League legend Laurie Daley has unloaded on the culture at Penrith, saying he wouldn’t allow his son to play for the embattled NRL club in the current climate.
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The Panthers are reeling after three of their players were allegedly involved in sex tapes that have been widely circulated.
Playmaker Tyrone May has been stood down by the NRL after being arrested and charged for allegedly filming and disseminating sexual acts with two women without their knowledge and consent. He will remain stood down until the matter is settled in court.
A sex tape featuring two other Panthers, Liam Coleman and Tyrone Phillips, have also made their way into the public domain.
Former NSW coach Daley, a co-host of 2KY’s Big Sky Sports Breakfast program, took aim at the embattled club.
“It’s not good for your brand,” Daley said on air on Wednesday morning.
“If you’re a parent, which I am, at the moment if I have a son good enough to play and if Penrith were in discussions with my son, I wouldn’t want my son to go and play at Penrith.
“And I wouldn’t want my daughter to go out with any Penrith player.”
Asked if the dissemination of lewd videos was a more widespread problem across the game, Daley said: “At the moment, how many people have been charged? How many people have been involved (in videos) released at the moment?
“There’s three players, four players from Penrith, compared to other clubs.
“What I’m saying is if I’ve got my son or my daughter, I don’t want them going anywhere near Penrith ...
“If I’ve got proof or evidence that other people are doing it, I’ll lay into them as well. But at the moment it’s Penrith and Penrith haven’t got a great culture.”
Daley’s comments are sure to escalate tensions between himself and Panthers supremo Phil Gould. Gould, NSW’s most successful State of Origin coach, was scathing of what he described as a toxic culture at the Blues while Daley was in charge, to the point where he threatened not to allow his Penrith players to be involved in rugby league’s showpiece event.
"I don't want anyone down in that culture at all,” Gould said in 2017 after NSW players were involved in a series of alcohol-fuelled incidents.
“I don't want any of our current players in that environment ...
"It all starts with leadership. Who's going to take control over what the personality of this team [is]? I think it's a dog's breakfast, and it has been for some time.”
Penrith released a statement on Tuesday supporting the NRL’s decision to stand down May.
