Dirty player Conklin didn't even turn around to see if Damo was okay.

For sure did not try and hurt him that much but like you said was pobably frustrated looked for some contact and lashed out a little. Just one of those things.

Gleeson:

"one of the dirtiest plays I've seen."
"He just dropped his elbow right on (Martin's) jaw," Gleeson said.
"He's lost a couple of teeth. That's a dirty play, without a question. We just watched it on video right then, and you don't drop an elbow straight on someone's jaw; especially our team captain.
"He's semi-unconscious, he's a bit delirious; there's no place for that in basketball."
"I'm sure Nate is getting ready to answer that (Martin incident), and we'll watch that as a team," he said.
When asked whether he will fire up Jawai for a dose of extra physicality against Townsville's bigs on Friday, Gleeson responded, "Without question."


Dennis (who had his presser after Gleeson's):

"We don't play dirty. That's pretty ironic coming from him and Perth," Dennis said in response.
"They've got a few guys on their team that throw a lot of elbows so perhaps he needs to look at his own backyard."

Gleeson seriously needs to STFU about what Jawai may or may not be feeling or preparing to do.

That's arguably the stupidest thing I've ever heard a coach say, and I hope the league steps in. He's basically making threats and there's no place for that in our game. If Jawai does anything now I hope he's prepared for the consequences.
It wasn't a dirty play, Gleeson has completely lost it there. It happened so fast I don't think there was any real malice in it. Just a really unfortunate incident.

He's just fired up defending his captain. Nothing wrong with that. I would expect a coach to react when his player gets elbowed like that.

I think it was definitely intentional. Call me biased, one-eyed, whatever but I'm 100% confident if Martin did the same thing to Conklin I'd feel the same way.

But Gleeson shouldn't be saying stuff like that, its unprofessional. I get it, he's heated - i was heated ive only just calmed down - but still cant be doing that. Conklin probably missing Friday night anyway.

If he wants to react and get fired up that's fine.
Throwing his own player under the bus over it is a different matter altogether, especially a player who is 4000km away and had no involvement in any of this. That is really messed up IMO.
How do you feel, Nate, having your own opinions pre-empted and learning that you're now a hitman rather than a basketballer.

That was an absolute disgrace action by Conklin, for all you naive idiots who think that he didn't mean to hit Martin(maybe not break his jaw) you are all delusional.

Beyond reckless.

Poor effort by Gleeson, got caught up in the moment.

Hopefully Damo's injury isn't as serious as expected, he's well overdue for some good luck.

Gotta Love the Perth haters trying to turn this back on Gleeson. ROFL
What's next? You'll be claiming Damo tried to bite Conklin on the arm?

Whichever way you look at it, Cocklin just confirms his status as a grade-A dickhead. (Whether simply being a dickhead is deserving of a penalty, remains to be seen.)
For whatever reason he's not playing anywhere near his ability this season, and he shows his frustration at every opportunity.

Clearly there's no deliberate intention to do anything other than once again vent his frustration by waiving his arms around (as he does whenever he's dispossessed.) But neither can he be held completely unaccountable. They are after all HIS arms, notionally connected to his brain.
Did himself no favours in anyone's eyes by just walking away.

SMART play by the league would be to defuse this by sitting him down for the next game.

I think Conklin was clearly reckless and obviously dangerous. I thought he seemed "angry" the entire Game. I can't say for sure if he meant to hit Damo, I sure as hell hope he didn't.

He has done the arm flail a few times now, perhaps it is appropriate to punish him. 1 Game, maybe 2 would work in my mind.

I sincerely hope Damo is not seriously injured, he's a legend of a guy and one of the NBL's best ambassadors. He does not deserve this.

Gleeson was quite "off the script" with his comments. We all know I love a good Wildcats bash but I'd give the man the benefit of the doubt on this one. He just saw his Captain carried off the court to the hospital. Only way I'd change my mind is if he doubled down on comments tomorrow or pre-game.

