Newcastle sack player
February 21, 2005
THE Newcastle Knights NRL club tonight sacked one player and issued fines totalling $50,000 following a drunken rampage in a university dormitory in the NSW town of Bathurst at the weekend.
After two days of investigations and a marathon board meeting which stretched into the night, the Knights announced they had terminated the contract of one player.
The club declined to reveal his identity for legal reasons.
"The club realises the significance of its actions insofar as the player is concerned, but had to take into account the interests of the entire club, including its supporters, members and sponsors as well as the broader community," chairman Michael Hill said in a statement issued late tonight.
"Due to privacy issues, we are unable to name the player involved."
Newcastle officials also announced the largest fines in the club's history had been dished out to 12 players - including the player who had his contract terminated - following the breach of a 3am curfew and incidents involving a fire extinguisher and a bicycle.
The club itself was also hit with a $100,000 fine by the NRL over the players misconduct in Bathurst and received a further $100,000 penalty, suspended on the proviso the club incurred no similar misconduct breaches over the next two seasons.
The NRL also announced it would de-register the sacked player once it received notification from the Knights, effectively ending his career in Australia in the short term.
"Given the information we have been presented with, it would be our intention to refuse to register a contract with that player once we receive formal notification from the Knights," NRL chief executive David Gallop said in a statement tonight.
"Such a decision would prevent him playing for any NRL team.
"Certainly we would not re-register the player without a compelling reason and it is unlikely we could foresee that occurring within the next 12 months."
Today's upheaval followed reports that Knights players went on a drunken rampage through a student dormitory at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst after a trial game on Saturday night.
"We believe we have treated these breaches extremely seriously with the largest fines for offences of his nature in the club's 18-year history," chairman Michael Hill told a media conference at the club's Newcastle headquarters more than three hours before the announcement of the sacking.
One un-named student described on radio how a player allegedly assaulted a student as she slept.
"He then went back towards the door, saw her on her bed face down, climbed on top of her, straddled her and began to touch her inappropriately," she said.
However, police said today they had yet to receive an official complaint against the Knights players and had no evidence to support claims of an indecent assault.
The players fined were named by the club in alphabetical: Dustin Cooper, Kurt Gidley, Mark Hughes, Matt Kennedy, Todd Lowrie, Blake Mueller, Luke Quigley, Kirk Reynoldson, Reegan Tanner, Dane Tilse, Daniel Tolar and Adam Woolnough.
No break-down of the fines was announced and the players had the right to appeal, Knights chief executive Ken Conway said.
"The rest of the team were fairly disgusted and the rest of the team were keen to make sure that the players concerned were named so that the players who weren't involved didn't have their names besmirched," Conway said.
"We think that's important.
"We believe the players know the code of conduct, know what's involved in making sure our game has a good image, have to take responsibility for their own actions and not hide behind blank statements."
Gidley, captain of the team in Bathurst, apologised to the club and its fans.
"I was the acting captain in Bathurst and on behalf of players who broke club curfew and acted inappropriately on Sunday morning, we would like to apologise without reservation for any offence taken by students at Charles Sturt University," he said.
"We realise that another matter of a more serious nature may still be the subject of further investigation.
"Irrespective of this we would like to express that our actions were unacceptable.
"We have breached our own code of conduct, the trust of our club and the supporters. We are committed now towards working hard to rebuild that trust."
It's the second time in two years the NRL has slugged one of its clubs over a pre-season incident.
Last year the Bulldogs were hit with a $500,000 fine - $350,000 was suspended - over allegations of sexual misconduct in Coffs Harbour.
Conway said the Knights had become aware of the incident on Sunday morning when two players reported the matter to team officials and they immediately began an investigation.
"Players at some point in time have to take responsibility for their actions and that's what today's investigation has been about," Conway said.
The financial repercussions of the Bathurst brouhaha could be dire for the club.
Newcastle, without the support of a leagues club, fights a yearly battle to make ends meet.
As of today, it still had not secured a major sponsor for this season.
"I have been very busy today investigating the allegations, I have not been afforded the opportunity to have discussions with any of our sponsors," Conway said.
"I would hope provided it is considered that we have dealt with the matter appropriately it wouldn't affect our sponsorship arrangements but that remains to be seen and it certainly is a concern."
Conway and Hill also absolved coach Michael Hagan and football manager Mark Sargent of any blame.
It's understood the pair spoke with players about their responsibilities prior to the trip and on the bus on the way to Bathurst.
Hagan and Sargent then conducted a head count when the players returned to their hotel at 3am.
It's understood the 12 players concerned then headed back out.
"They signed players in and made sure the players were back," Conway said.
AAP