Titans player's unseen act emerges amid trainer furore as calls for change grow

Yahoo

6 days ago

Gold Coast Titans star Jayden Campbell has shown his class after apologising to a ball kid amid the Penrith Panthers trainer furore with calls for the NRL to change the rules getting louder. The Panthers were involved in yet another trainer controversy on Saturday when Campbell was lining up a vital goal kick with the Titans leading 26-24.
Gold Coast had just scored and Campbell was lining up his conversion with the ambition of pushing the score beyond a penalty goal or two-point drop goal. Although Panthers trainer Corey Bocking darted across the field and in his line of sight.
The crowd erupted in boos and the Fox Sports commentators reacting accordingly. "That is disgraceful, that is absolutely disgraceful," Andrew Voss said. "You can't make that mistake, unbelievable. Come on. Have you ever seen that? Have you ever seen that?'
'I think he gets a second shot... that is high controversy, I don't know what action you take. That's just beyond the pale... boy, oh boy. What a moment.'
Campbell missed the shot having pushed it to the right and was clearly frustrated with the incident. With the crowd still jeering after the distraction, Campbell threw the kicking tee in disgust.
Although, he quickly realised his mistake with the young ball kid chasing down the object. And Campbell showed his class to run over and apologise to the kid. While a small moment, Campbell didn't let the tension in the stadium overshadow his sportsmanship.
"Class from Campbell apologising to the kid though," one fan noted on Instagram. And Campbell put it behind him following the miss, but wasn't able to turn the tide and stop the Panthers from winning.
Nathan Cleary slotted a two-point field foal to take the game to golden point, before Blaize Talagi scored in extra time to seal the victory for the Panthers. And while the rugby league community waits for Monday to see what comes of the incident and whether the NRL will step in, there has been calls for a rule change.
Brad Fittler suggests rule change after Panthers incident
Many feel going forward, whether accidental or not, if the kicker is put off the attempted conversion the shot should be moved right in front of goal. Roosters and Panthers great Brad Fittler mentioned this potential change on Channel Nine after the incident. Fittler was adamant the trainer made a mistake and didn't know where he was running, but a new rule could allow players to move the kick in front.
"It's interesting what the law could say, you could nearly say, because of the misdemeanour, you get the goal from in front," he said on Channel Nine. "It's a shame they didn't do it - the responsible thing would have been, you saw the reaction from Jayden Campbell, move the kick in front." While Fittler labelled it a mistake, others have had enough of trainers interrupting play.
Penrith Panthers called out over trainer drama
This is now the second time this year the Panthers have faced controversy with a trainer. Penrith trainer Shane Elford appeared to spray the footy with a water bottle before the Panthers kicked off in Golden Point against the Cowboys earlier this year. Elford was handed a breach notice for the incident.
And NRL fans are now calling for less involvement from trainers on the field. NRL teams are only allowed two trainers on the field at any given time but their roles have been the subject of debate for years.
Most of the time they provide water bottles to players and help with interchanges but trainers are often seen relaying information from the coaching staff to the playing group and passing on directions from the coach's box. And fans have called for the NRL to limit the involvement of trainers in the game, which has become a talking point in recent years.
The @nrl needs to sit down and come up with some hard guidelines surrounding trainers. Rightly or wrongly, there will be arguments over the end of this game and controversy over whether teams are deliberately instructing trainers to impede play. #NRLTitansPanthers
— TheBilby (@bilby361) August 2, 2025
Trainers loitering and interfering with play has been a blight on Australian Rugby League for years yet the NRL continues to stick their head in the sand. Will they overlook last night's example like they did a few years back in the Grand Final? #NRL
— Laurence Pratt (@laurence_pratt) August 3, 2025
The SL & NRL really need to get these 'trainers' under controlThe amount of coaching you see from trainers is ridiculous. Every set you see a guy behind the attacking line dictating play and it's even spread to being behind the dead ball line talking up goal line D
— Hull FC Stats (@hullfc_stats) August 2, 2025
Des Hasler takes swipe after trainer controversy
Titans coach Des Hasler was thoroughly unimpressed with the action of the trainer, but in a cheeky comment suggested very little will be done about the incident. ."Did it cost us the game? I don't know," Hasler said after the game. "He will get breached. That's the only thing that's going to come out of it."