The behaviour of NRL trainers is in the news for the second week running and one former star says it’s the NRL’s own fault.
Following the latest incident in NRL Round 23 when Cowboys head physiotherapist Steve Sartori was hit by an errant pass against Parramatta, Queensland Maroons coach Billy Slater has expressed sympathy for under-fire trainers.
“I haven’t met a trainer who isn’t a good bloke, I feel sorry for them, they’re out there doing their best and they’re coming into the spotlight at the moment,” he said on the Billy Slater Podcast.
At the same time, Slater acknowledged teams are pushing the limits of trainer involvement precisely because they can—knowing it can deliver a significant on-field advantage.
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“A lot of the blue shirts are ex-players and also in the coaching staff, when you have that football IQ out there and communicating with the team, it’s a huge benefit,” he said.
“The orange and yellow shirts are medical and performance staff … but the (trainer) who’s out there communicating with players through the whole set, that’s where it’s a concern, it’s like having another player or coach on the field.”
‘The NRL have dropped the ball’
Slater then turned the finger of blame squarely on the NRL.
“Clubs, coaches and players will do what they can get away with, it’s not necessarily around playing to the rules, it’s about playing to the standard that’s being accepted,” he said.
“The NRL have dropped the ball, what the NRL won’t police, is what the clubs will do—they need to start policing it more, with how long people can be on the field for, and if clubs aren’t doing it correctly, they need to come down on it.”
Slater likened the current behaviour of trainers pushing the allowable on-field limits to that of players themselves.
“It’s the same as a player on the field, if a referee is allowing you to stand a metre offside, you keep doing it, that’s the game,” he said.
“That’s why the best clubs are the best clubs, they’re always right on the limits—‘what can we get away with?’”
With an NRL crack down rumoured to be on the way, it seems trainers may be getting away with far less in the near future.