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good to see that the boys are starting to take some pride in themselves and the club
Seniors put Carney in his place after slip-up Brad Walter
March 7, 2011
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/l...306-1bjlj.html
SENIOR Roosters players banned five-eighth Todd Carney from training with the team last week until his immediate playing future was resolved at a meeting with NRL chief executive David Gallop.
Roosters coach Brian Smith said the decision was an example of how determined the players are not to have their reputations, and that of the game, damaged by the misbehaviour of a teammate.
''I have heard references along the way that you can't leave that sort of thing to his teammates because they don't care - they only care about winning - but that is bullshit,'' Smith said.
Advertisement: Story continues below ''The way we made that progress was that the guys - and particularly those who had been here two years ago - did not want their own image and their own reputation being sullied by some other people in the footy club, and they also cared about the team and the club's reputation, and they weren't prepared to put up with it any more or tolerate that sort of stuff.''
Smith revealed that Carney had been forced to train on his own following his February 27 drink-driving charge until he and the Roosters leadership group were convinced about the Dally M winner's commitment to their cause. ''Until that time we weren't interested in him training with the rest of the group,'' Smith said.
But the senior players agreed that Carney could return to full training last Thursday, the same day he attended a three-hour meeting with Gallop and received a $10,000 fine.
''In those situations, some blokes deflect, they hide, they don't want to front up and they don't want to think about it but for him he just went into that mode straight away that he needed to get his hand up, he needed to get a plan together for himself and he needed to show everybody that he actually wants to fix the thing for good - not just for a week or two or for a season,'' Smith said.
''I imagine he did a pretty fair job of showing David Gallop that as well; he showed me, he certainly showed [Roosters CEO] Steve Noyce, and he showed the other boys in the leadership group because they put the tick on him to return to training.''
Smith said Carney was ''different to almost anyone I have dealt with before who gets into trouble'', and has no doubt about his sincerity - although he admitted he had cause to talk to the star five-eighth previously since he was allowed to return to the NRL last year after being de-registered by the NRL in 2008.
''It is not the first time I have seen that in him because I have had cause to talk with Todd once or twice along the way last year when he had made commitments about other things in his footy but it is obvious by the manner of his delivery that he really means it,'' Smith said. ''He has aimed up with everything, and not just said, 'I am sorry.' He came in and he had a whole heap of stuff written down, it was all his own words - as I said to him 'Goulburn English' - he wrote some things down that matter to him.''
Smith said that after being tested by the Roosters medical staff during a 75-minute session last Friday, a final check would be made on Carney's injured groin before he is named today in the side to play Souths at the SFS on Friday night.
''There will be no surprises with our team,'' Smith said. ''The medical staff tried to find a way to rule Todd out, and he handled everything, so unless he doesn't pull up too well, I think he will be playing. In fact, [Friday's] training session was one of the best we've had so far this year - if not the best - so it was obviously good to have the issue with Todd resolved. It was a bit of a distraction but if it was going to happen I am glad it happened now, and not halfway during the season.''
March 7, 2011
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/l...306-1bjlj.html
SENIOR Roosters players banned five-eighth Todd Carney from training with the team last week until his immediate playing future was resolved at a meeting with NRL chief executive David Gallop.
Roosters coach Brian Smith said the decision was an example of how determined the players are not to have their reputations, and that of the game, damaged by the misbehaviour of a teammate.
''I have heard references along the way that you can't leave that sort of thing to his teammates because they don't care - they only care about winning - but that is bullshit,'' Smith said.
Advertisement: Story continues below ''The way we made that progress was that the guys - and particularly those who had been here two years ago - did not want their own image and their own reputation being sullied by some other people in the footy club, and they also cared about the team and the club's reputation, and they weren't prepared to put up with it any more or tolerate that sort of stuff.''
Smith revealed that Carney had been forced to train on his own following his February 27 drink-driving charge until he and the Roosters leadership group were convinced about the Dally M winner's commitment to their cause. ''Until that time we weren't interested in him training with the rest of the group,'' Smith said.
But the senior players agreed that Carney could return to full training last Thursday, the same day he attended a three-hour meeting with Gallop and received a $10,000 fine.
''In those situations, some blokes deflect, they hide, they don't want to front up and they don't want to think about it but for him he just went into that mode straight away that he needed to get his hand up, he needed to get a plan together for himself and he needed to show everybody that he actually wants to fix the thing for good - not just for a week or two or for a season,'' Smith said.
''I imagine he did a pretty fair job of showing David Gallop that as well; he showed me, he certainly showed [Roosters CEO] Steve Noyce, and he showed the other boys in the leadership group because they put the tick on him to return to training.''
Smith said Carney was ''different to almost anyone I have dealt with before who gets into trouble'', and has no doubt about his sincerity - although he admitted he had cause to talk to the star five-eighth previously since he was allowed to return to the NRL last year after being de-registered by the NRL in 2008.
''It is not the first time I have seen that in him because I have had cause to talk with Todd once or twice along the way last year when he had made commitments about other things in his footy but it is obvious by the manner of his delivery that he really means it,'' Smith said. ''He has aimed up with everything, and not just said, 'I am sorry.' He came in and he had a whole heap of stuff written down, it was all his own words - as I said to him 'Goulburn English' - he wrote some things down that matter to him.''
Smith said that after being tested by the Roosters medical staff during a 75-minute session last Friday, a final check would be made on Carney's injured groin before he is named today in the side to play Souths at the SFS on Friday night.
''There will be no surprises with our team,'' Smith said. ''The medical staff tried to find a way to rule Todd out, and he handled everything, so unless he doesn't pull up too well, I think he will be playing. In fact, [Friday's] training session was one of the best we've had so far this year - if not the best - so it was obviously good to have the issue with Todd resolved. It was a bit of a distraction but if it was going to happen I am glad it happened now, and not halfway during the season.''
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