Paul Kent: Penrith Panthers should release unedited audio of trainer and club doctor

As Penrith stumbles over which version events best suits them, the club claims audio clears their trainer Pete Green. PAUL KENT asks why can’t the grand finalist release the full, unedited version?

Panthers trainer Pete Green (C) being escorted from the field by Penrith officials.

Trouble began mostly because Cody Walker was captured on film at game’s end blowing up at what was an odd sight, the Penrith trainer Pete Green.

Walker was clearly incensed, the sleuths later determining as the world wondered that he was coming to the protection of teammate Jed Cartwright who he, and other Souths players, claimed was sledged by Green throughout the match.

If ever there was a more honest glimpse into the private yet sometimes bizarre, inflated world of rugby league, then it is yet to cross these pages.

For all the coverage the game gets, so much more grumbling is done in private where so much more happens that it is a pity, and it also usually stays there because there is no more interesting place for it to go.

When Walker’s moment got caught on camera, though, everybody was invited in for a look.

It quickly emerged that Cartwright was upset by comments Green purportedly made on field about an old injury, a broken back he suffered while at Penrith which Green treated, and that the Souths players had reacted.

Walker was coming in as a protector.

Panthers trainer Pete Green (C) being escorted from the field by Penrith officials.

Green and the Panthers originally claimed nothing was said, that he was simply telling a player to “get back” in the defensive line and that Souths misheard.

Then Cartwright’s father, former Penrith premiership winner John Cartwright, cast the first doubts on Penrith’s version.

“The excuse they gave that the trainer was saying: ‘Get back in the line’… Jed was playing the ball. It had nothing to do with him getting back in the line,” said Cartwright. “It affected Jed enough to front him (Green) after the game.”

There is no reason to doubt Cartwright’s version.

While Penrith clearly tried to explain it away like that, the flaw in their defence was that Green was not on the field when Penrith was defending to order them back into the line, as trainers can be on the field only when attacking.

Maybe that explains why, Tuesday, the Panthers’ explanation had conveniently changed.

“You’ve got to give him that one, Dyl,’’ Green was now supposedly saying, which apparently was a bit of good old-fashioned ribbing from trainer on player, and a compliment of sorts to Cartwright, after he hit Edwards with a solid tackle.

Nothing but fun and games to be seen here, it seemed.

Pete Green stopped play to attend to Mitch Kenny in the semi-final last year.

The Panthers claimed this new version with some authority, saying they had listened to audio that was capturing communication between the physio and the club doctor and it came up on there.

As we know, though, governments have fallen on edited recordings, and what they reveal.

So if the Panthers are so bullish that this is all Green supposedly said, why not upload the entire, unedited recording of the game on their website for everybody to make up their own mind.

Understand, too, that while Penrith is running this alternative, edited version, private phone calls are being made asking people to lay off him as they are worried about his mental state.

He has a family, etc, it goes.

This was happening about the time coach Ivan Cleary came out claiming that criticism of Green was “laughable”.

“It’s laughable, apart from the defamatory stuff that’s going on,” he said. “All physios in rugby league are carers, and it’s not something they would do and certainly not Pete Green.”

Across town little is happening.

Souths understand further action can be taken only if the Rabbitohs’ pursue it with a formal complaint. The NRL won’t initiate an investigation without the complaint from Souths.

The Rabbitohs, of course, are well into Mad Monday celebrations and couldn’t think of anything worse than having to sober up and subject themselves to an interview at League Central.

So Penrith moves on, blaming the world for an agenda, guilty of nothing. The more aggressive their defence the more chance of getting the media to back off, claim an agenda, and leave their bullying uncontested.

Souths players are claiming Green made a number of references to Cartwright’s back throughout the game.

Maybe the Rabbitohs misheard. They have already lost their appetite to pursue it.

No trainers or physios should be allowed to address rival players, as simple as that.

It would certainly have saved the cleanskin Panthers, full of care, who have had enough trouble with trainers to be considered at least somewhat careless.

Green was banned two games and fined $25,000 last year when he illegally stopped the game as Parramatta was on the charge, halting the Eels’ momentum.

Shane Elford, the blue shirt trainer, was caught on camera near the end of the semi-final four weeks ago waving bye-bye to Parramatta hooker Reed Mahoney, behaving clearly like he thought he might have had something to do with the result beyond offering the boys a drink.

Then of course there was the former trainer Hayden Knowles, who joined and then left Newcastle for the season just gone and from whom it was revealed would sign off his emails “FEC”, which translated to “F… Every C…”, an acronym that was picked up by the Panthers following their 2020 grand final loss.

Jarome Luai uploaded a pic of him with Nathan Cleary, captioned FEC, the night Cleary was charged with a dangerous throw and suspended five games.

Individually there seems little to it other than stupidity.

Collectively it sounds like entitlement and a whole lot more.

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Originally published as Paul Kent: Penrith Panthers should release unedited audio of trainer and club doctor