FURIOUS Manly are ready to ban television cameras from their dressing rooms after Channel 9 last night showed dramatic footage of coach Des Hasler ripping a dressingroom door off its hinges at Parramatta Stadium last Sunday.
Speaking with The Daily Telegraph last night, Hasler said: "This is a breach of our privacy."
The vision showed a seething Hasler tearing strips off his players before tearing a door from its frame.
Skipper Jamie Lyon, sitting next to the door, puts up his hand up to protect himself, fearing the door might fall on him. The next shot shows the door completely off its hinges and leaning precariously against its frame.
NRL guidelines state Nine and Fox - the game's broadcasters - can show limited vision before a match, at halftime and then fulltime.
But Manly claim that protocol was abused, with Nine showing an incident that was at least ten minutes after fulltime. The Sea Eagles are filthy at Nine for airing the vision.
Fox Sports had planned to show the same footage on its weekly program, NRL on Fox, last night but pulled it when told of the NRL guidelines. But Nine ignored the edict.
Nine wrongly - and dramatically - claimed Manly would now ban their station from future interviews but co-captain Jason King will appear on The Footy Show tonight.
"We feel this is a breach of the NRL contract and our privacy. There are contracts in place," Hasler said. "From now on, we will consider banning all vision from our dressingroom. We want to know what the guidelines are and how much vision can be shown.
"Until that is sorted out, there will be no more cameras in the Manly dressingroom.
"Nine has abused that privilege. Unfortunately, the losers in all of this will be the fans, Channel 9 and Fox Sports.
"But contrary to reports, Nine won't be banned. Life goes on - but it has raised the abuse of cameras in dressingrooms."
Hasler said he would pay for the damage to the door.
"I will give myself a kick in the pants but it was a very frustrating game," Hasler said.
"I didn't know when I slammed the door it would come off its hinges."
NRL chief operating officer Graham Annesley said he understood why Hasler was "upset".
"Cameras are allowed in the dressing room for specific purposes and this wasn't one of them." Annesley said.
A Manly source added: "There has to be a line drawn in the sand. How long is too long when filming?
"Surely a coach and his players should be able to spend time alone without prying cameras after an 80-minute drama-charged game in near-40C temperatures."
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...-on-channel-nine/story-e6frexnr-1225844965181
...though that shiny new change room of theirs will be the very embodiment of temptation for them.