If Conklin did it deliberately then suspend him, if it was an accident I'm sure Damo would not want someone seeking vengeance. Having said that, I think a nice, legal screen may help Conklin out of his silly habits.

Thats a really good point Dazz, League must be worried about retaliation, especially after hearing Gleeson's comments. Sitting for a game must be a high probability.

The more I look at it, the more accidental it looks. Honestly don't think anything should come of it.

I agree with Gleeson in that any contact above the shoulders needs to be looked into. I can't convince myself that was accidental especially with his attitude after it happened. He walked away without even turning around. That doesn't spell accidental.

Was maybe intentional, maybe not. Too hard to tell. I am leaning towards it being unintentional. It's a tough one. Did he intend to knock Damo out and break his jaw? No.
Did he intend to actually elbow Damo? Possibly not.
Did he intend NOT to get his elbow out of the way being careless as to the result? Possibly yes.

In any event, the "flailing" of the arms business needs to stop. Conklin does it way too often and its ridiculous.

Accidental contact by a player who was frustrated and out of control. Those types of plays can lead to injuries like in this instance, but I don't believe Conklin deliberately threw the elbow in Damo's direction.

Disappointed that Damo's out though.

And Gleeson way over the top. Utterly stupid thing to say. Do you think the refs will now be watching his foul prone big man even more? Of course. They'll call every little touch from the tip off, one would expect.

It sort of doesn't look intention, but sort of also does look intentional a little bit.

Best answer is probably he flailed his arms around a bit too excessively. He should have checked to see if Martin was okay.

Poor words by Gleeson trying to fire up his team.

I don't think it was intentional but it is hard to tell.

Wildcats players don't think it was intentional as you don't see anyone running over to Conklin or showing concern that it was intentional. Not saying Conklin is innocent but that's what I would have thought the players would have done if they thought it was intentional.

If you want to definitely see a dirty play watch Beal stick his foot out to trip Jett at 8:32. That should have been an unsportsmanlike foul. In the AFL you get one game suspension for intentionally tripping someone.

8:32 in the 4th that is

"Im sure Adelaide fans are hoping Damo is seriously hurt"

Not at all. We hope the best for him and want him out on the court as he is a great to watch.

Agree 100% with anon #230. Hire is to blame for this as much as Conklin.

I don't think Cock was trying to injure Damo. Reckless yes, but I don't think he went out of his way to put a dent into Damos head.

Wilson, I agree with #230 too but assigning equal blame to Hire? Cmon man!

Trev just really dumb words.

Disgraceful thug of a play.
Conklin didn't even apologise or check if he was ok.
I hope the League clamps down on this one.

Don't see it as Hire's fault at all. If the refs don't call the initial foul, he has to try and foul again or the clock doesn't stop. If he doesn't keep fouling his team loses and his coach wouldn't be happy that he didn't make the play.

If refs called the game smart players wouldn't need to foul multiple times to stop the clock. This is something the NBA generally gets right but we don't here.

It's nobodies fault. It was an accident. Not Conklins, not Hires, not Martin's, not the refs. Shit happens on a Basketball court. You could argue reckless but Conklin turned and caught Martin by accident.
Not smart from Gleeson saying about Jawai now the refs will be wary of that for tomorrow. Also shows Gleeson is getting caught up in this BS too and not worrying about preparing his team for the rematch.
Hope Martin is okay and not out for too long. Never like seeing injuries and I bet Conklin feels the same way.

Gleeson's comments were ridiculous, probably in the heat of the moment but a professional coach needs more composure than that. To call out Jawai like that is silly. On the other hand, SD's comments weren't much better, if he thinks the Wildcats have dirty players, be a man and name them, I'm sure there are now a number of Wildcats who used to play under him wondering if that's what he thinks of them.

Not bias here, so my opinion is going to be based on what I observed and how it looked in context to the game.

Firstly, having seen similar actions in the NBA, they always look at replays to determine severity and whether or not the incident warrants further immediate action on court, why this doesn't occur in the NBL bemuses me.

