The deputy headmaster at my high school was the disciplinarian. If you mucked up, the ultimate threat was being sent to Brother Anthony’s office.
With his booming baritone, down-to-earth vocabulary and unparalleled command of the pause, you could hear a pin drop when he addressed the school.
And when he was on the warpath, he had an uncanny way of making you feel like he was singling you out as the target of his wrath in a sea of students.
Years later, my Dad explained to me the genius of Brother Anthony’s rampages (my apologies, Brother, if this is revealing the proverbial magician’s trick to any of your current students).
The key was to go absolutely ballistic over something small – say, graffiti on classroom desks.
It was an affront to the school; showed a complete lack of respect. The people who did it were an embarrassment to their form, their family and themselves. Graffiti was a pathetic way for someone to try leave their mark on this hallowed institution of learning.
Woe betide the boys foolish enough to have committed this low, disgusting act. There would be hell to pay.
I would cower in my seat – I’d probably spilled some white-out on a desk at some stage during the school year, what if he was talking about me?
And that was the intent. He knew the chances of catching the desk ‘artists’ were negligible. What’s more, he probably wasn’t really that bothered by the ink – cleaning it off was a common enough punishment in detention.
No, Brother Anthony was sending a message: If I’m this pissed off over a few pen marks, imagine how I’m going to react if you do something really bad.
The issue, of course, is that there wasn’t really much left in the tank. Detention, suspension, expulsion – that’s pretty much all he had in his arsenal, and the latter two were never going to apply for someone who scrawled ‘Joe was here’ on a desk.
And the boys who were regularly sent to his office knew as much. But his performances weren’t for them.
He lost it for the sake of us boys who were on the straight and narrow – he knew a semi-regular tactical nuclear strike would keep us there.
This week, the Newcastle Knights got the ‘graffiti’ treatment, as Jacob Saifiti was fined a whopping $50,000 – 25 per cent of his annual salary – for an off-field incident.
“We think the penalty warrants the behaviour we are trying to put a stop to,” Knights CEO Phil Gardner told the Newcastle Herald.
So what was “the behaviour we are trying to put a stop to”?
In the early hours of Sunday, December 2, Saifiti got into an altercation outside the Greenroof Hotel in Hamilton, copped a punch, fell awkwardly, and broke his leg.
He was swiftly cleared by police of any wrongdoing, while another man was arrested and charged with reckless grievous bodily harm.
Upon the news of said other man being arrested, the Knights released a statement which read, in part: “Saifiti has been exonerated by the police investigation from any culpability following an incident outside the Greenroof Hotel last week.
“Saifiti attempted to defuse a situation involving other innocent bystanders, which led to his assault and charges have been laid.”
So the young prop tries to settle a situation down – and, by the way the media release is worded, is a valiant hero to “innocent bystanders” – and he loses a quarter of his yearly paycheque for his efforts?
Obviously there was more to it than that, with Gardner Herald saying of the situation, “… Regardless of the rights or wrongs, it has brought the game and the club into a level of disrepute…
“Culturally, it’s just not acceptable to put yourself in that situation fullstop.”
Still, it’s pretty clear that Saifiti has been made an example of – one which should have every other player wondering, “If Phil’s this pissed off over J-Saf having a beer and getting punched, imagine how he’s going to react if I do something really bad.”
It’s a strong line to draw in the sand, with Gardner saying that a 25 per cent wage fine would be the new benchmark for off-field misbehaviour, and “to go above that, you are looking at suspensions or terminations”.
Sadly, days later, an alleged incident that does “go above that” was brought to light, as centre Tautau Moga was charged with assault.
“We have been notified of an incident and we expect the player to be charged if he hasn’t already been,” Gardner told the Newcastle Herald.
“We won’t take any direct action against the player until that plays out. My understanding is he slapped a taxi driver.
“If he pleads guilty, then we will deal with it under our new behaviour policy.”
Under the Saifiti standard, this would surely mean Moga is sent packing – and the Herald reported that “Gardner would not rule out the possibility that Moga could be sacked by the club.”
