IS IT TOO TOUGH?
COWBOYS prop Scott Bolton will today be suspended for five matches as NRL bosses yesterday vowed to “repair” rugby league’s battered image with the toughest crackdown on player behaviour in the code’s history.
The Cairns Post can reveal Cowboys hierarchy are at loggerheads with NRL CEO Todd Greenberg, who will front the media again today to hand down a series of punishments that will include the banning of Bolton.
Bolton pleaded guilty to common assault in January following an incident with a woman at a Sydney bar on May 5 last year.
The Cowboys forward will not be tested under the NRL’s No Fault policy as his court case was finalised six weeks ago.
However, the NRL’s crackdown on incidents involving women will see Bolton slapped with a five-match ban – wiping him out until North Queensland’s Round 6 clash against the Warriors on April 20.
Cowboys powerbrokers have been privately informed of Bolton’s suspension by the NRL.
That prompted a furious riposte from North Queensland chairman Laurence Lancini, who attended League Central yesterday for a meeting with Greenberg, lashing the CEO over a suspension he labelled “ridiculous”.
Lancini argued Bolton did not have a conviction recorded, and pointed to his exemplary behaviour across 13 years of NRL service.
But Greenberg and Beattie have had enough, putting the NRL’s 400-plus contracted full-time players on notice following a summer of shame.
Queensland State of Origin legend Trevor Gillmeister slammed Bolton’s punishment.
The suspension will include a tour of the NRL’s 16 clubs to show CCTV footage of him assaulting a woman in a bar last year.
Gillmeister, who played 22 Origin games for Queensland and won two first-grade premierships with the Broncos, fears the NRL may have “jumped the gun” with the harshness of Bolton’s punishment.
“He’s gone through the (court) system,” Gillmeister said. “I know players have brought the game into disrepute, but I just hope they haven’t jumped the gun ….
“He’s got to go through all of it again, basically. I just can’t really agree with the double whammy.”
Another former Queensland Origin great Ben Ikin expressed concern over Bolton’s expected suspension.
“The sanction seemed to be a little strange,” Ikin said.
“I don’t understand what they’re trying to do.
“I find the whole situation complex and I don’t envy anyone who is deciding what is best for the game.”