Greg Inglis will be eligible for the Kangaroos captaincy if coach Mal Meninga sees fit in 2019.
Greg Inglis will be eligible to be returned to the Kangaroos captaincy as soon as next year after his first stint ended before it began on Tuesday.
Inglis was suspended for Australia’s Tests against New Zealand and Tonga on Tuesday, after he was charged with mid-range drink driving and speeding just hours after his appointment was announced on Monday morning.
The 31-year-old was replaced as captain by Sydney Roosters premiership-winning skipper Boyd Cordner, who also led NSW to a rare State of Origin series victory this year.
However it’s understood the decision won’t leave Inglis ineligible to resume the role when the Kangaroos play again at the end of next year, allowing Meninga the freedom to return him to the captaincy if he sees fit.
Meninga said in a statement on Tuesday he hoped to see Inglis back in the side in 2019, after the left centre had helped set up the team’s standards charter in 2016.
“I hope to see him back in a Kangaroos jersey next year,” Meninga said.
“Greg has been an integral part of the team for many years and I expect him to be back.
“Greg was in fact an integral part of the creation of the RISE values.
“No one respects those values more than Greg and we look forward to him returning to the team next year.
“As a result he’s accepted the penalty and I think he has shown real leadership by the way he has been accountable for his actions.”
Inglis was driving home from the Koori Knockout tournament in Dubbo when he was pulled over in Lithgow and allegedly returned a positive blood alcohol test with a reading of 0.085.
He said he had felt fine to drive after drinking the night before, but that he had now learned his lesson and would face court next month.
Inglis accepted the suspension on Tuesday, but only after he’d earlier voiced that he believed he deserved to keep the role of Kangaroos captain in an apologetic press conference.
“The status of the game and who I am as player and person in this community it’s not good enough,” Inglis said.
“Obviously we have standards there. I was in the meetings when we addressed those standards in the group a couple of years ago. It’s disappointing from my end.
“Through my playing career I’ve been playing for 13 years and I’ve never had a criminal charge laid against me. I just hope the NRL can work through this and we’ll go from there.”
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
Greg, no you "didn't make a mistake". You were irresponsible. Lucky you weren't involved in an accident. In your "face the media spiel" you mentioned you were in Dubbo "giving back to the community". Other sportsmen do that but behave responsibly in doing so.
Justine
Guest
If the Roo's win these two upcoming test matches, why should Boyd Cordner lose his Australian Captaincy next year? It's his now and he shouldn't be pushed aside to allow Greg back in.
Ray Paks
Roar Rookie
like I said mate, he brought that on himself. and you're out of your mind to think it's all about money. Word is they're taking huge pay-cuts for these test matches so 40K is an inflated figure. But hey, it's not like that amount of money would put a dent on his personal savings now would it? For GI, it is the honour of representing your country and that's where they need to come down hard..
db
Guest
Mitchell Pearce probably wishes he'd been caught drink driving instead of mucking around with a fluffy dog. It would have been a lot cheaper.
Magic Mike
Roar Rookie
Who is jason tamou?
El Loco
Roar Rookie
Or another suggestion: Don't use the Tamou incident as a baseline.
El Loco
Roar Rookie
Who knows? If you're honest with yourself, you do.
Paulie
Guest
Totally agree El Loco you hit the nail right on the head the man shruggs his shoulders says i stuffed up and moves on ...poor form Inglis be accountable for your actions.
Steve
Guest
Just a bit of a comparison for clarity. Jason Tamou was charged by police after recording an alcohol concentration level of 0.197 in 2013 when he was pulled over and tested at about 3.30am in a suburb of Townsville. Tamou was unlicensed as well. His punishment? A one match suspension and a $20,000 fine. If you use that incident as a baseline then GI has been more than adequately punished if you take into account his lost match payments. Tamou was pulled over at 3am and was 2 and a half times the level GI was.....as well as being unlicensed!!! So yeah.....Move on I reckon.
Steve
Guest
Didn't say anything about a five hour drive. But I've had big nights and driven down to the store and back the next afternoon....was I over the limit? Maybe...who knows? I never got breath tested so we'll never know. Whether its a 5 hour drive or a 5 minute one, they are both drink driving. Anyway....I said what he did was totally stupid. Of all the available options available he took the dumbest one...that's indisputable. As I said....if it was me I would have caught a plane.
Magnum PI
Guest
Steve, do you think... A) anyone that gets caught drink driving does so knowing they might be, or certainly are, over the limit and drives anyway? OR B) as you appear to be saying, that every person that gets done for drink driving does it unknowingly?
Arcturus
Roar Rookie
Seriously? We've all probably done this? A big booze up the night before a five hour drive? Not me, and hopefully not anyone else.
Steve
Guest
Gees what a bunch of self righteous people commenting. I guarantee just about every one of you would have driven over the limit unknowingly the day after a big night out. All of you probably thought you were fine...the only difference was you didn't get caught. Having said that it was a dumb decision by GI. What the hell is wrong with catching a plane...he can certainly afford it on his salary. He's been sufficiently punished in my opinion....lost the captaincy and has done himself out of 60 grand or so. Move on.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
Match payments for 2 tests is $40,000. If you think that missing out on $40k is getting off scot-free, then you are divorced from reality.
Ray Paks
Roar Rookie
yeah he brought the humiliation to himself, deprived himself of the highest honour, gave up the match payments himself. I'm not interested in penalties from outside the NRL. But inside the NRL, what have they done? Just suspended for 2 test matches? Seriously? That's getting off scot-free if you ask me. He's come out and said adamantly he refuses to give up the captaincy, that only reveals he has little integrity if any at all. The things Mal is saying from the article, gee you really start to wonder the captaincy gig was locked in a while back and it was like his birth right or something..
BA Sports
Roar Guru
I like that he says that like it is some sort of badge of honour and something to be proud of - Actually Greg if you hadn't been charged in 13 years, it would simply mean you are meeting the very basic social standards of behaviour.
Mac
Guest
Seriously what a joke. I guess Mal's stance doesn't surprise me given that he was part of panel that awarded Billy Slater the Origin player of the series. Guess now you can drink drive and still be eligible to captain the country, play two games in a losing series and be player of the series and if you kick someone in the neck while they are lying on the ground it's no biggie either, pay a fine and play the next game for your country no worries.
El Loco
Roar Rookie
He hasn't been deprived of the sport's highest honour, he's failed to live up to the standards it requires.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
He has been publicly humiliated, deprived of the sport’s highest honour, and lost out on tens of thousands of dollars in match payments. He will presumably face further penalties from the criminal justice system. It’s not like he’s gotten off scot-free.
Magnum PI
Guest
“Through my playing career I’ve been playing for 13 years and I’ve never had a criminal charge laid against me." Really Greg? What a shame the lily-livered media didn't pick him up on this false statement.