Secondly, the incident was during a pressured time in the game when the Wildcats were looking to double and trap to cause a turnover, therefore Conklin was trying to hold possession and was ripping the ball.

Martin was third man in and in a slightly awkward spot for a split second, he always tries to get a steal and plays it hard, but being the smaller man and in this situation duty of care may be on Conklin.

Now the words 'duty of care' come into consideration...

Conklin's next action appears careless and reckless, possibly not intentional, but his immediate reaction after the contact suggests it is highly probably that he didn't care to show any care or remorse for the contact.

Now, he is a tough guy and the NBL pretends the league is a tough league with all this HARDBALL stuff we are being fed, but the result of this contact and in the context of the game, the NBL must have a look at this incident and show some balls to let it be known such reckless acts are not tolerated, IMHO...

Does anyone know how long Damo would be out if he has a broken jaw.

Don't know why anyone is blaming Hire if you want to throw the blame around outside Conklin and the incident blame the refs. It's their job to keep the game and players in check. They allowed the game to be played hard and physical. They should of pulled the play up before the incident got to that point.

For some reason, it seems like a lot of teams get into fights/aggressive plays with Perth.
Damo is one of the fairest players, and definitely does not deserve this. But Perth are well known for the aggressive elbows, shoulders, flops and dirty plays, especially Redhage.

Whether Conklin meant it or not is impossible to tell. However, FIBA rules ban he use of elbows in the way he used them. He can get a tech for repeated 'flailing' and that should be the case. Note that he is not alone in this behaviour in the NBL. So one in, all in.

What is clear is that Gleeson's comments were intentional. He knew he'd be asked about it and he'd had plenty of time to think about what he'd say. So he chooses to declare war on the basketball court by condemning Conklin's behaviour in one breath and then saying Perth will retaliate with the same behaviour.

So, are Dennis and the Townsville players thinking that they have to come up with a plan to disable Jawai before Jawai disables one of them? NBL has a real problem here. Gleeson needs to be disciplined - either publicly or privately.

This sort of incident shows a risk with scheduling multiple regular season games between the same opponents in short time frames. Less opportunity for players and coaches to calm down and resume thinking rationally, between games.

Seems totally unintentional to me, Conklin was breaking out of a tough trap at the same time Damo was going for a steal. Almost 50% contact in either direction. Conklin walking away doesn't scream of a guy who did it intentionally either, he was just roughed up in a trap, he'd be annoyed and frustrated and walking away after the play was stopped. Probably didn't even realise the damage he'd done.

The comments from Gleeson after the game, not even veiled threats, are far more damning in my opinion. Ironic to be calling out a player for thuggery whilst at the same time saying you're going to fire up the biggest bloke in the league to go overtly aggressive on them next game. Fair play for "heat of the moment", but if that's the case you've got to apologise and defuse that situation. Otherwise it will kick off next game.

Really hope Damo is on the court again soon, great bloke and great player.

Im sure Adelaide fans are hoping Damo is seriously hurt

Perth are claiming the Crocs players were laughing about Damo being hit.

"That's b***shit to see your leader out there on the floor like that and then guys laughing afterwards as well. That’s crap," Perth forward Greg Hire said post-game.

http://www.news.com.au/sport/basketball/brian-conklin-elbows-damian-martin-suspected-broken-jaw-in-townsville-v-perth-nbl-clash/story-fndkzqrr-1227596762522

"But Perth are well known for the aggressive elbows, shoulders, flops and dirty plays, especially Redhage."

Name one incident in recent years where a Wildcat has done that to another player. And how is flopping comparable to this sort of incident anyway?

Is there a Chrome plug-in that can automatically change the word "ironic" to "hypocritical"?

Ridiculous statement saying that the Crocs were laughing about the injury. Get outta here Hire.

Looking forward to this match up tomorrow!

Crocs have obviously got in the Wildcats heads.

"But Perth are well known for the aggressive elbows, shoulders, flops and dirty plays, especially Redhage."

