Ryan Sutton has some simple advice: speak to the referee like you'd speak to your mother.
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The Canberra Raiders prop's words of wisdom comes in the wake of Manly enforcer Addin Fonua-Blake facing up to a three-week ban for calling referee Grant Atkins a "f------ retard".
Fonua-Blake's comments came at the end of their controversial loss to Newcastle on Sunday. He issued an apology afterwards.
Sutton said it could be tough controlling your emotions on the field, but felt how you spoke to the referee was important.
"It's a big respect thing. They have a tough job, the referees, and you can't speak to them the way you think you can," he said.
"It gets heated, though, at the same time ... we're all competitive people, that's why we play rugby league. Personally, it's not something you should do because - he's probably come out and apologised himself - but you've just got to be careful of what you're saying.
"You sort of see it as if you're speaking to your mother. You don't talk to your mum that way, so don't talk to the ref like that."
MORE RAIDERS NEWS
Sutton's looking to establish himself in the Raiders' starting 13 against a big, physical Melbourne Storm pack this week.
The Storm will be looking to avenge three consecutive losses to the Raiders at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night.
Sutton expected Canberra big bopper Josh Papalii to return to the starting line-up following a potentially season-ending injury to Sia Soliola (face), while it's hoped Emre Guler (ankle) might only miss a few weeks.
The Raiders' middle stocks are running low, with Corey Horsburgh (foot) also potentially out for the rest of 2020.
Sutton's coming off what Raiders coach Ricky Stuart described as his best game in lime green since joining the club from Wigan ahead of last season.
The 24-year-old ran for 121 metres and made 47 tackles and two tackle busts.
"Whether it be off the bench or starting, I want to make sure I'm playing my best rugby," Sutton said.
"I'm not taking any minute for granted, so if I am starting I'm making sure that I'm the ground running and not waiting for that five to 10 minutes to get into the game.
"Hopefully I can solidify a position, but if not it's always good to rotate. We've got [Joe Tapine] who is a great starter and [Papalii] will probably look to start again this week."
The Raiders were looking to bolster their squad, potentially using salary cap relief from John Bateman (shoulder), who injured himself playing for Great Britain last year.
They've been linked to North Queensland lock John Asiata, but Raiders recruitment boss Peter Mulholland poured cold water on that move.
You sort of see it as if you're speaking to your mother. You don't talk to your mum that way, so don't talk to the ref like that.
- Ryan Sutton
Sutton was confident they had some young players ready to make their NRL debuts.
He pointed to Kai O'Donnell and Ata Mariota as two prospects. O'Donnell has been named on the Raiders' extended bench several times this season.
They also have the experienced Dunamis Lui to bring straight in.
"Kai's been really training well. We've got young Ata, who is coming up as well and is looking really promising," Sutton said.
"They're going to get their chances and whoever [Stuart] picks ... is going to be ready because we all train to a certain intensity. That's a good thing about our club that we've got that good competitive nature, whether you're younger or older.
"I'm looking forward to what the team's going to be this week."
NRL ROUND NINE
Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Melbourne Storm at Canberra Stadium, 7.35pm.