Harold Matthews Cup bans, arrests: Manly coach facing 20 month suspension

A Manly junior representative coach could be rubbed out of rugby league until the end of 2023 as the fallout to the opening Harold Matthews Cup round continues.

Canberra Raiders chief Don Furner wants thugs stamped out of rugby league.

A Manly junior representative rugby league coach is facing a whopping 20 month ban while three more players and one spectator are also facing suspensions in the aftermath of an ugly opening round of the under 17s Harold Matthews Cup competition.

It comes as a 39-year-old woman was also arrested on Wednesday at St Marys Police Station and charged with affray for her alleged involvement in a wild crowd brawl at Penrith Stadium last Saturday.

The woman was granted conditional bail to appear before Penrith Local Court on March 11.

It is understood the investigation will continue with further charges expected.

Stream every game of every round of the 2022 NRL Telstra Premiership Season Live & Ad-Break Free During Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-days free now >

The Panthers are also due to provide the NSWRL with details on how they propose to deal with the matter at a meeting on Thursday with more suspensions likely.

Meanwhile, the NSW Rugby League has come down hard on those involved in the alleged incident in Canberra between spectators and players from the Manly Harold Matthews Cup team.

Manly’s assistant coach Jay Younis will cop a breach notice for allegedly using foul and abusive language directed at a NSW official.

If he is found guilty it will effectively rub him out of the game until the end of the 2023 season.

A junior Manly rep coach is facing a lengthy stint on the sidelines.

Four other people including a female spectator and three Manly players will also be issued with breach notices.

Lipe Saulima, female Canberra supporter who allegedly slapped a Manly player, will be suspended until December 31 from attending NSWRL matches.

And while the names of the Manly players have not been made public due to their age, one is facing a ban until May 31, which amounts to the entire junior representative season, for allegedly crossing the fence to join a confrontation with Canberra supporters.

Another player will be suspended for four matches and the other will get a two match suspended ban.

Those issued with breach notices have February 15 to respond to the notices.

NSW Rugby League chief executive David Trodden said he was appalled by the behaviour.

“We have zero tolerance for behaviour that threatens the safety of participants, officials and spectators and incidents like these are contrary to the standards of any community sport,” Trodden said.

“We have a duty to eradicate this sort of behaviour from our game so that those who play and/or attend community sport can enjoy it and do so without any concerns or fears.

“Some of the recent crowd behaviour is criminal behaviour and if people behave that way, they should expect to be dealt with by the Police in accordance with the criminal law rather than by our Code of Conduct committee.

“In addition we will review all of our grounds to ensure that ground set-up minimises possible interaction between players and spectators, as well as ensuring that appropriate security arrangements are in place.”

NRL boss on footy thugs: ‘Go to UFC’

Peter V’landys has told brawling footy parents that they “should go to the UFC” and leave rugby league alone.

The ARL Commission chairman’s comments come as NSW Police continue investigations into an alleged crowd brawl among Penrith fans that occurred behind the main grandstand at an under-17s Harold Matthews Cup game on Saturday.

The Daily Telegraph can also reveal multiple Manly under-17s players are also expected to be handed tough sanctions on Wednesday following an incident that allegedly left a young Canberra fan suffering concussion on the same day.

Sources suggest NSW Police have now been handed the results of the Penrith NRL club’s internal report, with police said to be closing in on some of the alleged culprits.

And V’landys did not hold back when asked for his thoughts on the disturbing allegations that included witnesses’ claims that one woman was even seen wielding a silver baseball bat.

ARLC chairman Peter V’landys says brawling footy parents should stay away from rugby league. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“What hope have their kids got if they behave like that?” V’landys said.

“I find it abhorrent that anyone would go to that level.

“Sport is an entertainment and an escapism. It is not an extremism. And any parent that goes to a point of that extremity is ridiculous and they should take a good look at themselves.

“You want it to be safe when people go to watch their children play, not go to a place where they exposed to violence.

“That is not what the sport is about.

“There is no place for it.

“They should go to the UFC. They would better fit in there.”

V’landys also backed Canberra chief executive Don Furner’s call for the next NRL chief executives’ conference to tackle the growing concern of “wannabe gangsters” running wild at junior rep footy events.

“I 100 per cent agree with him, there is no place in the game for violence on the sideline,” V’landys said. “I would support anything the chief executives want to do to eradicate it.”

Meanwhile, the NSWRL’s investigation into allegations a young Canberra fan was assaulted by a Manly Harold Matthews Cup player after the game on Saturday is said to have found no conclusive proof that the spectator was punched.

This is despite claims a Canberra club doctor treated the man immediately after the alleged incident, and determined he had suffered concussion.

NSWRL chief executive Dave Trodden has issued a warning for players and spectators after off-field incidents last weekend. Picture: Adam Yip

Several Canberra witnesses also claim they saw punches being thrown, although Manly’s internal report was at odds with that, while two independent reports also claim there was no evidence of a fight.

