Panthers boss Brian Fletcher and captain Isaah Yeo have spoken out about attacks on the club by Fox Sports pundits, saying Penrith will consider legal action against the broadcaster.
The Panthers hammered the Raiders 53-12 last weekend and have now won five straight and nine of their past 11 games against them. Fletcher said Fox Sports’ coverage of issues in the match was the most recent example in a history of the broadcaster unfairly criticising the club. The Panthers board will meet this week to discuss banning players from appearing on Fox Sports. Legal action is also being considered.
“We’ve got to protect our players,” Fletcher said. “And we’ve got to protect our coaches and their reputations … We will discuss it as a board and we will look at all options.”
He said Fox Sports pundits, “sit there without knowing what our club is about and tear strips off the reputations of good people.”
Yeo said: “As a club we understand people are going to have opinions, and they aren’t all going to be good, however it’s … tarnishing a brand that doesn’t deserve to be tarnished, and I think the public are starting to understand this, which is pleasing.
“The fact that we are giving this more oxygen than what it deserves is something I’m not overly happy about and will only allow for another rebuttal … but you can’t allow them to continue to take potshots at the club without comment.”
The Panthers celebrate a try during their crushing victory over the Sea Eagles on Saturday and (inset) Isaah Yeo. Credit: Getty Images
Fletcher was angry about the attacks on head coach Ivan Cleary in particular. The implication is that the coach lacks class.
“The focus should be on the opposing coach after we thrash them, not ours, but that’s not how things play out,” Fletcher said. “As a club, we can’t just sit back and let this go on. It all started a few years ago when there was an article about how strong the Raiders’ reserve grade team was and we smashed them. Then they came out and called our players mug lairs. And now the attacks continue. The latest was the stuff with Jaeman [Salmon].
“To say, as some have on Fox, that parents shouldn’t send their kids to Penrith is just outrageous. That’s an insult to good people like Kevin Kingston, Joe Galuvao and Glen Liddiard, who work in that area. They say things that attack everything this club stands for and then expect us to play ball and put people on their shows. It’s not on and we have a duty to explore every area to protect our club against the rubbish that is said.”
Yeo is proud of the culture at the club and says it is respected throughout the game.
“I know the feedback we get, not just from Penrith supporters but the supporters of other teams, about how much we do for the community, and how good we are after games getting around and seeing the fans,” Yeo said.
“When you’re getting feedback like that, your culture has to be strong. You can see it after games – the Panthers players are the last ones out on the field, signing things for the fans, particularly after losses. If you look at that on its own, you can see how strong our culture is.
“Looking at our cultural showcase the other night, and the amount of people we had there – from Harold Matthews to first grade – that shows a strong culture from the bottom to the top.
“We’re good people and do great work in the community. And once you know that, other people’s comments don’t matter. There are going to be certain people in the media who are goingto make comments, but we understand who we are. We’re proud of what we do. We know what we bring to the competition and we understand the work we do in the community.”
CALLS FOR HAYNE TO BE REMOVED FROM HONOUR ROLL
This column first raised the potential stripping of Jarryd Hayne’s two Dally M Medals (which he won in 2009 and 2014) after he was originally convicted in 2021 of two counts of sexual assault and sentenced to five years and nine months in jail. He was later released following a successful appeal.
Jarryd Hayne was found guilty on Tuesday of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent following a third trial.Credit: Nikki Short
Hayne was again found guilty on Tuesday of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent following a third trial. He will be sentenced in May. While the NRL says it will wait until the legal process is complete before it acts, there is a strong view from powerful figures in the game that he should be removed from the honour roll.
The Raiders’ Anzac jersey.
The only sympathy that anyone should be expressing in the Hayne case is for the victim. The emotional responses from Hayne outside court and reports of his wife’s tears don’t compare to what the young woman has been through.
There appears to be no end in sight to the already 4-year case. His legal team has already flagged an appeal, but that can’t happen until after he is sentenced. It would be incredibly rare for the Director of Public Prosecutions to push for a fourth trial — but not unheard of. Lin family killer Robert Xie had four trials.
RAIDERS SOLDIER ON
It seems the Raiders escaped any scrutiny for their Anzac jumper last year (pictured). As with the Tigers’ jumper fiasco during the week – when they used images of US soldiers instead of Australians – it was people online who revealed the mistake.
We sent the image to Raiders boss Don Furner. “We’ve been made aware of it,” he said. “It could be an American soldier. We have contacted our jersey manufacturers and they are on an Easter break.”
WESTS SLIDE STORY
With Wests Tigers under as much pressure as any time in their history, a range of issues surrounding the club’s governance have been raised. The club is winless, struggling to come to terms with its new coaching structure and made a baffling Anzac jumper mistake during the week, all while threatening legal action against Fox Sports.
Now, a statement from Wests Magpies football board chairman Shannon Cavanagh has raised more concerns. We have previously told you about Cavanagh and his battles with the Tigers bosses.
He has been suspended as a member following a conversation with Tigers CEO Justin Pascoe at the opening of the Tigers’ centre of excellence but is still chairman of the football club. Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis submitted a complaint to Wests Magpies and a disciplinary committee deemed Cavanagh had engaged in “conduct prejudicial to the interests of the company”.
Cavanagh says in the statement that he had previously had a disagreement with Hagipantelis about the representation of Wests Magpies in other competitions below NRL.
Cavanagh says during the past two years as a director and chairman of Wests Magpies he has raised concerns about governance issues, in particular about Wests Magpies’ investment in the Tigers.
Cavanagh says he is particularly concerned about:
- the replacement of Mick Liubinskas and appointment of Julie Romero as the Wests Magpies’ nominated appointee on the Wests Tigers board;
- and the appointment of Rick Wayde as a director of Wests Magpies Pty Limited.
HOLD THE PHONE
Tigers chief executive Justin Pascoe has copped plenty of flak for using his phone in the dressing room at half-time while coach Tim Sheens tried to rally the troops during the hiding by Brisbane last weekend, and for being on the field during the warm-up in his cool pants and Air Jordan shoes.
However, there is nothing unusual about club officials being in the inner sanctum at key times. In fact, Cronulla have taken it a step further. Chairman Steve Mace and chief executive Dino Mezzatesta have had prominent positions in the sheds at half-time, something pointed out by eagle-eyed fans.
Admittedly, the pair are paying more attention than Pascoe, but it shows it’s far from unusual for club officials to be in the change rooms during the break.
The Sharks have made an inconsistent start to the season but, unlike the Tigers, they have a coach with a big future and a front office that has just secured star halfback Nicho Hynes on a massive five-year extension on Thursday, so they won’t get any flak as Pascoe did.
PRIZED OLD CHOOK
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is in the sights of rival clubs, but it is hard to see him playing next year in the NRL for anyone but the Roosters. That hasn’t stopped other clubs making inquiries, though. JWH will sit down with his agent, Steve Gillis, in the next couple of weeks to work out what’s next. The Roosters had plans to farewell JWH – Catalans Dragons looks a likely destination — but he is still a dominant force. It will be interesting to see how it pans out.
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