Strong talk from the Knights boss. And about time too, because the Knights have a history in this town of drinking a skinful and acting like they own the joint (although, it should be said, the change in this has been noticeable since Wests took over).
But the cynic in me still wonders what head office would have said if it had been a high-profile player – Mitchell Pearce, Kalyn Ponga or David Klemmer, for example – under the microscope.
Reckon the Knights would garnish their yearly wage to the tune of 25 per cent or give them the boot?
Phil Gardner’s done a great job setting a standard and I applaud him for it. But while going nuclear keeps the majority on the straight and narrow – meaning you avoid plenty of potential problems – it also leaves you with very little wiggle room the next time something like this inevitably occurs.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Maybe you could follow your own advice and cease being outraged by crap. Hypocrisy isn't a desirable trait.
Knight Vision
Guest
would expect this comment from a person who's opinion is so highly thought of by his peers. You reek of being a loser.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Surely you're not wasting your time reading trivial articles about a meaningless sport and then, with the greatest irony, becoming outraged yourself. Did you mistakenly find yourself on this site and somehow waste time reading and replying to it when you could have been doing something important. The arts , sport , leisure , debating sport etc may be a waste of time to you but spare us the outraged lecture on the topic.
AngryEagle47
Roar Rookie
And using your device has contributed, so why don’t you go save rescue a fish or feed a stray cat ?
Knight Vision
Guest
Oh the generation of outrage. Are people so intellectually bankrupt that this crap is outrageous to them? A species a day disappears from the earth, a football field of forest destroyed every second and 20,000 children die every day from lack of clean water and food and this is what makes people outraged ? Seriously ? .....SERIOUSLY ?????
BA Sports
Roar Guru
Joe, the problem I have with your analogy (of the School principal/Brother) is that you are talking about a way of disciplining and instilling values in children. NRL players are men.
BA Sports
Roar Guru
Do you know all the facts? The Knights actually investigated it, did you? Maybe you did, if so I would love to hear what you found out.. They wouldn't fine a guy for no reason, and if they did, well yeah, it is poor form. But there is nothing to gain from that other than pip off your entire roster.
Edward Kelly
Roar Guru
The Brothers I knew at school were mostly pedophiles. Just saying.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
I believe the NRL is still pretending that he was out of control on the night. Surely they wouldn't be punishing him based on the allegations against him? It's just normal to hand out heavy punishments to players who have had a couple too many? Unrelated to the charges against him?
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
The next Knights player to be on the turps for 12 hours (apparently) will also be fined if that’s what the crime is? As the author says they have set the bar very high and made an example out of someone. What are they going to do if one of their top 3 players gets drunk and then actually does something wrong? Stick to their guns and sack him? You seem to have missed the real BS. If Kaylan Ponga committed exactly the same breach which is apparently being on the turps for 12 hours and being in a pub at 1.30 with clouded judgement the chance that he or any other player would be fined anything is zero. He in effect is being fined for an incident in which he was the innocent victim just like the Brett Stewart case. If your BS detector works at all then it would pick that up.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
Never at any stage said that Saffiti did anything worthy of a police charge..all I've said is that if he hadnt have been on the turps for 12 hours,leading to him being in a place with heavily clouded judgement and making fateful decisions, the sliding door wouldnt have opened..do you really think the club slapped him with such a fine for 'trying to help someone' ? It's a tip toe thru the BS...and you seem to have picked some up on your shoe. Support the club 100% on this..this kind of behaviour has gone on for far too long..time to start deregistering.