This type of argumentum ad populum is tiring. As suggested earlier, please provide supporting evidence to this type of behaviour.

There's some pics of Damos face afterwards on this article. Definitely missing some teeth.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/a/29998601/wildcats-townsville-nbl/

I don't know much about injuries but wouldn't Damos face be a bit swollen if he had a broken jaw ?

Bear "Firstly, having seen similar actions in the NBA, they always look at replays to determine severity and whether or not the incident warrants further immediate action on court, why this doesn't occur in the NBL bemuses me."

Due to the TV Coverage allocated time they don't have enough time to do these things I imagine.

Stupid comments by Gleeson over what was and entirely accidental elbow from Conklin. It happens.

I understand sticking up for your captain, but calling out an opponent and claiming he made 'the dirtiest play he'd ever seen' steps well beyond the mark. He should be fined.

Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson, who said Martin also suffered concussion, also took aim at Conklin.

"That's one of the dirtiest plays I’ve ever seen, Conklin just dropped his elbow right on his jaw and he (Martin) is going to hospital for a suspected fractured jaw and has lost a couple of teeth," he said. “It’s a dirty play without a question.”

This guy is kidding right?? Not sure Conklin had any time to react to "drop his elbow" given the speed this whole incident happened. Would be very disappointed in the NBL buys into this BS from Gleeson.

Anyone remember this play for last season? Dirtiest play I've ever seen in Basketball, ironic is was from a Perth player!

https://youtu.be/8UWTsVM0TGM

Purely an accident. No fault whole be given to anyone.

Not only did Conklin not have time to react, he wasn't even looking at Martin when he ran into his elbow.

The dirtiest play I can remember from last season was Childress elbow on Wagstaff.

(And I might add, some commenters were even ignorant/silly enough to defend Childress' actions on the basis that Wagstaff had set a dirty screen. It wasn’t a dirty screen, it was just a hard screen. I thought it was 50/50 but some argued it was a foul for blind siding. Either way there was nothing malicious and it was just a hard basketball screen).

I'd say he at least saw a third defender coming and was happy to fend him off. It just so happens that he did so with his arms already in the air, and the defender's face happened to be elbow height when contact was made. Its reckless.

"There are 2 common factors with both of these incidents. Firstly the Perth Wildcats"

Please elaborate more on this. Are you suggesting the Wildcats were complicit in either of those incidents?

Yeah but it was against the Wildcats so players are allowed to throw head-high elbows at them, apparently.

Or, the league happens to have a couple of players who have a history of throwing their arms and elbows around when things don't go their way. Trying to find reasons to blame the victim is pretty poor.

I think I've watched the replay about 50x now, and I still don't think it's reckless, just unfortunate. He was tearing his arm down after the foul before Martin was involved in the play. Martin was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"I'm saying that the Wildcats play with more aggression than any other team in the league and the officiating doesn't stop it"

Dude, I think you are looking for the work "intensity" rather than "aggression", and nothing stops other teams matching the perceived intensity the Wildcats play at.

Geez. Fox Sports are really trying to push the whole 'deliberate and intentional' angle judging by their latest FB post. Unfortunately, people have bit the bait.

Angus, if you go throwing your arms around and make contact with someone like that, even if you're being fouled and you dont like it, thats reckless. Being fouled doesn't automatically give you the right to swing arms around but thats what Conklin does.

I believe the incident was unfortunate, to say the least, however if it wasn't reckless and it was in fact accidental how does Conklin's body language immediately afterwards suggest anything other than a careless attitude towards his actions?

Watching the incident, seeing it live and looking at it in context I can only come to the conclusion that while it may not have been intended at the time, it was absolutely without care and reckless...

By definition, this is the only conclusion IMO.

"There was no intent what so ever. Don't exaggerate as you usually do by extrapolating what YOU think you saw and making it fact."

Who was that directed at?

"please provide supporting evidence to this type of behaviour. "

Redhage's and to a certain extent Perth's reputation is well known to all players and commentators in the league.

