The NRL is reviewing a video produced by a bookmaker in which the game’s match review committee boss Luke Patten made comments about the off-field behaviour of Cameron Munster and said Mitchell Moses “should be doing much better than he is”.
Patten, who heads up the panel which charges and ultimately bans or fines players for acts of foul play, appears alongside Reni Maitua and Triple M commentator Anthony Maroon in the Ladbrokes clip, which was posted to social media in the days after the grand final.
Patten is only an NRL contractor, rather than an employee, and receives a small fee for his work on the match review committee. He has to juggle other jobs outside of the match review committee to earn a living.
But the forum of the video raised concern with NRL officials in recent days.
All NRL employees are subject to strict rules which prevent them from gambling on rugby league matches.
Ladbrokes, one of the fastest-growing brands in Australian wagering, is permitted to bet on NRL matches.
The NRL’s official betting partner is Sportsbet, which advertises its brand on the code’s platforms and promotes markets throughout rugby league broadcasts.
In the video, Patten joked former teammate Maitua has a “soft spot” for Munster and other players who have a history of off-field issues and talked up Clint Gutherson’s value over Moses to beaten grand finalists Parramatta.
“He’s got a star team around him and he should be doing much better than what he is,” Patten says of Moses. “At the end of the day, he’s the halfback, he’s getting paid the big bucks to get the job done and he’s not getting it done.”
When contacted by the Herald, Patten said he had appeared in several Ladbrokes videos with approval from the NRL and would have no issue giving them up if instructed.
Luke Patten in his final year as an NRL player.Credit:NRL Photos
He also said he had vetted questions before filming in previous episodes to avoid any potential conflict of interest and had previously turned down radio media roles on the advice of the NRL who didn’t want him to be placed in an awkward situation.
There is no suggestion Patten was involved in any integrity breach.
An NRL spokesperson said: “Former players, coaches and officials are contracted by the NRL as members of the match review committee.
“The MRC roles are part-time contracted positions and are not the primary source of employment for any of these contractors.
“The NRL football department is currently reviewing this matter along with the employment arrangements of all MRC members.”
Patten has proactively sought to explain a number of match review committee decisions this season, including a call not to ban Storm prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona for an apparent elbow on Warriors hooker Wayde Egan.
He took over a revamped match review committee panel this year and as chair is entitled to a casting vote on whether a player should be charged or not for a potential act of foul play if there is a deadlock.
Patten finished his commitments this year with just one charge stemming from the grand final.
Eels forward Ryan Matterson controversially decided to accept a three-match ban rather than pay a $4000 fine for a crusher tackle on Penrith’s Clive Churchill Medal winner Dylan Edwards.
The NRL has been protective of match review committee members given the difficulty they’ve had in convincing respected former players, coaches and referees to take on the job of reviewing every tackle from eight matches a week.
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