Trainer at centre of State of Origin incident unmasked as former NSW player's brother
The NSW trainer who copped a stern warning from referee Ashley Klein in State of Origin 1 on Wednesday night has been revealed as Robbie Farah's brother. Eddie Farah was running the water for the Blues at Suncorp Stadium, and found himself at the centre of controversy late in the second half.
Klein could be heard telling the trainer: "Do that again and you won't come back on." Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans was also none-too pleased with Farah's actions.
The trainer's actions weren't picked up clearly on TV cameras, but it's believed he picked up the ball and handed it to Mitchell Moses before a Queensland scrum 10 metres out. Moses then threw the ball away, before Farah is believed to have booted it over the dead-ball line.
Cherry-Evans was seen pointing towards the trainer before Klein beckoned him over and issued him with a warning. "Trainer, if you do that again you will not come back on the field," the referee stated.
Cameron Smith said on Channel 9: "A little bit of gamesmanship happening there." There was also a suggestion Farah might have sprayed water on the ball, but that was merely speculation. Farah was seen being spoken to by an NRL official on the sideline after running off the field.
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The delay in proceedings might have worked a treat for the Blues, with Valentine Holmes being bundled over the sideline on the first play after the scrum. However Jeremiah Nanai forced an error from Latrell Mitchell on the very next play, and Xavier Coates scored in the corner.
Farah was the head physiotherapist at South Sydney from 2006 to 2023, before taking on the same role for the Blues in 2024. His brother Robbie played 303 NRL games (277 for the Wests Tigers) and 16 State of Origin games for the Blues.
The incident on Wednesday night came amid increased scrutiny around the actions of trainers, with Shane Elford of the Panthers and Mitchell Dunn of the Cowboys hit with one-game bans recently for spraying water on the ball. The two NRL clubs were also fined $10,000 each after the actions of the trainers was captured on camera during a game in Round 10.
The NRL sent a stern reminder to all clubs about the expected behaviour of trainers after Elford and Dunn were caught trying to give their teams an unfair advantage and make the ball slippery for their opponents. 'The NRL has issued North Queensland Cowboys and Penrith Panthers with breach notices relating to the actions of club trainers in round 10,' a statement from the NRL read.
'The breach notices propose a fine for each club of $10,000 and a two-match suspension for each trainer involved (one match suspended). The NRL has also reminded all clubs about the limitations of the roles of trainers on match days. Any action, other than those permitted under the NRL rules, may be considered a breach liable to sanctions.'
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