Pay hits back after Burgess sledge
CANTERBURY coach Dean Pay has dismissed accusations of “rolling around and milking” levelled at Josh Morris over a penalty that led to South Sydney star Sam Burgess copping a two-game suspension.
Pay said Morris didn’t have it in him to “lay down” and the veteran NRL finisher had struggled with a throat injury following Burgess’s forearm blow.
“It’s a big call isn’t it, for someone to say someone lays down? None of my players are like that,” Pay said yesterday.
“He really struggled with it for a while,” he added when asked about Morris’s injury. “We had a few days there, he couldn’t train earlier (that) week.”
Burgess took aim at Morris on Tuesday for a “Hollywood” performance during the Bunnies’ 20-16 Good Friday win.
The Bulldog fell to the turf, grabbing at his windpipe after the collision.
“I think the reaction of the opposing player had a big influence,” Burgess told reporters when asked about his two-match suspension.
The English forward rejected a suggestion he needed to work on his game to prevent landing himself in a similar position again.
“That’s football – we play a contact sport, (not) players rolling around and milking it or trying to get a career in Hollywood after playing football.”
Pay said his focus was on the clash with the Sydney Roosters tonight.
“We certainly want to play better than we did the last time we met them,” he said of his team’s round two 30-12 loss.
“Our focus is on ourselves and making sure we play well. We can’t control what they do,” he said.