NRL to review trainer conduct as Penrith face fines and potential ban

3 months ago 22

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo says rules around trainer conduct and time on the field will be reviewed as Penrith face sanctions over a bizarre interference with Gold Coast kicker Jayden Campbell on Saturday.

The Panthers and yellow shirt trainer Corey Bocking are expected to be fined, and face a potential suspension, after Bocking ran in front of Campbell’s potential match-winning sideline conversion attempt at CBus Super Stadium.

Abdo declined to comment on any potential sanction from the incident, or the incident itself given the NRL’s usual review of weekend games takes place on Monday morning.

However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity given the impending review have indicated though that individual and club fines are likely. A potential ban for Bocking is also in play given suspensions were issued to Penrith trainer Shane Elford and Cowboys counterpart Mitch Dunn for squirting water on the ball earlier this year.

There is no suggestion the Panthers will be stripped of the two competition points from their golden-point victory over the last-placed Gold Coast.

Asked if trainer conduct would be among the NRL’s typical end-of-season review, Abdo said: “At the end of every season of course we look at all of that, and look at ways of refining the on-field rules, and that would include trainers. Nothing (is) planned at the moment, but we’ll definitely look at that at the end of the year.

“I completely understand the frustration of all fans, we’re there to watch the football and see the players. So, we’ll have a close look at it.”

The Panthers have been at the centre of multiple recent controversies involving trainers’ on-field behaviour.

Blue shirt trainer Elford, who is also Penrith’s head of football operations, was issued a two-game ban (one match suspended) earlier this year after both he and Dunn were found to have deliberately “contravened NRL rules”.

Both the Panthers and Cowboys were fined $10,000 for their trainers misconduct. In handing down the sanctions for Elford and Dunn, the NRL issued a public missive to “all clubs about the limitations of the roles of trainers on match days. Any action, other than those permitted under the NRL rules, may be considered a breach liable to sanctions”.

Penrith’s Pete Green was involved in the most notable trainer incident of the past five years in 2021, when he stopped a game late against Parramatta to attend to Mitch Kenny, a call which gave the Panthers a critical break that the NRL found was against the rules. Green was suspended for the rest of that season and Penrith were fined $25,000.

Bocking, who is also Penrith’s strength coach, raised his hand in apology to Campbell on Saturday when he appeared to realise that he had run in front of the Titan’s sideline conversion attempt.

Panthers football manager and blue shirt trainer Shane Elford sprays water on the ball before a golden point kick-off against North Queensland.

Campbell complained to referee Liam Kennedy both as he realigned the shot at goal and after missing his attempt. A successful conversion would have pushed the Gold Coast to a 28-24 lead with five minutes to go and taken the two-point field goal out of play for Penrith.

Nathan Cleary duly slotted a 40-metre drop-goal to send the game to extra-time, before Blaize Talagi sealed the premiers’ eighth straight win in golden point with a try.

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary apologised after fulltime and said Bocking’s intervention was “an honest mistake”, while Titans counterpart Des Hasler said a breach notice is “the only thing that’s going to come out of it.”

A Panthers trainer runs into the path of Jayden Campbell as he lines up a conversion.

Speaking on The Sunday Footy Show, NRL great and ex-NSW coach Brad Fittler suggested Campbell should have been afforded a second shot at goal from directly in front of the uprights, as is the case in an eight-point penalty try.

While Immortal halfback Andrew Johns didn’t take issue with what he saw as deliberate “gamesmanship” from Bocking, Fittler said “because of the misdemeanour, you get the goal from in front”.

An NRL official indicated on Sunday that there is no provision for such a move in the current rules, with trainer misconduct dealt with in off-field breach notices.

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