The NRL must come down harshly on the Penrith Panthers and trainer Corey Bocking for a controversial incident over the weekend, according to a leading journalist.
Bocking ran right in front of Titans goalkicker Jayden Campbell as he lined up for goal. Campbell would end up missing the kick which would have given the Gold Coast a 28-24 lead. Instead, the Panthers forced golden point and won the game.
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Panthers coach Ivan Cleary apologised to the Titans but claimed it was an accident. Unfortunately for the Gold Coast, the apology does nothing to change the result.
The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield says the incident “wasn’t in the spirit of the game” and expects the NRL to hand down some tough penalties to the Panthers.
“They have to come back hard on the trainer don’t they?” Rothfield said on the Big Sports Breakfast radio show.
“What happened with the trainer definitely comes under the category of not being in the spirit of the game. I won’t say it was deliberate because I can’t prove that it was but it certainly looked like a tactic to put the kicker off.
“I think they have to come down very heavily on the club and the trainer and suspend him a couple of weeks and probably a $20,000 fine.
“I spoke to key people at the NRL on Saturday night and they were furious about what happened and they will come down hard on the Panthers.
“It was unacceptable what happened. If you let him go off lightly, it’ll start happening around the game. You have to make sure that no one ever does that again.”
Campbell’s conversion missed right and he was furious, throwing the kicking tee in frustration.
NRL legend Brad Fittler opined on Channel 9 that Campbell should have been given another shot attempt right in front.
“You look at Jayden’s response, that is the best response to look for as to how much trouble he should get into,” Fittler said.
“It’s interesting what the law could say, you could nearly say, because of the misdemeanour, you get the goal from in front.
“It’s a shame they didn’t do it. The responsible thing would have been, you saw the reaction from Jayden Campbell, move the kick in front.”
In response to Fittler’s comments, Rothfield explained that under the NRL’s current rule book, there was no scope for the referee to give the Titans another attempt from in front.
However, he thinks it is something the league’s powerbrokers should consider.
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“I think that’s a great idea,” Rothfield said.
“I checked with the NRL and there is no rule that would have allowed the referee to do a rekick from the position he was in, but the NRL are renowned for changing rules on the run.
“You know what it’s like with pressure at the business end of the season, the clubs will get up to anything for even the slightest advantage and I feel that’s what happened here.”
It’s not the first time a Panthers trainer has been embroiled in controversy this season.
Back in May, Penrith trainer Shane Elford was caught red-handed spraying a football with liquid before the opening kick off of the first golden point period.
“Penrith are up there with one of the greatest rugby league sides I’ve ever seen. They don’t need the rubbish the other day to win football games,” Rothfield continued.
“I don’t think they’re cheaters, although they’ve had a couple of trainer incidents that have been poor.”
The incident has sparked plenty of debate on whether Bocking’s actions were deliberate or an innocent mistake.
Fox League’s Bryan Fletcher and Nathan Hindmarsh couldn’t agree.
“He knew what he was doing,” Fletcher said.
“No he didn’t. That was an honest mistake,” Hindmarsh responded.
