Glass houses to glass jaw: Michael Maguire’s Billy Slater sledge exposes Maroons coach’s hypocrisy

Kung fu kicks to the face, studs-up tackles, grand final knockouts - a quick look at Maroons coach Billy Slater’s judiciary record during his playing career and his glasshouse comes crashing down. Inside Slater’s NRL judiciary record.

Billy Slater has laid the boot into NSW with the same viciousness that he kicked Wests Tigers prop John Skandalis in the head. And the same barbarity as his studs-up karate kick to the neck of Canterbury’s David Klemmer.

Silly Billy. People in glass houses shouldn’t have glass jaws.

How galling that the Queensland coach has the temerity to question the values and morals of NSW players after State of Origin I.

“I honestly don’t like watching it too much, it’s pretty sickening and it’s not good for our game,” Slater told Channel 9’s 100% Footy.

“I can’t imagine too many mums and dads would want to throw their kids in the car and take them and sign them up after watching this sort of stuff.”

The double standards here are breathtaking, to insinuate the Blues deliberately targeted and maimed Maroons fullback Reece Walsh.

Slater was charged 10 times over his 319-game career, guilty on nine occasions and suspended for 13 games.

The worst of which was a seven-game ban for kicking Skandalis in the head at Leichhardt Oval in 2006, which earned him a grade-five contrary conduct charge.

But his multiple indiscretions included a head slam, dangerous throw, high tackle, fighting, dangerous contact, attacking an opponent’s head and a shoulder charge.

Hardly a rap sheet which gives you credibility to throw barbs at NSW.

Which may go some way to explaining NSW coach Michael Maguire’s veiled jab on NRL360 on Monday.

“I think you’ve got to make sure you don’t live in glass houses,” Maguire said.

“It (the Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii send-off) was one of those unfortunate things that happens in games. Glass houses, it’s an interesting one.”

Asked if this was in reference to Slater’s chequered charge sheet, Maguire said: “I’ll let you work that one out.”

While Slater retired as one of the greatest fullbacks in rugby league history, he also left behind a legacy of grubby tactics which led to fans dubbing him ‘Teflon Billy’ after many of them went unpunished.

The only time Slater was found not guilty at the judiciary was for his final career game, the 2018 grand final, when he was exonerated for a shoulder charge on Cronulla’s Sosaia Feki.

He was booed by Roosters fans with every touch in the decider.

Asked if the crowd had been disrespectful to Slater, Storm captain Cam Smith said: “I don’t think there is any other way to say that. I think he deserved a bit more respect than that.”

Manly fans still talk about Slater and Mick Crocker’s ugly hit on Sea Eagles fullback Brett Stewart in the 2007 grand final.

A concussed Stewart was taken from the field. Maguire would clearly recall Stewart being belted out of the game – he was Melbourne’s assistant coach at the time.

In the 2012 grand final we all remember Canterbury’s James Graham biting Slater during a melee but most forget the fracas started because of an ugly slide tackle from Slater on Bulldogs tryscorer Sam Perrett.

Billy Slater controversially escaped punishment for this shoulder charge on Sosaia Feki. Picture: Robert Prezioso/Getty Images

A year later Slater was further condemned for that infamous karate kick into Klemmer’s face at AAMI Park during 2013. It was somehow deemed accidental.

What about the fight between Slater and Dragons winger Jason Nightingale in 2011? Slater was sin-binned for igniting the melee. Nightingale denied head butting Teflon Billy.

Slater also admitted deliberately using an elbow on NSW’s Mitch Pearce in 2013 and then hitting him with a now famous sledge: “one-nil c...”.

He attracted further attention after a shoulder charge which knocked out Cowboys winger Antonio Winterstein in 2013.

Then Cowboys coach Neil Henry said: “Antonio was hit in the head and he was rattled.”

The NRL also introduced a new rule banning Slater’s dangerous sliding legs ploy into an opponent who was attempting to score a try.

It seems there are rules for Slater and then rules for the rest of us.

And here is Teflon Billy bagging NSW’s behaviour. As Madge said: “People in glass houses.”