The fallout continues,
South Sydney forward Jaydn Su’A told teammates, officials and club coaching staff he was insulted by Trent Robinson at halftime last Friday night – an allegation the Roosters coach angrily denies.
As the fiery aftermath to the Rabbitohs-Roosters clash continues, the NRL is aware of the allegation but won’t investigate unless Souths lodge a formal complaint.
Souths have spoken to the NRL about the alleged incident and had hoped the matter would be investigated without the club being forced to lodge a complaint.
Su’A told members of Souths’ coaching staff that Robinson called him a “thug”. Robinson bristled at the allegation when contacted by The Daily Telegraph, describing the assertion as being “completely untrue.”
Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly labelled Su’A “a young man of great integrity and character, who plays the game in the right spirit”.
While angry at the reported incident, Souths will not file a formal complaint, with the club wanting to focus on their preparations for the finals.
The Su’A-Robinson speculation is part of a wide-ranging investigation into several ugly incidents to emerge from the match.
“We are content to let the NRL’s review of these incidents to be completed upon gathering all available evidence. If we have any concerns, we will address them privately and through the appropriate NRL processes,” said Solly.
“But I can say that Jaydn is a young man of great integrity and character, who plays the game in the right spirit”.
The Su’A incident was alleged to have occurred at halftime on the sideline at Suncorp Stadium.
Su’A was not charged by the NRL match review committee.
Asked about the alleged Su’A confrontation, Robinson wrote in a text message to The Daily Telegraph: “Completely untrue.”
Telegraph: “So no contact with Jaydn at all?”
Robinson: “Your source is trying a square-up for a tough night for all. Untrue.”
Su’A was spotted in deep discussion with Souths coach Wayne Bennett at halftime on Friday night.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo confirmed he could not formally investigate until Souths lodged a complaint.
Rabbitohs officials question why the NRL needed their grievance to proceed when they could simply contact Robinson and Su’A in a bid to determine the truth.
“Unless there is clear cut audio or visual evidence then we need a complaint to act,” Abdo said.
“A good example was the (Cronulla player) Will Chambers sledging matter. We didn’t receive a complaint from the Warriors and there was no obvious evidence from the broadcast to investigate.
“We would need a complaint or clear evidence to investigate the matter you are referring to.”
The NRL is also investigating the behaviour of Roosters players seated in the Suncorp Stadium dugout for the game.
A number of Roosters players abused Latrell Mitchell after the Souths star fractured the cheekbone of Roosters centre Joey Manu in a horrible hit during the second half.
Their actions are part of an NRL ground manager’s report.
Working sideline for Fox Sports, former Test player Corey Parker said: “When Latrell walked off the field around the 40-metre line, closer to the Roosters’ end, they didn’t miss him. They were livid and rightly so.
“The reality is, if Jared, Angus or Victor were on the field, at the field at the time, they would have lost their s..t.”
