The Penrith Panthers have been at the forefront of media scrutiny in recent days, following a controversial moment that saw their trainer walk in front of Jayden Campbell as he lined up a kick in last weekend's win over the Gold Coast Titans.
Corey Bocking, the trainer in question, immediately showed remorse and put up his hand in apology; however, it was far too late to erase the act from fans' memories.
He has since copped a barrage of criticism from fans and was issued a five-game suspension as punishment.
Panthers head coach Ivan Cleary touched on the debacle, labelling it as “harsh and unfair”.
“He's struggling. Has been right from the time it happened,” Cleary told the media on Wednesday.
“He cares about his job and understands that he made a mistake and it's become a big deal.
“The man himself (Bocking), the last thing he would want is any excess attention, that's his nature.”
He went on to discuss that the NRL's punishment may have been a little extreme.
“I think it's been a bit unfair on him, really, yeah,” Cleary conceded. “I just think it's harsh, and I think it's a little unfair.”
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo admitted the severity of the punishment stemmed from the Panthers' numerous trainer-related incidents in the past, with six occurring since 2021.
Cleary was unhappy with Abdo's reasoning, believing this had been taken out on the wrong person.
“For one person to receive a suspension based on things that have happened before, that never happens,” Cleary said.
“The fine, you can make your own judgement on that, that's a club thing, but for Corey personally, the five-match suspension.
“As I said, it's something that was clearly a mistake, that he apologised for, we've apologised for, yeah, I think it's a little excessive.”
Bocking will be free to return to his duties in five weeks.
