Nathan Cleary apology: NRL punishes Latrell Mitchell, Josh Addo-Carr for COVID breaches
ARLC boss Peter V’landys has declared players have run out of chances after three of the game’s superstars put the NRL’s return in jeopardy, with Penrith golden boy Nathan Cleary the latest to issue an apology.
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Penrith golden boy Nathan Cleary said he was sorry and “stuffed up” after he was fined $4000 for allowing a group of girls to party at his place on Anzac Day.
Cleary was photographed with a group of girls drinking on his couch.
“My sister’s friends and girls I have grown up with were drinking down the road on the street,” he told Nine News.
“They came by and popped in and said they were just waiting for an Uber before they went to someone else’s house.
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“In the time they were here there was a photo that was taken that I had no idea about until this morning.
He said the girls would have been drinking in his home for about 10 minutes.
The NSW Origin star sent his teammates an apology and had to tell his coach and father Ivan Cleary.
“I explained the situation to him and he said you shouldn’t have done that,” he told Nine News.
“It was very hard, I had a sick feeling in my stomach the whole time. Not only is he my coach but my dad at the same time.”
ARLC chairman Peter V’landys declared the next player to breach social distancing rules won’t get off as lightly.
“The next one will be harsher,” V’landys said. “We’ve given them the benefit of the doubt in this instance. Out of every negative is a positive and the positive here is that every player is on notice.
“Their actions are extremely important during this pandemic crisis.”
V’landys said the players were “on a good behaviour bond”.
“If they transgress again not only will they have to pay the rest of the fine they will be suspended and face further punishment,” V’landys said. “(They weren’t suspended) because it was believed that the clubs have done nothing wrong here.
“Once they go into the clubs control (from Monday) there is that suspension over their heads.” is that suspension over their heads.”
The apology comes after acting NRL chief Andrew Abdo says he isn’t concerned about punters feeling the game has gone soft, after stars Latrell Mitchell, Josh Addo-Carr and Cleary escaped suspension over serious social-distancing breaches.
Influential rugby league commentator Phil Gould had called on the NRL to hand down season-long bans to the trio, while Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga was also scathing on their conduct.
But all three will be free to play when the NRL looks to resume on May 28, with Abdo insisting significant fines of $20,000 for Mitchell and Addo-Carr and $4000 for Panthers halfback Cleary can act as enough of a deterrent for other players.
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Abdo also went out of his way to emphasise that the huge discrepancy between Mitchell and Addo Carr’s ($50,000 fines with 60 per cent suspended) penalty compared with Cleary’s ($10,000 fine with 60 per cent suspended) punishment had nothing to do with cultural or racial reasons.
Cleary was shown leniency because it was deemed he had unexpected visitors lob at his front door as opposed to the planned camping trip embarked on by Mitchell and Addo-Carr.
Abdo doesn’t believe the high-profile incidents have jeopardised the Government’s support of the NRL resuming on May 28, but did indicate that future breaches that occur once training restarts next week would likely result in suspensions.
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Todd Greenberg’s interim replacement faced questions over whether the NRL had hit the offenders with a feather duster and missed a chance to send strong messages to the rest of the competition by not banning them from NRL matches.
“We’ve considered a combination (fines and suspensions) in this particular case. The match ban is suspended. That gives the players an opportunity to think about their actions going forward and also gives the wider playing group an opportunity to realise what’s at stake here,” said Abdo.
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“Once we enter training … there’s a different context at play.”
Melbourne Storm flyer Addo-Carr can consider himself particularly fortunate given he had already been twice warned by police over social-distancing breaches before lobbing at Mitchell’s farm outside Taree.
Abdo said gun charges hovering over Mitchell and Addo-Carr from their camping getaway were not taken into consideration in the penalties.
Addo-Carr has been charged with use of an unauthorised firearm while Mitchell has been charged with allowing an unlicensed person to use a firearm.
The pair will face court in Taree in August.
The NRL acting boss was asked if the penalties passed the ‘pub test.’
“Everyone will have their views. My view is this is the financial penalty here is 50 times that of the public health order penalty ($1000),” said Abdo.
“And on top of that the potential of missing games is significant. Not only for them but for their teammates and clubs. But we believe this is only fair and appropriate for the circumstances, but everyone will have their view on that.
“Regardless of what individual punters might think, we believe this is appropriate for their actions, and on reflection this will affect the players and hopefully act as a deterrent for a lot of the players.”
Abdo said he doesn’t believe these highly-publicised incidents will derail the NRL’s plans to restart the competition before any other league in Australia.
“I have multiple concerns, and I’m focused on a number of things. I have the support of the commission and the support of Peter V’landys our Chairman, the commission and playing group,” he said.
“We’re working day and night. Any setback is a setback for all of us as a game but I’m not concerned about this particular issue derailing any of those discussions. My concerns are much broader than that.”
There have been judgements on social media about indigenous stars Mitchell and Addo-Carr copping heavier bans, particularly after Addo-Carr told The Daily Telegraph he had taken family members up to the South Sydney fullback’s farm for cultural reasons.
Abdo clarified why Mitchell and Addo-Carr were harder hit.
“As I said earlier all these matters are different. What’s happened with Latrell and Josh, a planned holiday in which there were activities involving camping and a wide number of people and we’ve all seen on social media the activities they’ve got up to,” he said.
“That’s very different to someone being at home. (Cleary’s actions) are still against the public health order but different to people attending to your home in a very short, unplanned period of time.
“The matters have been treated on the actions of the individual and this has nothing to do with cultural or race. It’s what to do with what’s expected of all our players. The standards we need to get to for our players and for our fans and community. Culture is not a factor in these sanctions.”
Gould has called on Cleary to be banned for the remainder of the NRL season.
Only a day after declaring Mitchell and Addo-Carr should be outed for the rest of the year after breaking COVID-19 regulations, the former Panthers GM suggested the same should now happen with Cleary, the 22-year-old playmaker he helped bring into both the NRL and NSW Origin side.
Gould took to Twitter on Monday to write: “No excuse. Serious breach. Granted Nathan says the incident was not planned, which obviously differs from the Josh/Latrell situation, however, players need to be vigilant. They need to protect themselves, their teammates, and the game. For mine, blanket penalties should apply.”
Asked in a later tweet if Cleary should also be banned for a year, Gould replied: “Absolutely. It’s irresponsible”.
Originally published as Nathan Cleary apology: NRL punishes Latrell Mitchell, Josh Addo-Carr for COVID breaches