The NRL has been thrown into panic mode after a disgraceful melee at the end of a hotly contested game between Canterbury Bankstown and South Sydney. The scores were level in the final minutes of this game at ANZ stadium and then the Bunnies were awarded a vital penalty and won 18/17.
The Bulldogs fans erupted in fury. Full bottles of water were thrown from the stands onto the pitch and these missiles hit the referee and other match officials. A touch judge was knocked down and suffered a broken shoulder - and was rushed to hospital. What astonished officials was the sheer volume of that barrage of bottles. They came thick and fast and there was a very real danger of serious injury - or worse - to all those on the playing area.
When the fans finally vacated the stadium there were ugly scenes in the streets. The Bulldog fans were truculent and at one stage a Bunnies fan was "King Hit " without provocation and only the intervention of the police stopped further clashes.
Bulldog fans have long had the reputation for unruly conduct but these incidents were way out of hand. This was not a case of an isolated fan throwing a bottle. Probably a bottle thrown started some sort of crowd hysteria that led to an avalanche of bottle throwing, but the League is determined to nip this in the bud before it becomes a habit at future games. It has the potential to cause fans to stay away in droves - and perhaps cause many to abandon this sport in favour of soccer or Australian Rules.
No doubt club officials will be carefully scrutinising the video coverage of those in the stands to identify the culprits - but the sheer volume involved means that this will require mass punishment. This will certainly break new ground. The usual punishment for bad behaviour is to ban a spectator from a given number of games but it is possible that all Bulldogs fans may have to be mass punished for a period of time to stamp out bottle throwing.
Another option would be to ban all forms of bottled liquid at game venues. Both beer and water would only be available in soft plastic single serve measure, and gate security would need to search bags to prevent anything considered a potential missile being brought into the stadium. That would be a sad turn of events when we consider the long and proud history of Rugby League as once the major sport in this state.
One thing is absolutely certain. Game officials need to come down hard and act swiftly. It seems that we may be on the cusp of what was once known as the "British disease " - when soccer fans in the UK behaved so abominally that they were banned from travelling to much of Europe. In some instances, games were played to empty stadiums - behind locked gates, with consequent financial hardship to game organizers and the clubs.
Australian soccer still has a residual problem with fans who smuggle flares into matches and light these in the stands and throw them onto the pitch. This has become fairly isolated but only because the offenders are dutifully tracked down - and suitably punished. British soccer is now again welcome in Europe and it seems that the "British disease "has been successfully vaccinated.
Perhaps this bottle throwing incident was simply a rush of blood or a typical case of mass crowd hysteria, but the reaction needs to be sufficient to make sure it does not occur again - and does not develop into a typical fracas at the end of closely scored games.
Most Rugby League followers watching the game on television would have been appalled at what may become called "the Australian disease " if it is not promptly curtailed !
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