St George Illawarra Dragons hung out to dry on Israel Folau, says club sponsor

“Do you think they didn’t consult me or consult other sponsors long before this became a public stitch-up of the club and the CEO? The board was across all of this. I think they met twice and it was discussed with them. So Ryan isn’t some kind of cowboy.

“But here is where I have an issue: I think the club was poorly treated and positioned by the NRL. They gave the club the rope and then they quietly hung us. There was never a firm no from the NRL … instead they allowed us to explore it and led us down the garden path.

“They allowed the club to look rash and stupid, and the reason they didn’t cut it off straight away is because the NRL knows they would have had to face a court case. They knew there was a restraint of trade or something similar at risk facing them.

‘They [NRL] outsmarted the club in their mind, but do they consider the damage they did to the club in the process of making themselves looking smart or without fault?’

Norm Black

“They outsmarted the club in their mind, but do they consider the damage they did to the club in the process of making themselves looking smart or without fault? The damage to sponsors of the Dragons or to the boss of the club? I don’t think they did.”

Black says Webb deserves praise.

“Ryan has been hammered, but I actually think he showed balls of steel,” Black said. “When the coach came to him and said he wanted Folau he could have knocked it on the head but he did his job and explored the idea and he has to be congratulated for that. You need to remember that Folau has already played professional sport since what happened in rugby, so it was worth exploring.

“There are very few people who would support his stance [on homosexuality], but he was willing to co-operate and you try and tell me that league is not a game that gives blokes another chance. Idon’t think I need to start listing players who have had a second or third chance.

“I know Folau had no desire to do the wrong thing or rock the boat. Assurances were given. Maybe it would have been good to educate him about the impact of what has happened rather than hide him away.

“I’m not sticking up for Folau – I have no reason to do that – but I am sticking up for the club and the way the club was treated has left me pretty upset.”

Hold your horses

The “incident” involving Knights coach Adam O’Brien at Newcastle Racecourse, where he was accused of being out of control and involved in a scuffle, has done considerable damage to his reputation. The story was spreading fast early in the week and I spoke with the Knights coach about it. I came away convinced he had done nothing wrong, that he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and ran into a couple of blokes who were on a big day out.

Former Titans coach Garth Brennan saw what took place and texted Newcastle chief executive Phil Gardner after he saw the matter gaining traction in the media.

“Hi Phil, Garth Brennan here,” he wrote. “Mate, I’ve just read some stuff online in the media about Adam O’Brien at the races. Now I don’t know Adam well, we’ve met probably twice over the years, but I felt I should touch base with you and support him on what happened on this occasion. I’m sure you’re fully supporting him but if you need any reassurance I want you to know Adam acted calmly and fully professionally.

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“I was at the races on that day and was near where it all happened. I had a table near the group of guys who were involved in the incident for most of the day and they were loud and extremely intoxicated. I witnessed Adam coming out of the toilets and he was calm and in control where the group of men were yelling at Adam, yahooing, slapping hands and carrying on when Adam walked away with his staff, which was the wise decision.

“I only spoke briefly with Adam and he wasn’t affected at all and in complete control. After 18 years in the cops I reckon I can identify scenarios like this with idiots carrying on and I reckon Adam handled himself perfectly.”

Paying the penalty

The NRL continues to tie itself in knots trying to dish out appropriate penalties to misbehaving players. We’ve seen the usual procession of players hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons during the off-season.

There’s been drug taking, police intimidation and drink-driving, to name a few of the more serious breaches. And the NRL has had no idea how to get any consistency into the sanctions. It seems inconceivable that Brent Naden, after testing positive to cocaine the day before last year’s grand final, is free to play in round one. What sort of message does that send to juniors?

It is just as stunning that Payne Haas will miss only three matches for abusing and intimidating police. The NRL’s explanation is that it is ramping up fines – in place of suspensions – because, it argues, that hits the player harder. It claims the clubs and fans should not suffer by losing a star player who can be hit with a financial penalty instead.

That’s a cop-out, which is going to do nothing to stop the off-season carnage we see every year. And how do you determine an appropriate fine for someone on $1million a year compared with another player on $100,000? It will just lead to more inconsistency.

The only way to improve player behaviour is by insisting that every club develop the right culture. A culture where players who break the law feel so bad that they never reoffend. Melbourne have been doing it for years.

Cam’s marketing plan

Mystery still surrounds Cameron Smith’s playing future. Without claiming to be close to Smith’s camp, I’ve been told he is being used in a marketing plan for a product that other retired players have endorsed. It will be released next month.

Unless he is allowed to be involved in this product as an active player – something other players are not – it would indicate his playing days are over. His lack of training with any club would appear to be another significant clue, but the lack of an announcement is keeping everyone on their toes.

Mullen’s regret over mate’s missing money

The Jarrod Mullen redemption story may not be all it seems. In fact, he admitted he has one final part of his life to tidy up: a $125,000 gambling debt to a mate.

Mullen has been acting as a bookmaker of sorts for a mate and is facing a debt of $125,000 as his friend considers his legal options and studies a report from a private investigator to determine where his cash went and who owes him what.

To his credit, Mullen is trying to battle his way back from a four-year ban from the NRL in 2017 for using steroids and a recent conviction for supplying cocaine.

“I want to say I did the wrong thing by my friend and I am very sorry,” Mullen said. “I know I’m lucky to be getting another chance at life and footy, but I’ve got to own this and right this wrong. It’s hard to face this and it’s not fair on my family.”

This column has a raft of text messages showing Mullen taking bets for a mate in America. There are also two contracts between Mullen and his mate: one of the contracts is to pay a weekly amount when he accumulated a big debt and another showed Mullen owed him $125,000. That has not been signed by Mullen.

When I contacted Mullen about the debt, he messaged his friend in America. “I want to talk to u and tell u my side and want to make it right … it doesn’t have to go public,” Mullen wrote. “I want to talk to you about a deal. Please mate. Im moving on with my life … I want to make it right and we can both move on without this media shit.”

His friend replied: “The only thing I want is my $125k”.

Mullen responded: “u know that’s not possible … just talk to me and we can sort something out.“
A private investigator was employed by the man owed the money because Mullen told him a third party, whose name I have, was responsible for the bets and missing money.

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When pushed about the whereabouts of the third party, Mullen said he may have been scammed. The private investigator found the third party does exist and works as a wagering consultant.

Two days after I contacted him, Mullen said he would pay up. “It may mean I’ll need to sell a few things,” he said. “I just don’t need this stuff being played out in the media.”

Dark Knight

There are rumblings at the Knights about David Klemmer. There have been whispers that all is not right between Klemmer and sections of the club. My tip to club management is to get the former Bulldogs star on side. To be a top-eight team, or better, they need a happy Klemmer.