Last year a couple of fights with Adelaide and NZ, the Childress incident, all involve Perth. Too often to just be coincidental. (I'm not saying the way Childress reacted was in any way correct, but what brought on that reaction). What makes players from other teams react this way?

Whether the Damo incident was accidental or not is debatable, but for a coach to come out and announce "an eye for an eye", is another act of aggression. Proof of this culture is right there from the Coach's mouth.

SC, the reason why he was pulling his arms down in the first place is that Wagstaff fouled him trying to get the ball when he was gathering it up for a pass above his head. He wasn't flailing his arms around crazily, he was protecting the ball and bringing his arms back down.

"Last year a couple of fights with Adelaide and NZ, the Childress incident, all involve Perth. Too often to just be coincidental. (I'm not saying the way Childress reacted was in any way correct, but what brought on that reaction). What makes players from other teams react this way?"

hahahaha you've just listed all the Perth incidents, as if that is proof of this being a Perth only thing. Try listing ALL incidents.

Remenber when Ervin kneed Goulding in the nuts, and two days later Petrie tried to give Goulding a nut punch? Was Redhage responsible for that?

Jumpshot, referring to reputation doesn't prove anything.

As long as we all agree that if any Wildcat snipes Conklin tomorrow night then its all ok because doing that to someone we perceive to be dirty is a good thing, right?

I have no idea why Hire is being blamed for this. And I don't even think it's right to blame the refs either.
The Cats were pressing at that stage of the game. Hire's D was initially just fine. Then as soon as he reached in, he was whistled for the foul. That's exactly what should have happened IMO.

Supernintendo Chalmers "if you go throwing your arms around and make contact with someone like that, even if you're being fouled and you dont like it, thats reckless."

So was it reckless when Wagstaff took out Conklins legs (in the 3rd I believe it was)?

The next game between these two teams I expect quite a few early calls by the officials. Whether that has any impact or whether anything happens that is deemed vengeful is all speculation, but it sure does bring this game into one of the most anticipated so far...

#TOOHARDBALL

It was a very physical game but both teams embraced that. For better and/or worse that's the way we play the game here. Blaming Perth is silly. In 2010 and 2014 when the game was called tighter they won the championship both years. They play what's in front of them.

Re Conklin on Martin, I don't think you can definitely say it was intentional or accidental. It all just happened too quickly to really know. I just hope it was accidental.

Update from the Cats:

Perth Wildcats captain Damian Martin has suffered a severe broken jaw, after being struck in the final quarter of last night's game against the Townsville Crocodiles.

Martin’s jaw is broken in two at the chin, with three teeth coming loose at the break-point.

The 31-year-old will undergo surgery upon his return to Perth in an attempt to save his teeth. Plates will be required to stabilise the jaw.

If the surgery is successful Damian Martin will miss six to eight weeks of basketball, however if there are co



http://www.wildcats.com.au/featured-news/damian-martin-breaks-jaw/

Calm down Charmers your relentless defence of the pillocks that form the Wildcats is vomit inducing. You well know that Redhage and Wagstaff are notorious opportunists in setting screens and off the ball play.

It's not imaginary , it's not made up you know it and everyone outside of WA knows it

Your championship winning coach is calling for retribution from Nate. Silliness from top to bottom.

"So was it reckless when Wagstaff took out Conklins legs (in the 3rd I believe it was)?"

He tripped over and his hands and arms went out in front of him. Thats a pretty normal human movement when falling. Throwing your arms around to stop someone fouling you is not.

"Calm down Charmers your relentless defence of the pillocks that form the Wildcats is vomit inducing. You well know that Redhage and Wagstaff are notorious opportunists in setting screens and off the ball play. "

I'm asking for examples. You citing reputation, or just saying "setting screens" isn't telling your story for you.

There goes the Wildcats season..

