Stop it, or cop it.
That’s the message Manly coach Des Hasler has for today’s NRL stars as debate re-ignites over the banning of Mad Monday celebrations.
Hasler’s comments come after photos emerged this week appearing to show Parramatta forward Shaun Lane with a bag of white powder last year.
It is reported the images were taken at the end-of-season celebrations at Manly, where Lane was playing before he joining the Eels for the 2019 campaign.
Hasler, who wasn’t at the Sea Eagles last year but re-joined this season, was reluctant to discuss the details of the events but suggested the photos may have been a joke.
But risking the game’s image isn’t funny.
“For players, it’d be idiotic to try and, particularly in regards to the image of the game, if it was a gee-up or a bad joke,” Hasler told reporters on Wednesday.
“Who knows what the powder was? It could’ve been Panadol or Disprin.
“At the end of the day, don’t risk it, because it sounds, at the end of the day, there’s going to be a hefty fine on the back of it.”
Hasler was unsure if eliminating Mad Monday celebrations was the solution.
“It’s a discussion that’s always come out… define what Mad Monday is. There’s just got to be smart planning and accountability shown.”
Wests Tigers veteran Benji Marshall agreed.
“I don’t think Mad Monday needs a re-design. I think players’ behaviour needs a re-design,” Marshall said on Fox Sports’ NRL 360 program.
“Times are changing and, as players, I feel like we’re changing with it. We’re doing what we can and in this instance this is something you have got to learn from.
“Taking photos and sending them, of stupid things, is a no no.”
Marshall, a former world player of the year who remains a pin-up for the code even at 35, admits he was shocked when he first saw the photo of Lane splashed across the front page of a Sydney newspaper on Tuesday.
“I was thinking this is what we don’t need leading into the semi-finals; another scandal,” he said.
“I think the takeaway for the players from this is, the whole taking photos (of) stupid things, whether it’s illegal or not, just how it looks (is bad).
“So that whole point of when you want to take a photo of yourself doing something silly and send it, we’ve got to be better than that.”