Chook said:
I haven't seen any reports about Finch being partly to blame for Friday night? I hope you haven't given up yet?
Oh and if you've been too busy writing to the powers about Finchy that you haven't seen a score update, Melbourne 34 - Dragons 6.
Hey, maybe Finchy is partly to blame for your defeat too? Maybe he's part of the big conspiracy to make your team look like a bunch of coachless halfwits?
You should look into it :lol: :lol: :lol:
Chook.
LOL... you asked for it. Well here it is, Care to say your wrong. AGAIN.
Don't do your bottle: NRL cautions Roosters star
By Steve Mascord, Brad Walter and Jacquelin Magnay
April 1, 2004
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The NRL last night issued Sydney Roosters halfback Brett Finch with a stern caution for throwing a bottle towards the crowd on Friday at Aussie Stadium and warned players that they won't get off so lightly next time.
Police raised the incident with the NRL and the Roosters after viewing video footage of Finch throwing a plastic bottle during Friday night's game against the Bulldogs, which was marred by crowd trouble.
Roosters CEO Brian Canavan phoned Finch in the presence of other club bosses to discuss the incident during yesterday's chief executives' conference in Sydney.
"It was made clear to Brian that if a player did it next time, there would be a penalty," NRL media and communications manager John Brady said.
The warning came after an eventful gathering of clubs at which: the 15 franchises told the players' association they had lost patience with negotiations and would make only one more offer over a collective bargaining agreement; an extensive program to improve the game's relationship with women was unveiled: the timekeeping system was scrapped after recent bungles.
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It is understood Bulldogs officials were angry that Finch escaped with a warning while their club has been given a suspended penalty of four competition points for their fans' behaviour.
Canavan last night said it was "doubtful" the bottle thrown by Finch after he dropped the ball went near the crowd, while the 22-year-old playmaker's agent, Steve Gillis, insisted he had merely wanted to remove the object from the field.
"Brett's not the guilty party here, it's the person who threw the bottle onto the field that they should be looking at," Gillis said.
"The bottle landed about a foot away from him as he tried to catch the kick-off. It could have easily hit him in the back of the head. I think the player is well within his rights to remove the object from the playing surface. He didn't throw it over the fence, it went just behind the deadball line."
But a witness claimed on Sydney radio station 2SM that Finch had earlier hurled back into the crowd a bottle which narrowly missed a young female Bulldogs supporter and which prompted a hail of missiles in his direction.
"After the Roosters scored to make it 31-0, Brett Finch picked up a bottle which landed near him and threw it straight back into the Bulldogs fans," Stephen Duckitt, 23 of Concord, later told the Herald.
"He didn't aim at anyone in particular but it almost hit a young Bulldogs fan who was a female before it was knocked away by someone else. There were then a lot of bottles thrown in Brett's direction by the crowd."
Meanwhile, Penrith boss Shane Richardson said the clubs were at the end of their tether in talks with the Rugby League Professionals Association. "Our clubs are registering enormous losses and the players' association still wants more," Richardson said. "We have made our final offer. It includes significant concessions - though not what they are asking for - and we will not go any further. To do so would be financial suicide."
The NRL will spend $1 million on player welfare and eduction programs to improve relations with the community and women in particular. A research program has also been commissioned.
And the CEOs endorsed the player misbehaviour hotline (1300 360 364) for the public. "It's unfortunate in one way that some issues we have been working on for some time will now be seen as reactive rather than proactive but the commitment is there nevertheless," NRL chief executive David Gallop said.
The CEOs meeting also announced that having voluntary timekeepers from each club sitting next to each other during a match would cease. The NRL will now appoint timekeepers.
Bulldogs chairman George Peponis said his club would look at the detail and then respond to the Roosters' request for just under $8000 in compensation for last Friday's events