Damian Martin Update
Perth Wildcats captain Damian Martin has suffered a severe broken jaw, after being struck in the final quarter of last night's game against the Townsville Crocodiles.
Martin’s jaw is broken in two at the chin, with three teeth coming loose at the break-point.
The 31-year-old will undergo surgery upon his return to Perth in an attempt to save his teeth. Plates will be required to stabilise the jaw.
If the surgery is successful Damian Martin will miss six to eight weeks of basketball, however if there are complications, he will spend up to an extra four weeks on the sideline.
The Perth Wildcats face the Townsville Crocodiles for the second time in three days tomorrow night at Perth Arena.

Knight shoving Kay in the back on a fast break

U'u taking out Craig on a fast break

Robbins tunneling Winder on an Ally Oop

Brown throwing punches in NZ and getting ejected

Redhage hitting Worthington in the face

Ennis punching Goulding post game

All off the top of my head and there are many many more. Stop trolling, you know your team is dirty and throws elbows.

Your coach is calling for violence.

I don't know the Knight incident, U'u was out of line for what he did, but bringing up Brown and Robbins - give me a break. How far back can we go with recalling dirty play?

And I'm pretty sure you have the Redhage hitting Wortho one the wrong way around!

My "sickening" defence of the Cats is matched with the ironic...er, hypocritical stance that some people take where if there is an incident where a Cat gets whacked, her deserved it, but if a Cat retaliates then he is a dirty thug.

My god, between six to twelve, that's our season right there because of Conklin's elbow...

Time to say bye bye to prather and upgrade with a PG.

I cant see anyone here saying that Damo deserved it. I dont think there is a decent NBL fan that would say that.

You surely understand though that people aren't sympathetic to the Wildcats after years of dirty play from them.

Why? Beal & Kenny will run the point.

6 to 12 weeks potentially. Think Perth need to get the best Australian player available then get rid of one of the imports around that Australian players I think.

(Mod: Deleted. Don't be a dick.)

FYI, I understand your point but what I am saying is that every time there is an incident, the reaction is the same. If Perth is the victim, it is "lets bring up other incidents or find ways that we can blame them" while ignoring or excusing what the actual aggressor did. If Perth is the aggressor, its "see, I told you they were dirty!"

I'm not denying what Perth does. I'm calling out the hypocritical fans who turn a blind eye to everything that any other player does, or only sees things with an anti-Perth agenda.

There might be some truth in that, but this incident is not the right example of it.
Refs did nothing wrong.
The initial portion of the play was neither a foul nor an attempt by a Perth player to foul, so calling a foul would have been wrong. Perth were trying to legally pressure and trap, which they did until Hire reached at the ball, got arm, and was whistled for it straight away.

(My post was in reply to Anon #338)

@Luuc, I take #338's post as a general comment at similar incidents and not directly related to this one. I agree, this incident isn't a referee's no-call issue, but in general I also agree with anon's post as I see it myself all the time...

Bloody Conk

Trying to break it down into an absolute split second in time to say it's intentional is ridiculous.

Conklin is getting mugged by a double team with no call, then as he dribbles away from the trap hire reaches in for the ball as Conklin picks the ball up to pass to his guard. Its a good hard foul by hire while Conklins arms are up for the pass.

The Elbow happens in an absolute split second as Conklin is pulling away from the foul, with Marto doing what he has made a career of looking to steal the ball when a big puts it on the floor.

Very unfortunate but in no way intentional imo.

Having had time to re-watch it all I now think it was deliberate.

Conklin clenched went from an open hand and clenched his fist. I'm also pretty sure he knew Damo was there.

Those 2 things make me think it was intended.

"Good to see the Perth trolling continue. That why people hate perth, we never do any wrong sob sob, but everyone else does this to us. "

No one has said that.

@anon 343 one of my examples was from the same game.

I was the only one blaming Hire, and it was really a tongue in cheek comment referring to the lead up to the elbow on Martin, how the refs allow that contact and let it get out of hand.

I was going to publicly apologise (well at least on this forum) to Hire but having read his comments about players laughing he can get stuffed. He is deluded, but I guess he's only brainwashed by his deluded coach.

