL boys, let's name all the males present there that evening whether innocent bystanders or not, and let's name their employer, and let's demand these employers refer the matter to their integrity units, and let's demand to know what punishment they are going to take for being innocent bystanders to alleged crimes, and let's know what in the future they will do to stop their employees outside of work hours getting innocently caught up in these situations.