Corey Bocking, a trainer for the Penrith Panthers, faces scrutiny following an incident during a match on Saturday where he disrupted a conversion attempt. On Monday, league officials will have to decide whether Bocking should be suspended. The Panthers have announced that his actions were unintentional.
The play, which took place during the final minutes of the Panthers’ intense 30-26 win, came on a fourth down stop. What ensued was controversy that confusion created over an interchange. Bocking re-took the bench to help decide which of the players would be sent off. Unfortunately, in a moment of communication breakdown, he accidentally cut in front of Campbell, ruining the conversion try.
Penrith coach Ivan Cleary defended Bocking, stating, “He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. We had a sub and I changed it at the last minute.” Throughout the case, the Panthers stressed that there was no intent and no malice behind Bocking’s actions — that they were purely accidental.
This sort of thing is hardly new to the NRL. In other recent cases, trainers have been penalized for causing similar disruptions. In 2021, Penrith physio Peter Green copped a two-week suspension for inappropriately halting play. In 2022, the Eels had a penalty imposed on them after one of their trainers stopped a Nathan Cleary conversion kick. In addition, coaches Shane Elford and Mitchell Dunn were charged and suspended for drenching a match-day ball with water in an earlier case.
Des Hasler, coach of the other team, commented on what he felt would be the expected consequences for Bocking’s behavior. Did it cost us the game? I don’t know. On Bocking, he expressed no doubt about the way things will go. “He will get breached. That’s the only thing that’s going to come out of it,” Hasler remarked.
As league officials prepare to review this incident, the focus remains on the balance of maintaining fair play while ensuring trainers adhere to protocols during matches. The ruling issued on Monday will undoubtedly be looked to as a guide for how these types of cases should be addressed moving forward.