Chalmers making me remember why I stopped reading ozhoops.

yes he has nfi

Watch the play in slow motion from 0:28 to 0:31:

1. Conklin dribbles towards the sideline, away from Hire
2. Hire makes illegal contact with Conklin's torso and right arm
3. Conklin flailed his arms to draw attention to the foul
4. Looking directly at Martin, Conklin drops the elbow towards him.

No idea whether he intended to hurt, but Conklin definitely intended to make forceful contact using his elbow. Martin was the unlucky recipient.

Stupid, thug play that sees Martin out for 6-8 weeks at best. Conklin should be suspended for a few games at least, but I doubt he will.

So that's what it looks like in slow motion. Only problem is it didn't happen in slow motion. I agree your scenario is possible, but I think it happened too quick to be sure.

To bring up past Perth incidents is irrelevant to what happened here. Imo there was no malice involved but it could be argued it was a reckless action (even then, it happened very quickly). Whether it was deliberate, I'm not convinced and would like to think not.
Conklin probably should be cited and the process take its course.

That said, what Hire and Gleeson said post-match lacked class. Hire's accusation that opposition players were laughing over a guy being hurt is highly dubious (I'd go as far as saying it just didn't happen) and Gleeson making veiled threats of retaliation/revenge in the game on Friday is reckless and he should face sanctions for that. You can't have coaches, even in the heat of the moment (and I'd argue the post match press conference isn't even heat of the moment), making threats like that. No sporting organisation in the world would tolerate it.

I think folks should be more concerned with what Gleason had to say post match than anything else. It was a horrible result with Damo getting hurt like that, but really dont think it was more than a guy breaking free from a double team in which he was being hacked at and Martin was in the wrong place. Gleason is completely unprofessional and I guess this helps take the attention away from the fact he coached a team to a key loss to a team they shouldve beaten!

Wildcats Supporters - The Collingwood fans of the NBL! So one eyed and try to justify every negative thing its hilarious. Redhage & Wagstaff ARE the top two players in the League for a cheap shot or off the ball elbow, especially after a whistle! And unfortunately Hire is turning out to be a combined mess of the two of them... Great look for kids to look up to the 'poster' WA born and bred guy of the Cats.

And that's from someone born and bred in the West. Gleeson is coming to the realisation he has zero depth, and as such he uses a situation which could of been handled far better by the coaches, to try and 'inspire' his team by throwing Nate under the bus completely with immature and ill-informed threats. Gleeson will be the first Wildcats coach to miss a finals in 30 odd years due to his inability to inspire players or that previously mentioned severe lack of depth, especially with Damo out half the season - Good luck getting a gig after that little 'accomplishment'. If Andy Stewart does well enough with the Lynx this year, its not a silly assumption to think he could actually replace

Knowing Damo personally, it really is sad as you would not meet more of a stand-up, top bloke if you tried. Zero arrogance and as a few people have said above, an amazing ambassador for the League.

6.50 for the Crocs tomorrow night you say, best be heading to a TAB at Lunch then!!

"I think folks should be more concerned with what Gleason had to say post match than anything else."

Definitely an ordinary thing to say and it does deflect away from coaching his second loss to a bottom team but I don't think its worse than an errant elbow landing on someone's chin.

Brightside43 reminding me that the reason why he stopped reading Ozhoops is because no one liked him, and told him so repeatedly.

Guys (or same person, probably), if you want to disagree with anything I've said, feel free. Tell me why. Be specific. Thats why we are here.

But continually chiming in to tell me how much to dislike me but saying nothing else doesn't really prove anything or add to the discussion.

Disagree Chalmers, the elbow was accidental, the result of that accident is separate. Gleason comments however were not accidental, and quite unacceptable.

Just one comment on the 'slow motion' v 'real time' debate. Surely in an incident as serious as this, it takes time to clear the court and wipe the blood, so how is it not possible for the officials to call for a review of the incident and watch replays on video?

