Canberra Raiders Co-captain David Shillington was quoted as follows in the press this week:

“Depending on how the coach handles you or how the club handles you, sometimes you create the devil in players.

”If a player mucks up and you don’t drop him from the team or you don’t have some sort of serious consequences … I think that’s when you create the devil in players.

“It makes them bigger than the club, and I think we saw that at our club this year with a few players.”

I applauded those comments when I read them and, despite Shillington being fined by the Raiders for making the statements, I applaud them again now. I mean is Shillington saying anything that the fans of the game are not thinking every time another player of any code finds themselves in trouble?

I, for one, wish more players were as honest as David Shillington and, indeed, hope all coaches and administrators take heed of the sentiment in the comments.

Pandering to bad conduct IS NOT AND HAS NOT WORKED. Now is the time for a renewed focus on discipline: I hope it happens sooner rather than later!