More bad behaviour

[Masterton]

No I don’t think it’s opening things up for abuse or blackmail. I just can’t see a rash of people making false allegations against players

It's true that MOST people would never even consider it, but have a look at Brett Stewart and SKD to see that false accusations are made. In the past, an innocent player could just say, "See you in court. The truth will come out.", but now he may miss the semis while waiting for justice.

I can understand the NRL's stance. The public turns against them if they do nothing. But, sooner or later, this will happen.

 

[mike]

I think that is very naive thinking but you are entitled to your opinion.

 

[diedpretty]

So what happens if Saints say if he ain't playing we ain't paying. Will the NRL foot the bill?

 

[Nelson]

It’s true that MOST people would never even consider it, but have a look at Brett Stewart and SKD to see that false accusations are made. In the past, an innocent player could just say, “See you in court. The truth will come out.”, but now he may miss the semis while waiting for justice.

Well we don't know that they were false accusations in those cases, all we know is that a jury were not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of guilt and that's a very high standard. There is unfortunately no mechanism for proving innocence in our justice system, so it's not safe to assume that someone is a false accuser just because there has been a verdict of not guilty. In the SKD case it was heard before a Magistrate and so reasons were given and those reasons were strongly suggestive of him concluding that she had fabricated and/or exaggerated the allegations but you don't get that with a jury verdict.

 

[Nelson]

I think that is very naive thinking but you are entitled to your opinion.

I've got a lot of experience in the criminal law. You might disagree with me but I'm not naive when it comes to criminal matters.

 

[Harvey]

I think it was pretty clear that the findings in the SKD case was that the accusations would not have been made if a financial payment was made.

So now any NRL player has the prospect of having their career derailed by a jilted partner.

The victim does not face the same exposure or consequences for false allegations.

Add Sami Radradra to the list of NRL players where the criminal justice system has been used as a revenge tool.

 

[Fraze23]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/coupler.foxsports.com.au/api/v1/article/amp/nrl/nrl-premiership/teams/cowboys/nrl-to-force-scott-bolton-to-visit-16-clubs-and-show-them-cctv-footage-of-his-assault-on-woman/news-story/c5c83baf07086ba9ea061f2b1af2a521

I guess this must be the fairness they were talking about. I wonder when GI will be doing his drink driving talk at the 15 other clubs or Dylan Napa and safe sex.

 

[Tweed_Tiger]

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/the-five-nrl-players-whose-fate-lie-in-todd-greenbergs-hands/news-story/da695c0f881adecfe427490dd9bcbad8

# The FIVE NRL players whose fate lie in Todd Greenberg’s hands

## There’s five rugby league players currently whose immediate fate lie in the hands of the NRL chief, Todd Greenberg.

The ARL Commission altered their policy on Thursday to give Greenberg greater discretionary power in standing down players who have been charged with serious criminal offences.

The new policy states any player charged with an offence which carries a maximum jail sentence of 11 years or more will be immediately stood down. The no-fault stand-down will run for the duration of the court process.

But for players charged with criminal offences which don’t reach the 11-year threshold, Greenberg can still choose to stand them down from the game indefinitely.

There’s five players currently with ongoing court cases. With his new powers, Greenberg will need to make decisions on all five of these individuals, and quickly.

That list doesn’t include Jarryd Hayne, who is not currently registered with the NRL and so doesn’t fall under Greenberg’s jusidiction.

Hayne has pleaded not guilty to aggravated sexual assault. He’s alleged to have bitten a woman on the genitalia at a house in the Hunter on the night of the NRL grand final.

The list also doesn’t include Ben Barba, who has already been dumped from the game and had his contract with North Queensland torn up. Now his former Cowboys teammate Scott Bolton, whose court case has already been completed, although he may yet face further punishment from the NRL.

**DYLAN WALKER**

It’s been reported the NRL will impose a three-month stand-down on the Manly centre, which will run past his next court appearance on May 10.

Walker has pleaded not guilty to two charges of common assault stemming from an incident with his partner in December.

It’s alleged an argument over a PlayStation game led to Walker pulling his partner’s hair, causing her to fall to the ground while holding a baby. Neighbours who witnessed the alleged incident have testified in court.

Walker has played in the Sea Eagles’ trial games but it’s expected Greenberg will stand the player down.

**ZANE MUSGROVE and LIAM COLEMAN**

The two players have been charged with indecently assaulting a 22-year-old woman at a Coogee hotel in November.

In January they both pleaded not guilty in court. The matter is yet to be resolved.

Musgrove was signed by Wests Tigers for the 2019 season but his contract is yet to be registered by the NRL, meaning he technically falls outside Greenberg’s jurisdiction. But Greenberg will have the final say on whether a contract is registered at all in the future.

Coleman is outside Penrith’s top NRL squad and so also technically falls outside the jurisdiction. However the NSW Rugby League will uphold the stand-down policy implemented by the NRL and ARLC.

