Is there a cultural issue at South Sydney?

[Travitoh]

Before i start i want to point out two things...
1. I expect people to disagree with this and welcome it but i believe it is a discussion worth having.
2. It's not an issue that is limited to South Sydney alone but just because it's also happening elsewhere, doesn't make it ok.

So in the past week both Dylan Walker and Zane Musgrove made headlines with allegations of committing assault to cap off what i feel has been a poor year for Souths off the field. I'm aware that Walker isn't at Souths but he is a club junior which i believe is where the standards should be set.
Thinking back to previous seasons, Walker has repeatedly been in the news and the names James Roberts, Kirisome Auva'a, Chris Sandow and Aaron Gray come to mind as other juniors who have had behaviour issues.
Add to that John Sutton being arrested for assault in 2015 while in the US, Greg Inglis was charged with DUI after attending a non-alcohol event and Tom is the only Burgess that hasn't made headlines in his time at Souths off the top of my head.
There are most likely others that i haven't thought of and in a lot of cases the club have acted to discipline the players for their actions but i feel the main issue may be an educational one that the club isn't teaching.
I'm not going to claim it as a crisis or say that we're the worst in comp for behaviour but i believe a club like South Sydney should be striving for higher standards from it's representatives if it is to maintain it's claim as being the pride of the league.

 

[Go Bunnies]

Before i start i want to point out two things...
1. I expect people to disagree with this and welcome it but i believe it is a discussion worth having.
2. It's not an issue that is limited to South Sydney alone but just because it's also happening elsewhere, doesn't make it ok.

So in the past week both Dylan Walker and Zane Musgrove made headlines with allegations of committing assault to cap off what i feel has been a poor year for Souths off the field. I'm aware that Walker isn't at Souths but he is a club junior which i believe is where the standards should be set.
Thinking back to previous seasons, Walker has repeatedly been in the news and the names James Roberts, Kirisome Auva'a, Chris Sandow and Aaron Gray come to mind as other juniors who have had behaviour issues.
Add to that John Sutton being arrested for assault in 2015 while in the US, Greg Inglis was charged with DUI after attending a non-alcohol event and Tom is the only Burgess that hasn't made headlines in his time at Souths off the top of my head.
There are most likely others that i haven't thought of and in a lot of cases the club have acted to discipline the players for their actions but i feel the main issue may be an educational one that the club isn't teaching.
I'm not going to claim it as a crisis or say that we're the worst in comp for behaviour but i believe a club like South Sydney should be striving for higher standards from it's representatives if it is to maintain it's claim as being the pride of the league.

I agree - it does look worrying but Musgrove is not a Souths junior and Somi’s charge was actually while he was in the Melbourne Storm system. GI originally also whilst in Melbourne and Matt Lodge had been down there prior to his trip to the States. Add to this Cam Munster yet Melbourne is described as a club with great discipline.
The Cronulla Sharks have had their fair share of misbehaviour and I know that there has been a lot covered up down there as well. I think the Roosters have had a few players caught with illicit substances plus there’s Mitchell Pearce.
Also, some clubs are very good at covering up situations, unless there is an actual police charge involved.
But all in all, it’s a bad look for Souths and a really bad look for the game.

 

[Travitoh]

I agree - it does look worrying but Musgrove is not a Souths junior and Somi’s charge was actually while he was in the Melbourne Storm system. GI originally also whilst in Melbourne and Matt Lodge had been down there prior to his trip to the States. Add to this Cam Munster yet Melbourne is described as a club with great discipline.
The Cronulla Sharks have had their fair share of misbehaviour and I know that there has been a lot covered up down there as well. I think the Roosters have had a few players caught with illicit substances plus there’s Mitchell Pearce.
Also, some clubs are very good at covering up situations, unless there is an actual police charge involved.
But all in all, it’s a bad look for Souths and a really bad look for the game.

Musgrove played NYC with Souths, i would expect standards to be put in place at that level. That is where the players begin to enter the professional ranks i believe.
I always assumed Auva'a was a Souths boy, that's my error.
GI i was referring to his drink driving charge from October (which i feel the club is trying to passover without disciplinary action of note).

Is there perhaps a lack of professional standards within the club? The old 'boys will be boys' moniker can't be accepted in this day and age. Like it or not, they are in the public eye and when they misbehave (like we saw with Canterbury's mad monday) it is in the news.
Yet here we have numerous players not only acting out but attracting police attention and charges, some who have already made headlines previously in their career. It's not a good look for the club and it's not a good look for the game.
Overall it is only a minority of players doing wrong but standards and regulations aren't put in place for the majority who do the right thing.

 

[250excf]

Musgrove played NYC with Souths, i would expect standards to be put in place at that level. That is where the players begin to enter the professional ranks i believe.
I always assumed Auva'a was a Souths boy, that's my error.
GI i was referring to his drink driving charge from October (which i feel the club is trying to passover without disciplinary action of note).

Is there perhaps a lack of professional standards within the club? The old 'boys will be boys' moniker can't be accepted in this day and age. Like it or not, they are in the public eye and when they misbehave (like we saw with Canterbury's mad monday) it is in the news.
Yet here we have numerous players not only acting out but attracting police attention and charges, some who have already made headlines previously in their career. It's not a good look for the club and it's not a good look for the game.
Overall it is only a minority of players doing wrong but standards and regulations aren't put in place for the majority who do the right thing.

Simple answer mate they are rugby league players not brain surgeons so not the sharpest tools in the shed goes with the territory unfortunately,just because some or most get inflated pay packets doesn’t in any way mean they are smarter

 

[250excf]

Simple answer mate they are rugby league players not brain surgeons so not the sharpest tools in the shed goes with the territory unfortunately,just because some or most get inflated pay packets doesn’t in any way mean they are smarter

Um yeah Naaa the did well today maaate

 

[Go Bunnies]

Um yeah Naaa the did well today maaate

Are you answering yourself?? Or are you talking to assess5 and got confused??

 

[250excf]

Um yeah Naaa the did well today maaate

The typical nrl players quote

 

[ThingFish]

I think because these players are well known to us that they stand out. All clubs have history of issues. Give a 20yo guy $300k and a LOT of spare time and problems will surface. They say idle hands are the devils playground. Well I’dle hands, lots of cash, and surging hormones, that’s a hard thing to reign in and teach manners.

 

[JetRider]

These issues go beyond the club and into a broader sense the community. Footballers also have this siege mentality which comes from a scenario of being special and in some cases individuals start to think they are untouchable and above the law. Some footballers just make stupid decisions at a time that their testerone level is way to high. Education begins in the home and role models around them can often define their behaviour.