The Panthers are at risk of developing a bad reputation with the NRL being called on to come down harsher to deter clubs from exploiting rules.
It was revealed on Wednesday that the Rabbitohs lodged a formal complaint with the NRL about a Panthers trainer going onto the field 13 times during their win over the Storm last weekend.
As per the NRL’s rule, a trainer can only go onto the field three times per half.
The latest trainer drama comes after the club was hit with a $25,000 fine and trainer Pete Green was suspended for the remainder of the year for stopping play before assessing a player.
The Daily Telegraph’s Paul Kent believes the Panthers didn’t learn their lesson a couple of weeks ago because the punishment was no where near harsh enough.
“They (NRL) won’t do anything this week. We predicted this two weeks ago when they hit Penrith with a feather over Pete Green accosting a linesman to stop play,” he told NRL 360.
“It was not a severe enough punishment, I said at the time it was pocket change for them the $25,000 fine and they’ve indicated that in their behaviour.
“Despite the rules saying he’s only allowed on the field three times per half, he was on there 13 times, he’s doubled the amount. If they get another $25,000 fine and they win the comp, it’s worth it.”
Champion playmaker Cooper Cronk labelled the fine as “ashtray money coins,” while The Australian’s Brent Read agreed that the NRL won’t punish the Panthers ahead of the grand final but believes the club is developing a reputation for ignoring the rules.
“I don’t think anything will happen, even if they warn Penrith about it. What have they got to lose? It’s a grand final, Hayden can jump on there all he wants, they’re not going to do anything during the game,” he told NRL 360.
“I’ve got to say it’s another example of Penrith mastering the dark arts.
“They’ve developed a bit of a reputation of pushing the envelope and this is another example of how they’re starting to push the envelope a little bit.
“But you know what, winners push the envelope. Melbourne got a reputation for years for pushing things as far as they can push them and I think Penrith are starting to develop that mindset.”
Kent, however, wasn’t so understanding of Penrith continuously trying their luck and has called out the NRL for being “impotent” when it comes to punishing clubs.
“The way they’ve disrespected the rules, ignored the rules. They’ve just said ‘it doesn’t matter what you tell us what we can and can’t do. We’ll pay the fine and do what we want to do.’
“The NRL just sits back inept, they’re impotent when it comes to actually dealing with it.
“They’ve got to get back into the fight. The game for 20 years has been exploiting rules and we hit them with these feather-like penalties and the coaches think ‘we aren’t allowed to do this now, this is what the new interpretation is, we’ve got to figure out a way to rort that.’
“They’ve got to start having an impact on the team and not the club. $25,000 is nothing for the club, if they lost competition points or salary cap space they’d start to behave.”
Source: foxsports.com.au