Penrith Junior Rugby League is stamping out side-line abuse at junior games and will issue sanctions and fines without explanation.
Panthers Junior Media released a statement on the 25th of May, stating “The PDJRL by-laws 4.18 will be enforced without explanation from round 6. Furthermore, a punishment from round 7 on top of judiciary outcomes a team will be asked to show just cause why they shouldn’t be removed from the competition. The club will be fined $1000 with a case-by-case approach.”
Assistant coach of the under 13s Doonside Roos James Wheatley, believes that without a thorough explanation of the new law brought in, his team could be eliminated due to a single swear word from a fan.
“What's preventing Jane Doe from dressing in the opposing teams’ colours and swearing and abusing the referee from the stands? Is it in the hope of getting that team eliminated from the competition?” Wheatley says.
Positively the Panthers Juniors have been working tirelessly to minimise on and off field incidents. They introduced a concept of creating a positive culture in 2020 to achieve positive outcomes in the under-14s/15s competitions.
According to the PDJRL association, “Age divisions have seen a drop of 60 per cent in incidents in 2021, followed by 64 per cent last year.”
Wheatley is still convinced that no matter how much work Panthers juniors put in to stamping out abuse it will never be 100% eliminated. “I sometimes wonder if any amount of punishment no matter how severe would ever stop passionate spectators, coaches or players from potentially losing their cool after a truly bad call.”
Wheatley believes that when you have coaches, managers, trainers, and a team full of players dedicating so much time to win. He can’t help but think that when a referee makes a bad decision, it could potentially change the momentum of a game. It could also outright cost that team the game.
“Players and coaches will often react with passion regardless of the potential outcome." Wheatley says.
A professional referee, Olivia Lawne, views the new law as unfair for the junior club to be punished with a fine and sanction for one individual act. “A warning should be given directly to that person” Lawne says. "A club can’t control an individual’s actions and at the end of the day park football is park football.
Wheatley and Lawne both agree that verbal and physical abuse has been ongoing since they immersed themselves in Rugby League. James recalls a moment where a player was losing his head in a moment of madness and punching the referee.
“From my knowledge the player was handed a life ban.” Wheatley says.
Lawne has had her fair share of abuse in her seven-year period of refereeing, stating, “I remember the day quite vividly and all the abuse that was thrown at me." The spectator was banned for a year from attending all games." She says.
According to James he insists, “As long as there is Penrith officials at each game then any abuse can be recorded, investigated, and dealt with in an appropriate and timely manner.” Says Wheatley.
Realistically clubs don’t want $1000 fines based on one individual's actions. Wheatley suggests that the $1000 fine may force you to put off buying new equipment such as tackling bags and pads. They may have to cut back on end-of-year activities like presentations or outings.
"At the end of the day this will only affect the kid’s development and happiness," Wheatley says.
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