Of course every headline will have Wakefield in it. When they were weighing up this signing, they got it completely wrong. Innocent until proven guilty of course, but he wasn't our player at the time of the incident, yet we still took him on.

We took him on because of the point you yourself raised, he was innocent until proven guilty.
Personally i would prefer we didnt involve ourselves with such people, cockayne and latu included, but at some point the players value comes into play (as it will with chase, at some point) and clubs take a punt, to refuse a player on the grounds of alleged guilt or even a conviction, because of such things as the rehabilitation of offenders act and employment law, makes things very dodgy.
You only have to look through the playing rostas in SL and the NRL to see clubs are littered with convicted criminals and players who have served lengthy bans for one reason or another to see that this is hardly something new and probably just a reflection of society in general.
The point is, if there is one, the club could do better, but everyones at it, and it is the individual that has the biggest say in such matters.

Yet if I punched one of the 15yo's making our lives hell over the last 5 years I'd get 6 years.

the lad is paying for a stupid thing that he did! let us not forget that hudds player who kicked 10 bells out of someone and got off because of his "state of mind" ..

The Hudds player was sectioned! Hardly a fair comparison.

Better to be a free crazy, than a locked up thug?

if you're sectioned you certainly aren't free!

He's free enough to play in the NRL.

Quote: tamargrace "the lad is paying for a stupid thing that he did! let us not forget that hudds player who kicked 10 bells out of someone and got off because of his "state of mind" ..'" you mean the gent who suffers from a proven medical condition and will be treated for the rest of his life. maybe it would of been avoided if advanced programmes like this where more frequent and more publicized . www.superleaguefans.com/rugby-le ... rugby.html i feel sorry for all parties in this case.

Quote: tamargrace "the lad is paying for a stupid thing that he did! let us not forget that hudds player who kicked 10 bells out of someone and got off because of his "state of mind" ..'" you mean the gent who suffers from a proven medical condition and will be treated for the rest of his life. maybe it would of been avoided if advanced programmes like this where more frequent and more publicized . www.superleaguefans.com/rugby-le ... rugby.html i feel sorry for all parties in this case.

so make a good job of it . out of curiosity surely they haven't been 15 for 5 years . are you talking about bart simpson ? . you would be amazed about the trouble some poster were causing 3-5 years ago bud.

A popular myth, that prisoners can play the mental illness card to get an 'easier' ride; I worked with them in the past and it's amazing how quickly they recover from their self-diagnosed mental health problems when you advise them that being sectioned in a secure hospital means being detained for an indeterminate period of time, rather than serving out their original sentence in a nicer environment, with less chance of being stabbed or forcibly buggered.

Anyhow - carry on!

Indeed he has, he carried on to the NRL.
Better than jail I'd say, certainly sunnier, and more chance of barbied prawns for tea.

a lot of detail here around the incident. www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-we ... -29538689/

a lot of detail here around the incident. www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-we ... -29538689/

I stand corrected - the article in the Express today is actually quite sensible, with several references to the fact that Johnson was a Shudds player at the time of the incident. It also points out quite clearly that WTW sacked him immediately upon hearing of his conviction.

The victim herself is critical of the club, stating that we shouldn't have taken him on knowing that this case was pending; I understand her feelings, but the presumption of innocent until proven guilty seems a reasonable defence.

As an aside - I didn't realise that he'd had previous convictions for disorder that involved being 'in drink' - I'd suggest there are some lessons to be learned from that.