NRRRL: Investigation launched as spectator jumps fence, hits player
An investigation is underway after a spectator entered the field of play and attacked a player during round one of the NRRRL over the weekend.
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An investigation is underway after a spectator entered the field of play and attacked a player during round one of the NRRRL over the weekend.
The incident occurred with less than one minute remaining in Sunday’s first grade game between the Tweed Heads Seagulls and Mullumbimby Giants at the Piggabeen Sports Complex in Tweed Heads, which the Giants won 22-18.
It is understood that after players became involved in some minor push and shove, a spectator entered the field and hit Mullumbimby captain Cody Nelson in the head.
“It was all sort of broken up, everyone was sort of standing around in a group and someone jumped the fence and hit me in the head,” said Nelson, who wasn’t hurt in the incident.
“I’m sweet. It’s just not something that you want to happen, particularly the look for the game as a whole and country rugby league,” he added.
“It’s pretty disappointing, especially for Tweed as they’re just back in the comp. Every single one of them, especially the coaching staff and the board, came and saw me straight away. They were all very apologetic about it. It was literally just the one individual.”
Indeed, the incident marred what was a special day for the Seagulls, who returned to A-grade football in the NRRRL after a two-decade hiatus.
In light of the pitch invasion, it is understood that full-time was called with about 30 seconds left on the clock.
Streaming provider BarTV Sports has since removed footage of the game from its website while an investigation has been launched into the incident.
“The incident is still under investigation,” said NRRRL secretary Josh Gollan. “I’m not exactly sure where it’s at at the moment, whether it’s at the police stage or with New South Wales Rugby League. We’ll be notified once they’ve done their investigations.”
The Tweed Heads Seagulls declined to comment while the investigation is ongoing.
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