Mad Monday: Bulldogs nude romp latest end-of-season controversy
THE Bulldogs have form when it comes to Mad Monday celebrations but their indiscretions are just one thread in tapestry of outrages and atrocities from the NRL and beyond.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE Bulldogs have form when it comes to Mad Monday celebrations but their indiscretions are just one thread in tapestry of outrages and atrocities from the NRL and beyond.
The last time Canterbury players hit the headlines was in 2012 when they held their post-season party in what you’d imagine they believed were the safe and friendly confines of the club’s spiritual home at Belmore.
But it wasn’t to be. Players urinated on the grass at their home ground in full view of the media and later were heard hurling obscene comments at a female journalist.
BULLDOGS: Centre Josh Morris responds to outcry
‘EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING’: Peter Beattie responds to antics
After an investigation the club ruled the offensive comments were part of “player-on-player sledging” and donated $30,000 to charity as a mea culpa for their handling of the celebrations.
It was also on Mad Monday that former Canberra Raider Joel Monaghan performed a simulated sex act with a teammate’s dog, the controversy ending his career in the NRL.
Alcohol is always the main villain when Mad Monday drama hits the headlines but in recent years recreational drugs have begun to muscle their way towards centre stage.
Ben Barba infamously ended his first shot at redemption after testing positive to cocaine following the Cronulla Sharks’ 2016 premiership celebrations while disgraced Wests Tigers centre Tim Simona confessed to taking his first snort of cocaine on a Mad Monday cruise with a number of teammates.
Another Mad Monday hazard is when the inevitable drunken horsing around gets seriously physical.
Jason Taylor found that out to his great expense, both on the night and after the incident hit the headlines.
Taylor lost his job at South Sydney after it was revealed that Rabbitohs player David Fa’alogo punched him in the face after a “playful” jab in the stomach from his coach.
Fancy dress is as big a part of Mad Monday as jugs of beer and can also lead to drama if the player doesn’t choose wisely.
A number of Parramatta players capped their 2016 season from hell with a costume controversy.
Triple M’s Matty Johns was critical of the club’s decision to allow players to dress up for their end-of-season drinks after pictures emerged of Tepai Moeroa in a Osama bin Laden costume and Brad Takairangi sporting a Guantánamo Bay jumpsuit.
The Cronulla Sharks landed in hot water when they wound down after a year of controversy in 2014 at a popular wine bar (appropriately called Sauce) in Coogee.
The players themselves were on their best behaviour but photos of what appeared to be topless waitresses at the party were grist for the outrage mill.
But the NRL doesn’t have a monopoly on bad end-of-season behaviour, the AFL can hang its head with the best of them while the A-League gets a dishonourable mention.
Brendan Fevola is the best-known of the AFL’s Mad Monday miscreants due to multiple sex toy-related offences while a couple of Demons came under fire for going to their 2014 party dressed as Rolf Harris and a schoolgirl.
And at least one St Kilda player appeared to have betrayed the club’s nickname when he allegedly set fire to a “dwarf entertainer” in 2013.
Then-AFL boss Andrew Demetriou was later forced to apologise after appearing to laugh when asked about the incident on television.
The A-League’s sole representative in the Mad Monday walk of shame was also costume related, former Central Coast Mariners midfielder Andre Gumprecht causing so much controversy dressing up as Hitler in 2008 that he was forced to issue apologies to Jewish groups both in Australia and his home country of Germany.
Get ready for cricket like never before. FREE Sport HD + Entertainment until the first 4K cricket ball as part of 3 months free on a 12 month plan. SIGN UP TODAY. T&Cs apply.
Originally published as Mad Monday: Bulldogs nude romp latest end-of-season controversy
Sport Confidential: Bulldogs set to sign Addo-Carr replacement
The Bulldogs are on the verge of signing a replacement for Josh Addo-Carr, set to bring one of their former players back to Canterbury after his current club granted him permission to leave.
Gutherson granted permission by Eels to test open market
Clint Gutherson has been granted permission to test the open market following a meeting between the Eels captain and the club, with a club already looming as his potential next destination.