‘Not a good look’: Suns coach reacts to ‘inappropriate’ toilet video
Damien Hardwick has labelled the video of a Suns duo leaving a toilet together as “inappropriate”, as he looks to rectify the behavioural issues hurting his team.
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Mac Andrew were filmed leaving a disabled bathroom together during the State of Origin decider at Suncorp Stadium.
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Mac Andrew. Getty
Both players strongly denied any misconduct.
The Suns had sought answers from the pair and worked together to move on from the incident.
But Hardwick made clear to reporters that while he and the club “believe what they said”, the Suns understand “it’s not a good look” for a video of that kind to emerge.
“It’s not an incident. Two guys walked into a disabled toilet. It’s inappropriate,” he said in a press conference on Friday.
“It’s one of those situations we spoke about. It’s not a great look using the disabled toilet. We spoke about that. It’s disrespectful to the accessible people that need it. So, we work through that and we move on.”
The incident came just days after Hardwick called his team “pathetic” and suggested his playing group was no longer a chance of playing finals football after they suffered a 79-point thrashing at the hands of Adelaide.
Suns CEO Mark Evans walked back Hardwick’s comments and the coach has since apologised to his players for his “overly emotional” statement.
“It was just one of those games. It was so disappointing,” he said.
“I’m not one of these people that looks at the ladder too much, and I just overreacted.
“I apologised to the players because we’ve still got hope and belief that if we play our best footy we’re capable of beating most sides in the competition.
“We spoke about that as a playing group, I apologised to them, and we move forward pretty quickly.”
Hardwick later reassured fans there was “nothing to worry about” in terms of potential fractures emerging within the club.
But Matthew Lloyd fears the video of Ugle-Hagan and Andrews is characteristic of a club that has become the biggest disappointment of the season.
“The club (has) put out a statement saying they’ve spoken to the players, they believe their version of events, really,” he told Nine’s Today on Thursday.
Suns coach Damien Hardwick. AFL Photos via Getty Images
“So, at this stage, it’s just two boys, two guys who have gone in and used the disabled toilets, which they shouldn’t,” Lloyd said.
“Make of it what you will, but there’s no evidence of anything other than that.”
While the Suns have plummeted to 14th on the AFL ladder, they remain just one win away from breaking into the wildcard spots.
Still, Lloyd was scathing in his assessment of the team’s trajectory.
“Gold Coast are in freefall. They’ve lost seven in a row, they’ve been the biggest disappointment of the season. They can’t turn it around,” he said.
“Undisciplined on the field, some will say undisciplined off the field as well. So, it’s been just a horror year for them.”
The Suns will play a home game against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday.
