The NRL has issued a breach notice and has laid down a $250,000 fine to the Bulldogs following their antics on Mad Monday.
For those who missed the incident that has 'embarrassed the game, bringing it into disrepute', the Dogs players were photographed drinking, roughhousing, stripping naked and passing out on the streets following Mad Monday celebrations.
Despite the obvious irony in the Dogs players celebrating a horrible season, this shapes as perhaps 2018's greatest over reaction, with the NRL seemingly bowing to pressure put on by three angry journalists with agendas.
Not for a second am I defending the Bulldogs or their players here.
Surely they knew the cameras would be out and the scrutiny put on. After all, the Tele-crisis team haven't had anything to gather around a cauldron and cackle about since last week when the Sharks salary cap 'scandal' was blown massively out of proportion.
For the life of me I can never understand while players don't just drink and party in the privacy of a player's home. The Dogs brass should have hired out a B and B in the mountains and let the players off the leash.
Also, again for the life of me, I can't understand players stripping down and dancing. It's always a good laugh when a mate drops his dacks and 'twerks' or whatever the dance of the week is this week, but that's usually the sign that the night is over.
Instead the Dogs continued to drink themselves stupid, with players ending up vomiting or passing out road side.
It's hardly a good look for a club whose performances hardly set the world on fire.
That said, to fine them a quarter of a million dollars for an afternoon and moment of madness that would not have been thought about twice if not for bored and overpaid journalists reaching for a story, is downright ridiculous.
Again, before the PC army jumps on my back on social media (@suthodan by the way) I am not saying the player's didn't mess up here. Their stupidity alone deserves a fine ...
... BUT A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS!?!?
To put this into perspective, Manly copped a $750,000 fine for salary cap mismanagement over the past five years.
Can anyone, ANYONE, honestly look at me in the eye and tell me this fine lines up?
It's a $10,000 fine to blast a referee in a press conference. Are you telling me two players dancing around without their pants off, on PRIVATE PROPERTY, is 25 times worse?
Again, this would not even be an issue if not for photographers sitting outside taking pictures of an end of season function rather than, oh I don't know, actually chasing real stories.
This is a non-event.
So what if a few players drank a bit much and had a road side spew.
Anyone over the age of 18 in this wonderful country has partaken in such madness. A sore head, crook guts and shaming in the WhatsApp group chat is punishment enough.
I'm not saying let the Dogs off without a fine. Again, they were stupid. They knew the Telegraph were out to find such a story. The Twitter account even begged readers to send photos in of such nonsense.
Again though, if anyone thinks this is worthy of a fine of a QUARTER OF A MILLION dollars, then I guess I'm just old fashioned.
I'm no Dogs fan, not by any stretch, but this is the biggest over reaction I can remember.
Are the NRL running at a loss this season and need a 250k bump late on and saw this as a perfect opportunity?
The punishment does not fit the crime!
$250,000 seems to be the fine for stupidity ... the NRL owes us $250k for waiting until the end of game three to present the Origin shield. Call it even!?