AngryEagle47
Roar Rookie
Brett Stewart got fined , so did Manly and a judge proved him innocent, wonder what the interest is worth on that illegally obtained money
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Your whole report of the episode does contradict the fact that the police cleared him of any wrong doing. What evidence do you have to question his 'blameless' status? You're beating around the bush suggesting that their is more to it and that he was pushing and shoving someone inside the pub and then carried on with the same incident outside. Why exactly didn't the police charge him in that case? Brett Stewart was suspended by the NRL after he was falsely accused of assaulting someone on trumped up charges of being drunk and disorderly because they felt like they had to do something. If he wasn't falsely accused he would never have been suspended on these trumped up charges. Probably the same with Saffiti. All reports have him trying to help someone and getting a broken leg for his troubles. Plenty of people have suffered when trying to help someone and plenty have lost their life helping. The cub should explain exactly why they fined him $50,000 instead of beating around the bush. What do I think 'innocent' means in the context of two league players pushing and shoving in the street? It doesn't matter what I think about it because I will assume that when the cops asses a situation and declare that someone is innocent that they are indeed innocent until proven otherwise. I'm sure the cops will be glad to hear your version of the events however but they might ask you whether you were a witness before they waste their time. A young bloke killed two older blokes in his house fairly recently with a kitchen knife. After hearing the evidence he was released because he was found to have done nothing wrong. The fact that he let a woman in to his house who these blokes were after and therefore placed himself in this position doesn't mean that someone needs to slap a fine on him. You seem to be in intent on hinting strongly that the Newcastle player assaulted someone but how do you know that and why wasn't he charged in that case?
Big Daddy
Guest
If the club have a set of rules and he has knowingly broken them I'm fine with the penalty. Because the police haven't charged him with anything doesn't mean he will get off Scott free. His stupidity has caused him an injury which puts his immediate career well behind others and put pressure on the club as far as playing numbers are concerned. Newcastle have sent a message to their players they will not tolerate this sort of behaviour. Pity the other clubs didn't follow suit.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
No club has ever fined an innocent player $50k..so work backwards from that premise... Its not about being out at 1:30..it’s about 12 hours of public binge drinking that lead to a potential contract termination incident.. Wife and son is an illustration of the thoughtlessness and recklessness..his loss of income from this for this season and any future even minor indiscretion will be the end of him here which cruelly damages the lives of the true ‘innocent bystanders’ ..his family.. Not contradicting the police,it was the club statement that used the term ‘diffusing’..clearly the club is attempting to attract some sympathy for the player.. Well,what do you think ‘innocent’ means in the context of 2 league players pushing and shoving in the street ? Again,to me it’s the clubs flowery language garnishing public mitigation for the dumb predicament he got himself in.. Coach Brown was reportedly furious as were other board members on hearing this,so wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Moga marched..
WarHorse
Roar Rookie
And Im talking about the Saifti case
WarHorse
Roar Rookie
There are not enough detailed facts released about this story to make a judgement either way. But going by the scant information available the punishment seems over the top.
AngryEagle47
Roar Rookie
Or film it and end up in prison like Seinfeld and all him mates
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Plenty of clubs have and will turn a blind eye to a player being out at 1.30 after being at several pubs unless they're forbidden from doing it. Unless they have breached the law or the clubs code what are they guilty of? How is having a wife and young son got anything to do with it? You seem to be contradicting the police by suggesting that he was escalating the situation rather than diffusing it. You also seem to believe that because he was thrown out along with Cordner that that somehow proves that he was guilty of something. He isn't charged with anything. What on earth has him being a so called 'local identity' got to do with him being blameless or otherwise? 'Innocent bystanders' is clubspeak for 'gathered mob' , so if a club ever uses the term 'innocent bystander' then it can be taken as gospel that the club is really talking about some sort of 'gathered mob' ?
souvalis
Roar Rookie
Firstly the incident occurred at the 12 th hour of J. Safs farewell bender to Yates..most of the others had the sense to go home long before..a rep.of the club at his 3rd pub of the day/night..bending.What club would turn a blind eye to that ? Secondly,Saffiti (the one with the wife and young son ) and Cordener were wobbling outside that pub at 1:30 a:m because they had just been thrown out by security for pushing and shoving inside.This is where he just had to get in a cab,respect the game,the club and his income..but nah.. He attempts 'to diffuse a situation' the same situation he'd just been kicked out for ?..why didnt security just separate them and throw Cordener out if Saf. was blameless..after all hes the local identity here..'innocent bystanders' is clubspeak for 'gathered mob', and where theyve tried to temper the incident. The fine is justified (25k suspended) and fair,the player 'very remorseful'..fortunate his contract wasnt torn up in the environment the game is currently in..I wouldnt blink an eyelid if Moga gets Newie 'nuked'..kudos to the club..we should be thru playing with these guys..