A guaranteed way to rein in off-season bad behaviour

I don't think it matters if you are punching a policeman or your mate, you really shouldn't be doing it. My point it that it used to be dealt with by the courts and that would be the end. And the smart ones would never end up there again. Now it is front page news for any minor incident because of the media and the public's never ending lust for scandal. All proportion has been lost.

Not knowing exactly what happened myself but if Fafita has assaulted a person employed as a security guard, probably falls into assaulting a person doing their job. It’s not two drunks arguing in a taxi line or who gets the next dance with the girl stuff. It’s almost akin to a waiter refusing to give you more grog. If a policeman asks you to leave and you punch him it’s no different or is it?

What I am suggesting is you are wanting it apply "get off my lawn" adult behaviour to what are essentially children. You might think you are still hip, but them it's ok boomer to you.

It's sad to think the poor behaviour problem is caused because people are capturing the stupidity on phones in todays society. Are you suggesting looking the other way is best practice because years ago you were allowed to get away with drunken, violent, disgustingly poor behaviour? A large % of players party hard and good % probably push the envelope of poor behaviour. A small % face the consequences in my opinion. They get paid handsomely by the NRL for being in a high profile entertainment business. Fafita is young and hopefully he learns something about drinking and violent behaviour. To simple say "leave them alone" is not the solution IMO.

The "good" reward is likely to yield better results. The problem is when rewards happen inadvertently for bad outcomes.

yes, that's right - because nothing can ever go wrong when violence enters the picture - and while we're at it, we shouldn't worry about domestic violence as that being a busybody and they all asked for it anyway.

You're right I wasn't hanged, I was fined and put on restrictions to better remind me to not be late for work. It's an effective lesson and something that I am glad happened because it promotes self reliance, accountability and discipline. It's a lesson a lot of people should learn.

What an excellent "to the point" comment you could very easily replace Gould in the Nine brains trust

Question.......why do many NRL Players go off the rails during the offseason? They are very tightly controlled from Jan to Oct...then Bang in Nov/Dec they are let loose the slow learners..head to Bali (the place there was a terrorist bombing a few years ago) plenty of others "let their hair down".....because they are no longer controlled.... history repeats itself....year after year after year.

Except real life isn't the navy. And being 30 minutes late to work is hardly a hanging offence. It's kinda sad you remember the time you were late to work as a young fella because of the excessive punishment.

Great comment. Trying to make everything black and white ensures nobody gets justice.

I should also add that you have to consistently reward good behaviour with a good outcome too to reinforce that...although it’s more challenging as ‘good’ is mostly the expected outcome

Here's my suggestion: leave the players alone. Stop watching and reporting on their behaviour. It's nobody's business.

Sorry, I should actually put that in context. I’m not a fan of this idea of EVERY first offence gets six weeks, EVERY second offence gets 12 etc. I think it’s unworkable and would immediately lead to inconsistency. Someone gets fined for jaywalking - 6 weeks. Someone charged with assault - 6 weeks. That’s not consistency When I speak about consistency I mean that negative behaviours have to be met with negative outcomes. If negative behaviours are met with positive or neutral outcomes the behaviour is reinforced You have to be consistent in that approach, not that every punishment for every offence is exactly the same

I've found the opposite. As I've gotten older I've realised the value of context for behaviours. Treating two different contexts identically often just exacerbates the difference.

Being a young person he could be excused because of his inexperience and he will probably learn by it , but there are older guys who don't learn. If you think this will stop players going to places like Bali it won't as they are a target wherever they go.

Look at it this way. I am ex Navy. In that organisation if you mess up it costs you money and time. For example one fateful day I was 30 minutes late for work, that cost me $100 and 5 days of restriction of privileges ROP (not allowed to leave the ship, extra work and needing to report to the officer of the day on a regular basis to ensure I was still there). I wasn't late for work again. Another fateful day I was drinking heavily and getting into mischief, resulting in the Police escorting me back to the ship with the understanding that I would not be let off again lest I be arrested. That night out cost me $1000 and 21 days ROP. The point being if you have a set of rules, and enforce them it does pull people into line. Whilst I was never late again I had to get other lessons a few times before the consequences of my actions truly sank in. Even drunk, you will start to realise picking fights for fun will cost you in the long run. It's worth a try, better than what is happening now.

How about the NRL just fine the Ass out of the donkeys for bring the game into disrepute.

What if you were arrested because you were protesting against vaccines for example, does that count?

Whatever "rules" are implemented, as the saying goes "you can't put brains in a statue".