Ugly rap sheet exposes Penrith's dodgy use of on-field trainers to gain tactical advantage
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Andrew Johns laughed it off as "gamesmanship" and there's no doubt most, if not every, NRL team attempts similar tactics at one stage or another.
But Penrith's rap sheet of using the on-field trainer to gain an illegal advantage is getting a little too long to be humorous.
The Panthers have been hit hard by NRL after their runner Corey Bocking blatantly ran in front of Gold Coast goal kicker Jayden Campbell at the weekend.
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It is at least the fourth controversy surrounding a Penrith trainer in as many years.
Here is their ugly rap sheet laid bare.
BOCKING JINXES CAMPBELL KICK
Gold Coast was leading Penrith by two points late in Saturday's clash and on the verge of one of the biggest upsets of the season.
Penrith's trainer runs in front of Jayden Campbell. Fox League
Campbell lined up a conversion attempt from near the sideline which could have put the Titans up by four, and hindsight tells us almost certainly would have won the game.
Just as Campbell was about to step into his run-up, Bocking ran in front of the kicker, then pretended it was an accident and waved a hand in apology as he grinned.
Campbell was furious, throwing the tee to the ground in anger after missing the conversion attempt.
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Soon after, the Panthers levelled the game through a Nathan Cleary two-point field goal, before winning it in extra time.
Jayden Campbell throws the tee. Fox League
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary claimed after the game he hadn't seen the Bocking incident, while Johns told Nine the following day the trainer "knew what he was doing".
The NRL on Monday suggested a ive-game ban for Bocking - ending his NRL season - and a $50,000 fine for the club.
PANTHERS BUSTED IN NRL'S WATERGATE
Penrith's trainer Shane Elford was suspended for two games in May after spraying water onto the football just before the Panthers kicked off, making it slippery for the opposition.
It was again during a golden point game - coincidence or not? - this time against North Queensland.
Referee Todd Smith called it out at the time and Nine's Billy Slater described the action as "cheeky".
The Cowboys trainer was also busted doing the same thing during extra time, and they copped the same penalty as Penrith.
"The NRL has also reminded all clubs about the limitations of the roles of trainers on match days," an NRL statement said at the time.
Panthers trainer Shane Elford sprays water onto the ball. Twitter
ILLEGALLY FORCING REF TO STOP PLAY
Twice during the 2021 season, Green courted controversy when he made the on-field referee stop play, giving Penrith a break at a critical time during a game.
The most notable came against Parramatta when Green attended to Panthers hooker Mitch Kenny.
The Panthers were fined $25,000 for that incident and Green was sidelined for the rest of the season.
Earlier that same year Green was at the centre of an almost identical incident against Cronulla.
With the Panthers down 18-6 and the Sharks pressing for another try deep in their attacking half, Green called out to referee Ashley Klein to stop play as he was attending to Viliame Kikau.
Trainers are able to stop play for head injuries but not for the ankle injury that Kikau was supposedly struggling with.
"That should not be allowed," Phil Gould said in commentary for Nine at the time.
"It's an ankle injury, (Kikau) had already jogged back 80 or 90 metres. That part of the rules has really got to be looked at, that's terrible".
His fellow Nine expert Brad Fittler - a Penrith legend - was equally dismayed at the situation.
"They've given trainers the power to stop games. The coach just sends a trainer on and says 'stop the game, whatever you need to do to stop the game'," Fittler said.
GREEN ANGERS SOUTHS WITH BRUTAL SLEDGE
The following year it was Green at the centre of controversy again.
During a game against South Sydney, the Penrith trainer allegedly made a number of comments to former Panthers player Jed Cartwright, who was playing for the Bunnies.
The Rabbitohs alleged Green was sledging Cartwright about a back injury he suffered earlier in his career.
When Cartwright walked over to speak to Green following the game things got heated.
9News cameras captured an irate Bunnies star Cody Walker giving Green a gobful, and walking towards him in an exchange that almost got physical.
Walker refused to elaborate on the incident when speaking to 9News but South Sydney made a complaint against Green.
"When you're in a privileged position, you should never speak to another player from an opposition team let alone say the things that were said," a South Sydney official told The Sydney Morning Herald.
"It's the height of disrespect."
Penrith defended Green and denied he had been sledging Cartwright about his back.
