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Whatta low merkin....
Thief tried to throw blame on teammate
December 14, 2003
The player suspected of stealing from his Kangaroo teammates tried to frame Trent Waterhouse with the theft of Anthony Minichiello's camera.
Minichiello noticed his camera was missing at the start of the tour and eventually bought another one.
But just days before the tour ended and in the middle of the drama over the stolen money, the suspected thief handed the camera back to the Kangaroo winger claiming he had found it in Waterhouse's room.
In further amazing details, The Sun-Herald can also reveal the thief stole cash from an Australian Rugby League official on the tour, the players knew about a "sting" operation before it took place, and the thief is alleged to have used part of his haul to fund taxi trips from Leeds to Manchester and at least one to London.
Since breaking the story last Sunday, players have described to the The Sun-Herald how the thief was ostracised by the other players for most of the tour.
Minichiello yesterday confirmed that his camera had gone missing and was later returned, but he would not discuss the matter further. However, his teammates know what happened with the camera.
" 'Mini' had to go out and buy a new camera because the thief took it," said one. "He then tried to blame 'House' for it. That's just bad. When Mini got it back he just asked, 'why didn't you give it back sooner?' "
Waterhouse was also reluctant to discuss incidents on the tour but he strongly denied that the camera was in his possession, and he was surprised to learn an attempt had been made to frame him.
"I've been advised by my manager to say nothing," he said. The Sun-Herald can also reveal that Waterhouse confronted the thief about the theft of his jersey after the third Test.
He approached the player, in front of teammates, demanding: "Give me my jumper back you %@#$."
Waterhouse confirmed that he fronted a fellow player about his jumper, but would not go into details.
At this stage Waterhouse has heard nothing from the ARL about having his second Test jersey replaced.
The player Waterhouse confronted has a history of stealing jerseys. He gained the nickname of "Fingers" because of this habit.
ARL boss Geoff Carr said it was unlikely that Waterhouse would have his jumper replaced.
"When it went missing there were a number of different people on the Kangaroos' [hotel] floor," said Carr.
"There were too many variables in that situation. There were people having a drink with the team and they may have just noticed a door being open and a jersey lying around.
"They may have just taken it thinking that no one would notice."
Players are still fuming about the disappearance of $6500.
"It's a disgrace and the bloke deserves to be outed," said one.
Players have also said they knew all about the sting being planned, when it has been alleged only senior players who had lost money were told of it.
"I knew, and so did other players, that there was going to be a camera in Robbie Kearns's room," said one player, who did not lose any cash. "I reckon if I knew, so did the bloke they suspected. It was too little too late."
Players gathered at a team dinner on the night before the third Test once the accusations about "Fingers" began to circulate and openly discussed their concerns.
It was also the subject of "tea party" discussions, which was the players' description of drinks in the room of captain Darren Lockyer.
Right there and then he was hung, drawn and quartered. The Kangaroos had no doubt at all which player was to blame.
Some cracked jokes about the problem, saying that those who were tight with their money should have spent their cash so the thief could not get his hands on it.
The thief was not present at the dinner. He spent a large portion of time away from the camp.
He made taxi journeys to Manchester that cost hundreds of dollars.
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/13/1071125712774.html
Thief tried to throw blame on teammate
December 14, 2003
The player suspected of stealing from his Kangaroo teammates tried to frame Trent Waterhouse with the theft of Anthony Minichiello's camera.
Minichiello noticed his camera was missing at the start of the tour and eventually bought another one.
But just days before the tour ended and in the middle of the drama over the stolen money, the suspected thief handed the camera back to the Kangaroo winger claiming he had found it in Waterhouse's room.
In further amazing details, The Sun-Herald can also reveal the thief stole cash from an Australian Rugby League official on the tour, the players knew about a "sting" operation before it took place, and the thief is alleged to have used part of his haul to fund taxi trips from Leeds to Manchester and at least one to London.
Since breaking the story last Sunday, players have described to the The Sun-Herald how the thief was ostracised by the other players for most of the tour.
Minichiello yesterday confirmed that his camera had gone missing and was later returned, but he would not discuss the matter further. However, his teammates know what happened with the camera.
" 'Mini' had to go out and buy a new camera because the thief took it," said one. "He then tried to blame 'House' for it. That's just bad. When Mini got it back he just asked, 'why didn't you give it back sooner?' "
Waterhouse was also reluctant to discuss incidents on the tour but he strongly denied that the camera was in his possession, and he was surprised to learn an attempt had been made to frame him.
"I've been advised by my manager to say nothing," he said. The Sun-Herald can also reveal that Waterhouse confronted the thief about the theft of his jersey after the third Test.
He approached the player, in front of teammates, demanding: "Give me my jumper back you %@#$."
Waterhouse confirmed that he fronted a fellow player about his jumper, but would not go into details.
At this stage Waterhouse has heard nothing from the ARL about having his second Test jersey replaced.
The player Waterhouse confronted has a history of stealing jerseys. He gained the nickname of "Fingers" because of this habit.
ARL boss Geoff Carr said it was unlikely that Waterhouse would have his jumper replaced.
"When it went missing there were a number of different people on the Kangaroos' [hotel] floor," said Carr.
"There were too many variables in that situation. There were people having a drink with the team and they may have just noticed a door being open and a jersey lying around.
"They may have just taken it thinking that no one would notice."
Players are still fuming about the disappearance of $6500.
"It's a disgrace and the bloke deserves to be outed," said one.
Players have also said they knew all about the sting being planned, when it has been alleged only senior players who had lost money were told of it.
"I knew, and so did other players, that there was going to be a camera in Robbie Kearns's room," said one player, who did not lose any cash. "I reckon if I knew, so did the bloke they suspected. It was too little too late."
Players gathered at a team dinner on the night before the third Test once the accusations about "Fingers" began to circulate and openly discussed their concerns.
It was also the subject of "tea party" discussions, which was the players' description of drinks in the room of captain Darren Lockyer.
Right there and then he was hung, drawn and quartered. The Kangaroos had no doubt at all which player was to blame.
Some cracked jokes about the problem, saying that those who were tight with their money should have spent their cash so the thief could not get his hands on it.
The thief was not present at the dinner. He spent a large portion of time away from the camp.
He made taxi journeys to Manchester that cost hundreds of dollars.
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/13/1071125712774.html
