Panthers boss, Yeo slam bitter Fox hunt
April 9, 2023 — 5.30am
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.”
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.”
Penrith chief Brian Fletcher and captain Isaah Yeo have spoken out about attacks on the Panthers by Fox Sports pundits, saying the club will consider legal action against the broadcaster.
www.smh.com.au
forums.leagueunlimited.com
