South Sydney forward Jaydn Su’A told teammates, officials and club coaching staff he was sledged by Roosters coach Trent Robinson at halftime in their spiteful clash last Friday night.
While Robinsons denies the claim, the NRL is aware of the allegation but won’t investigate unless Souths lodge a formal complaint.
Souths have spoken to the NRL about the alleged incident and had hoped the matter would be investigated without the club being forced to lodge a complaint.
Su’A told members of Souths’ coaching staff that Robinson called him a “thug”, according to News Corp. Robinson said the allegation is “completely untrue” when contacted.
The claims surrounding Robinson are part of a wide-ranging investigation into several unsavory incidents from the match.
According to reports, Souths will not file a formal complaint but fully back S’uA over his version of events.
“We are content to let the NRL’s review of these incidents to be completed upon gathering all available evidence. If we have any concerns, we will address them privately and through the appropriate NRL processes,” said Souths CEO Blake Solly.
According to sources who spoke to the Sydney Morning Herald, the taunts came from a number of different Roosters officials and were directed at several people, including standby referee Matt Cecchin and the head injury assessment official.
Former NRL referee and now Roosters football manager Chris James is among the officials under scrutiny for their behaviour on the sideline. He reportedly sent and a text message to his former colleague Jared Maxwell after the game, denigrating the performance of the match officials.
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