’Irresponsible, arrogant’ - Ikin blasts Bennett over COVID breach:
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...h/news-story/ef345a4cedb74317b735af85005b6a43
The big problem with bumbling Bennett’s COVID-19 excuse:
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...s/news-story/6472d5e49e09a78d73d523c44a0d5253
From Sporting News,
Calls grow louder for NRL to come down hard on Wayne Bennett over 'frightening' COVID-19 breach
Calls have grown louder for the NRL to come down hard on those who blatantly flaunt the Apollo restrictions as Wayne Bennett's response to his breach of the biosecurity measures continues to face criticism.
The NRL was upended by bombshell revelations both Bennett and Dragons star Paul Vaughan had broken strict biosecurity guidelines by dining out at separate restaurants, the breaches occurring within 24 hours of each other.
The pair were swiftly ordered into a 14-day quarantine by the NRL, in which they will be unable to train and forced to undergo COVID-19 testing before returning to their respective clubs.
Vaughan's standing down meant he was a late withdrawal just hours before his side took on the Roosters, while Bennett will immediately miss Friday's spiteful clash against former club Brisbane.
The Apollo restrictions which were brought in to enable the NRL to continue in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic restrict players and coaches inside 'the bubble' from going to public venues – including cafes, restaurants, pubs and clubs.
Confirming his attendance to popular Leichhardt restaurant Grappa this week,
Bennett claimed he was confused by the restrictions in place and what constituted a breach, admitting it wasn't the first time he'd dined out.
Ironically, these were guidelines Bennett helped devise as part of the NRL's Apollo Committee assembled during the League's COVID-19-induced suspension and tasked with getting the game back up and running earlier this year.
Speaking on Big Sports Breakfast, senior
Sydney Morning Herald reporter Andrew Webster slammed Bennett's naivety over the situation.
"I'll give Paul Vaughan his due, at least he put his hand up and admitted he made a mistake," Webster said.
"Wayne Bennett, who is a senior coach, who is 70 years of age and on the Project Apollo committee couldn't bring himself to say he was wrong. Pretty disappointing to see.
"It undermines all of the good work so many of the league's players, coaches, and support staff have been doing to get the competition back on the road."
Webster's stinging assessment came after Ben Ikin, a relative of Bennett's and former player of his at Brisbane, labeled him "arrogant"
in a savage spray over the Rabbitohs coach's perceived lack of remorse.
“I think it was so irresponsible, I mean if anyone you think was going to set the right example for an entire code it would be the game’s most experienced coach,” Ikin told
Fox League.
“But instead he turned up to a press conference today having been called out, caught out and at one point he was confused, then he was certain about the rules and I think he ended his press conference calling a journalist small minded.
“It just felt a bit arrogant to me, he’d made the mistake and should have just sort of fessed up and admitted almost to struggling with living in the bubble and saying that he just broke out of it."
NRL acting CEO Andrew Abdo showed sympathy for Bennett and Vaughan upon ordering they enter two-week quarantine, saying: “Our players and staff have made significant sacrifices to ensure the season can proceed.
"I have sympathy for the liberties they have had to give up and I am proud of how well the overwhelming majority have complied with our protocols.
“This is a regrettable decision but today’s actions will operate as an important reminder to our players and staff about the importance of strict adherence to the protocols."
But speaking to the
Herald, ARLC chairman Peter V'Landys wasn't as forgiving, highlighting the mountainous risks both Bennett and Vaughan have placed the competition under with their actions.
"I think this is a wake up call to all our participants, all of our players, all of our support staff. That if we continue to do this, even forgetting about this year, it jeopardises the game for future generations,"
V'landys told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"If we don't finish this year, it will have consequential effects on future generations - including themselves. Because the pain will be felt in the next two or three years."
The NRL have set a strong precedent with their standing down of Bennett and Vaughan, which has followed similar orders handed down to
Bulldogs veteran Aiden Tolman in June after it was found one of his children attended a school containing a positive coronavirus case.
But Webster called on the NRL to target Bennett in particular with further sanctioning for his blatant breach of the restrictions.
"I thought it was really frightening that it wasn't the first time he [Bennett] did it, that he didn't think he'd done something wrong. And he probably hasn't, it's not the biggest crime of the century," Webster said.
"I was more concerned with the lack of sanctioning that came from head office to be perfectly honest.
"Both Bennett and Vaughan are going to be isolating for 14 days. The initial line out of head office is that is what the sanction is, which I don't think is right.
"Aiden Tolman from the Bulldogs had to sit out 14 days because his child attended a school where a teacher had tested positive for COVID-19.
"Ever since then there's been a huge backlash from other people in the game... and all of a sudden they've put out a line the NRL that they're going to look at further sanctions.
"I think it should happen, I think Bennett, in particular, should be sanctioned for this. He should know better he should be held to a higher account and I thought the way he dismissed any question about it yesterday was pretty ordinary."
