A Sydney rugby league coach has defended his club after it became embroiled in a wild on-field brawl.
Players at the Campbelltown Collegians were allegedly involved in a fight with rivals from the Oaks Tigers under-18s team at the weekend.
Collegians’ players were labelled ‘utterly disgraceful’ by Sydney radio 2GB host Mark Levy, who published video of the fight.
But senior coach Tita Luta has defended his players and suggested that name-calling contributed to the melee in a statement on social media.
‘They’ve been bashing our club all over the media. Calling our young fellas out of their name,’ Luta said.
‘They will never accept us in this competition, and judging by some of the comments recently, they never will.’
Campbelltown Collegians senior coach Tita Luta posted a defiant message on social media amid the backlash his club received recently
A 71-year-old man was seriously injured after the all-in brawl took place at Dudley Chesham Sports Ground
The fight took place after full-time in the match between Campbelltown Collegians and the Oaks Tigers
Both sides involved have been stood down by the NSWRL as a result of the incident.
A 71-year-old man, who was shown in the footage as involved in the fight, is being treated in hospital.
In a further twist, Seru Tamani, co-founder of the Campbeltown Saints, posted footage showing Collegians players being taunted with abuse from the sidelines.
‘Get back on ya boat’ and ‘f*** off number 6 you w***er,’ one fan was heard shouting from the crowd at a recent match.
The footage, published on Instagram, was coupled with the caption: ‘two sides to every story’.
Channel Seven reporter Liam Tapper said he received multiple allegations from Collegians players.
‘There were a number of racial slurs said towards their players, and this is what led to the all-in brawl,’ Tapper said.
NSW Police have told the Daily Mail they are investigating the incident.
