Northern Pride coach: ‘There’s no place for abuse in the game’
Pride coach Ty Williams backed his players’ conduct throughout the Lightning Challenge, but warned any player found to have abused match officials after a second game was abandoned.
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Northern Pride coach Ty Williams has backed his players over their conduct throughout the Lightning Challenge, but fired a warning to any player found to have abused match officials.
Saturday’s game between Cairns Brothers and the Northern Pride Reef Kings was sensationally abandoned with 20 minutes left to play due to referee abuse.
It is the second time a game between the sides was called off in the past month.
Williams defended the referees’ decision,saying there was no place for abuse in the game.
“There’s no place for it within the game,” Williams said.
“If the abuse is getting hurled at the officials and (the players are) showing them no respect, then the guys did what they had to do and they’ve been guided that if they feel it’s not there, they call it off.
“It was a disappointing end but you have to remember that without these guys (referees), we don’t play.
“We have to toe the line and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
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Williams said he had already consulted with Cairns District Rugby League officials about the way to move forward, seeking clarification on what the underlying issues had been in those contests.
“It’s something we need to address,” the former Maroons winger said.
“I have had the discussion with the CDRL just about finding out exactly what the drama has been over the last couple of games that has happened, and making sure we as a club, if it’s a drama within our club, then we need to stamp it out pretty quickly.
“I’ll address the playing group again … but I have to commend my players, they’ve held themselves to a high standard over the past six weeks considering what has happened.
“Each and every one of them has been outstanding.”
The one-off Lighting Challenge, a joint effort between the CDRL and the Northern Pride, was established to help promote the game during the coronavirus-affected season. CDRL operations manager Pat Bailey said incidents like the one on the weekend only took the game backwards.
She said the match officials, although young, had been involved in the game for quite some time and were reasonably thick-skinned, but they had clearly had enough.
“They were really upset with some of the things that were being said,” she said.
“They don’t need to be out there getting abused.
“It’s hard enough to get young referees into the game and to keep them.
“We have got to fix these problems now and that’s through educating the clubs, the coaches and the players that it is just not acceptable.”
Northern Pride Reef Kings will enter the last round of the six-week Lightning Challenge with a full-strength side as Williams rewards players for their good form.
Reef Kings will face Tully while the Giants take on Cairns Brothers. Both games are at Tully on Saturday.
Originally published as Northern Pride coach: ‘There’s no place for abuse in the game’