**TAUTAU MOGA**

The Newcastle centre is alleged to have slapped a taxi driver on Boxing Day after a day out at the races.

Moga will face court on March 21 to answer a charge of common assault.

He has continued to train with the Knights but hasn’t yet played a trial game.

**MICHAEL CHEE KAM**

The Tigers player and another man are accused of assaulting a ride share driver while out in Bondi on a night in January.

It’s alleged the driver of the car was punched repeatedly through the window, and Chee Kam and his friend were arrested a short time later.

They were charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault.

Chee Kam has been named to play this week’s trial against the Warriors.

 

[mike]

Never said you were naive but your thinking on this matter is. This is not a criminal decision. It’s weak leadership buckling to the squeaky wheel. I can only imagine the non criminal lawyers would be rubbing there hands with glee with this decision. Lawsuits here we come.

 

[Nelson]

Never said you were naive but your thinking on this matter is. This is not a criminal decision. It’s weak leadership buckling to the squeaky wheel. I can only imagine the non criminal lawyers would be rubbing there hands with glee with this decision. Lawsuits here we come.

Well they might be rubbing their hands because they sense the opportunity to get paid to run an interesting case, but that doesn't mean they'll win. If a case is brought and is shot down with costs then we can revisit the naivety of my thinking. I'm pretty sure the ARLC will have taken advice on their exposure from some pretty well recognised specialists in the area and they've decided to take the course they've taken.

 

[mike]

You might be right but I have absolutely zero confidence in the current administration and their ability to make the tough decision needed. They just go for the path of least resistance, which ultimately makes the game poorer and weaker.

 

[The_Patriot]

One of the few things the NRL has got right. Stand these players down.

As for the RLPA well they need to have a good hard look at themselves, there is no injustice here, its full pay. This is better than most sports around the world. These trumped up ex players need to pull their heads in.

 

[JD Tiger]

Incredible, that they make a hard and fast rule concerning anyone facing charges which carry with them more than an 11 year jail term, and then say anything less than is up to the discretion of a person who says he will not be consistent.

I'm over this. I (like most if not all of us here) have been heavily invested in my Wests Tigers and one of their contributing teams for many years now. I love the camaraderie, the identity as a team, us versus the rest, the underdog, the pride in belonging.

But this, this is just blatant hypocrisy, blatant unfairness. If we can't even pretend to be competing fairly, then what's the point. I don't live in Sydney, so i rarely get to see games live these days and hence rarely get to see the Reserve grade. But does the lower grades show the passion in the jersey? Is that where I need to look and get away from the toxicity in the NRL at present?

 

[prattenparkchild]

Did Beattie really say we need to be consistent and then Greenburg say he needed freedom to judge without consistency on a case by case basis? If so, the Laurel and Hardy show cant get any more comical- they cant even get their message straight and co-ordinated for a high profile press conference.

Jeez, fills you with confidence and pride in their stewardship of the game (not).

 

[JD Tiger]

I couldn't hear the press conference, but I was reading the comments from people on facebook. And from those comments, that's the exact impression I got was said. Beattie said we'll be consistent, Greenturd said he'll be fair, not consistent… Can anyone that heard it (or read it or whichever) shed more light on that?

 

[Tweed_Tiger]

Beattie likes the sound of his voice but doesn't know whats going on

 

[Nelson]

I couldn’t hear the press conference, but I was reading the comments from people on facebook. And from those comments, that’s the exact impression I got was said. Beattie said we’ll be consistent, Greenturd said he’ll be fair, not consistent… Can anyone that heard it (or read it or whichever) shed more light on that?

I didn't hear the press conference but heard Ben Fordham repeating parts of what was said by Greenberg and it was along those lines - he was harping on about the "not consistent but fair" part. It's like Greenberg has had no media training at all or just didn't understand the importance of staying on point with "consistency" (which is even more of a worry).

I can understand why they might want to have the power to stand players down that are charged with < 11 year offences but if they're going to have that then they should develop a set of guidelines that they'll apply and make them public. If they did that then Greenberg could have talked about consistency of standards and consistency of process even if he couldn't promise consistency of outcome (which you can't in any case where there is a discretion). They should also probably form an independent body to deal with these issues to address public concerns over the NRL favouring certain clubs, although maybe that's precisely why they don't want to hand over that power to another body…

 

[earl]

The problem in today's day and age is that people will use the legal system as a tool to hurt another person even if the allegations are false.

 

[jadtiger]

Yes that is what was said Beattie wants consistency but Toddles claims that he wants discretion(he called it fairness).I am a cynical old bloke but i can only assume Toddles wants to keep on looking after his mates clubs and kicking the guts of the others like WT.
Toddles is the worst possible CEO even Gallop and Arko were better than this bloke

 

[Furious1]

I watched it on Fox. Beattie said we want to be consistent. Greenberg said there is no consistency across the game and that it’s basically impossible, which is why he prefers to aim for fairness instead.