But the NSWRL investigation will conclude that there was “an unpleasant interaction”, and as a result the players involved will be punished.

“What is clear is there were a number of breaches of our code of conduct,” NSWRL chief executive David Trodden said.

Trodden also put brawling spectators on notice.

“I think one thing that should be made clear is that some of the behaviour we have seen in the crowds is criminal behaviour,” he said.

“And so I think people that come to our games and engage in criminal behaviour should expect that they will be dealt with by the police in accordance with the criminal law, not by a club or a rugby league body in accordance with a code of conduct.

“So we have to make that clear to everybody as well.”

NRL BOSS WANTS THUGS STAMPED OUT

Fed-up Canberra Raiders chief Don Furner has hit out at some Sydney NRL clubs for allowing “wannabe gangsters” to run wild at junior representative football, claiming it is creating a culture of fear among players, parents and fans.

And Furner now wants the issue to be tackled at the next NRL chief executives’ conference so the entire game can work on a strategy to stamp out thugs on and off the field.

While not pointing the finger at any particular clubs, this comes after another ugly weekend of alleged violence that marred the opening round of the under 17s Harold Matthews Cup competition.

The latest incident being investigated by the NSWRL alleges a Manly under 17s player jumped the fence post match and bashed a Canberra spectator at the Raiders’ Belconnen facility.

The alleged victim is said to be a Year 12 student at a local Canberra high school who had to be treated by the club doctor after the incident left him looking “visibly rocked”, with concerns he was displaying signs of concussion.

This follows previous claims over the weekend relating to allegations that a large group of supporters, including a women witnesses claim was wielding a baseball bat, took part in a massive brawl behind the grandstand at Penrith Stadium.

Canberra Raiders chief Don Furner wants thugs stamped out of rugby league.

While Furner did not talk specifically about these most recent incidents under investigation, he said an escalating gang-type culture was an issue that the game could no longer ignore.

He even went so far as to make the extraordinary claim that it has got to the point where staff who work in junior development have “for some years” spoken privately about some clubs being forced to change venues for some games so they weren’t played in a postcode zone of a rival gang.

Furner was not critical of the leadership of the NSWRL but rather individual clubs who he claims have turned a blind eye to the developing problem.

He also made the point that it wasn’t always players guilty of inciting trouble but often so-called supporters.

“These are young kids or wannabe gangsters who turn up to footy games,” he said.

“But it is not rugby league. It is not our culture.

“And the sad thing is a couple of clubs should have stamped this out years ago and they have let it go. In their quest to win an under 16s or an under 17s grand final they have let this behaviour go and it is really disappointing.

“I am not saying it is all the clubs in Sydney but there is a couple and they stand out and I know the NSWRL are going to try whatever they can to stamp it out.”

A report issued to the NSW Rugby League on Monday claimed spectators and officials in Canberra on Saturday witnessed a Manly player “leap the fence and start throwing punches into the crowd”.

It’s claimed the alleged attack occurred post match after the player took exception to what was described as loud jeers from a group of girls and one male who were sitting behind the Manly bench.

Sources claim the group had been vocal giving it to the Manly players after the Raiders scored an upset win, but there was “nothing personal” about the sledging.

A brawl is alleged to have taken place out the back of a grandstand at Penrith Stadium.

Canberra’s Junior Development Manager Dean Souter has compiled a report for the NSWRL that alleges the Manly player said words to the effect “if you don’t shut up bitch I’ll come over that fence”, to which one female took offence and slapped him over the back of the head.

“The young man sitting with the girls appeared to cop the brunt of the assault,” the report claims.

It’s also claimed two other Manly players had to be physically restrained by teammates from joining in, while the victim and his girlfriend were later allegedly threatened by Manly players when leaving the ground.

Manly has also compiled its own report that disputes some of the allegations including that the player who was slapped was the same person who jumped the fence.

But the NSWRL has launched a full investigation, with a NSWRL staff member and a referees’ observer also compiling independent reports.

These latest incidents come just two weeks after Manly spectators were involved in another brawl during and SG Ball game at Erskineville Oval.

Asked if he thinks his club has a cultural problem, Manly chief executive Stephen Humphreys said: “No, I don’t think we have a cultural problem but any incidents that come up you have to look at what messages are in that.

“So we are looking deeply into the mirror to see if we do have any issues that we need to address. But I want to get to the bottom of this one before trying to claim some sort of pattern, and the particular circumstances of the last one were a little unusual.

“But I would say the game, rather than this club or that club, has an obligation to clean things up, and to ensure that we provide a safe environment for people to participate in, whether that is a player or a spectator.

“And that is a responsibility that we take seriously at Manly and if we need to take action and correct things we definitely will.”

Originally published as Harold Matthews Cup bans, arrests: Manly coach facing 20 month suspension