CANBERRA'S caretaker coach Andrew Dunemann has admitted the club has deeper welfare issues to deal with following reports yesterday that Anthony Milford and Josh Papalii had been out drinking two days before the Raiders' heavy loss to the Warriors.
It is the latest scandal to hit the Green Machine in a forgettable season that has seen star players Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson shown the door, Sandor Earl facing a ban for trafficking peptides and coach David Furner sacked.
Dunemann is in contention for the head coaching job next season but is facing a strong push from Parramatta coach Ricky Stuart who has a get-out clause in his contract at the Eels and is being linked with a return to the Raiders.
The caretaker coach did not want to go into any details of what happened in Auckland but said the players had spoken as a group about resolving their issues before next season.
The Australian understands that the club refused to tip any money into the club's Mad Monday celebrations following an edict from the NRL to behave but players headed out to commiserate anyway.
"The only comment I'm going to make is it's a welfare issue and we need to sort the problems out that are underlying before we do anything else," Dunemann said.
"We sat down as a group and decided it was a welfare issue and we need to get to the bottom of why things have been happening at the club, and once we we can get to the bottom of that, we can move forward."
It was reported yesterday that Milford -- who wants to return home to Brisbane to be closer to his sick father -- and Papalii had been drinking on Thursday night in Auckland only two days before the team faced the Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium. The match had been a must-win game for the Raiders if they were to have any hope of keeping alive their finals hopes but they were thumped 50-16.
Several players have been upset at the leniency shown Dugan, Ferguson and Earl by the club and had wanted Milford and Papalii stood down.
Raiders management could not be contacted for comment but it was reported yesterday that the decision to allow both players to line up against the Warriors had been made by Dunemann.
One source told The Australian yesterday the Raiders had spent too much time cajoling Dugan, Ferguson and Earl, and it was reported that Furner lost the support of the players because of his leniency, allowing others such as Milford to slip through the cracks. It is believed that whoever inherits the coaching job will have to take an iron-fisted approach with the players.
Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/nrl/players-drinking-spree-has-raiders-sinking-to-new-low/story-fnca0von-1226715506826
Topic: Raiders decide as a group to tackle player welfare issues
