July 27, 2015. 17:10
CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | Contact
Cronulla Sharks National Rugby League players Andrew and David Fifita are being investigated over allegedly acting like rugby league fans at a junior rugby league game.
Their behaviour has prompted the rugby league club that they play professional rugby league for, to say the pair have “let the whole of rugby league down”.
Cronulla Sharks CEO, Shia Sutherland, gave an official statement moments ago.
“I mean, it is one thing to grow up playing the game in rugby league heartlands like Blacktown and Griffith, but if your going to go and actually watch a game in the Western Suburbs, it is very important to not act like rugby league fans. These boys gave up that priviledge when they became professionals”
“That’s the message we are sending today, the Fifita brothers have let themselves down. They knew better than to spend their Saturday morning helping out a junior club in the Western Suburbs”
Despite the chief executive’s comments, Andrew Fifita was not stood down for Sunday’s match against Canterbury, although David Fifita was dropped from his spot on the bench. Wests Tigers prop Matthew Lodge has also been banned, for the remainder of the year, by the Penrith Junior Rugby League over the same incident at Glenwood on Saturday.
It is alleged the twin brothers physically and verbally threatened three young match officials after the A-grade game between St Patrick’s and St Mary’s at Glenwood on saturday.
An incident report obtained by the ABC said David Fifita was acting as the St Patrick’s trainer and allegedly said to the referee “you’re a … disgrace mate” among other comments at the end of the game.
In response, the referee reportedly started to record the incident on his mobile phone, at which point David Fifita’s brother Andrew allegedly walked into a roped off area and told the young referee to “delete that now or I’ll smash you”.
The Sharks CEO has not yet specified what a guilty verdict might mean, but for a club that is crippled by the misconduct of star players who grew up in leagues clubs, acting like low-breed pissheads in leagues clubs, it is quite obvious that something needs to be done.
“We acknowledge the circumstances”
“…These twin brothers are covered in tattoos, they are of both Aboriginal, Australian and Tongan background, they grew up in both the Western Suburbs and in Outback New South Wales… and are both relatively overweight… We just didn’t think they would go ‘full rugby league’ on us”