Did they do this and I missed it, or do they not have that capability in the NBL?

Doing something deliberately with minor consequences doesn't overrule doing something recklessly with significant consequences.

Yes it does.

Cause one is deliberate and one is an accident and caused by being of balance after a foul. And therefore isn't actually reckless, but rather accidental.

He pivoted away from the defender who was fouling him after getting pushed in that direction.

Not if its an accident you don't.

reckless
ˈrɛkləs/
adjective
adjective: reckless

1. heedless of danger or the consequences of one's actions; rash or impetuous.
"you mustn't be so reckless"
synonyms: rash, careless, thoughtless, incautious, heedless, unheeding, inattentive, hasty, overhasty, precipitate, precipitous, impetuous, impulsive, daredevil, devil-may-care, hot-headed.

deliberate
adjective
adjective: deliberate
dɪˈlɪb(ə)rət/

1. done consciously and intentionally.
"a deliberate attempt to provoke conflict"
synonyms: intentional, calculated, conscious, done on purpose, intended, planned, meant, considered, studied, knowing, wilful, wanton, purposeful, purposive, premeditated, pre-planned, thought out in advance, prearranged, preconceived, predetermined.

accidental
aksɪˈdɛnt(ə)l/
adjective
adjective: accidental

1. happening by chance, unintentionally, or unexpectedly.
"a verdict of accidental death"
synonyms: fortuitous, chance, occurring by chance/accident, adventitious, fluky, coincidental, casual, serendipitous, random, aleatory; More
unexpected, unforeseen, unanticipated, unlooked-for;
unintentional, unintended, inadvertent, involuntary, unplanned, unpremeditated, unthinking, unmeant;
unwitting, unknowing, unconscious, subconscious;
mistaken, misguided
"accidental damage"
antonyms: intentional, planned
2.
incidental; subsidiary.
"the location is accidental and contributes nothing to the poem"
synonyms: incidental, unimportant, by the way, by the by, supplementary, subsidiary, subordinate, secondary, marginal, minor, lesser, accessory, peripheral, tangential, extraneous, extrinsic, parenthetical, irrelevant, immaterial, beside the point, of little account, unnecessary, non-essential, inessential.

I can be swayed into believing that the incident is more accidental than it was straight out deliberate, however anyone in their right mind cannot argue that it wasn't reckless, by definition...

If you are deliberately flailing your arms about in an aggressive manner, and accidentally make contact with someone, that is called reckless.

We don't know if what Gleeson said has minor consequences yet though chalmers. He has basically incited retaliation and, if that happens, who knows the outcome. For all we know it could be worse.

It's unacceptable on a coach's behalf to behave like that.

Come on snooch, do you really think his words are going to incite violence?

Chalmers please go look up the definition of "accident"

People now suggesting Conklin has failed his duty of care towards an opponent is the stupidest thing I have read on here, and there have been some jaw droppers.

If Conklin is known to recklessly flail his arms and elbows then Damo should have used his smarts and not entered the zone of flailing arms and elbows.

Jesus , Conklin was double team and fouled whilst trying to get free, Damo attacked from the blind side as he often does hoping for a steal.

The two connected and Damo got hurt.

FWIW, I showed the video to a mate - a basketball fan- on my lunch break. Previously I had told him about the broken jaw. When he saw the footage his immediate reaction was "Oh that was just an accident".

I also thought it was an accident.

But, I'll straddle the fence here by suggesting it was *both* reckless *and* an accident. It is reckless to swing your elbows about like that. And injuries can result – if someone is unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time like Damo was- hence this kind of recklessness should be noted and perhaps a tech or an unsportsmanlike on Conklin.

But it was accidental in the sense that he didn’t line Damo up for it.

It's not illegal to pivot because a defender has fouled you and pushed you.

The Duty of Care

Anyone who has an official capacity to organise and manage sport programs and events has a duty to make such activities as safe as possible for anyone who participates. This duty is referred to, in the eyes of the law, as the "Duty of Care".

Persons in an official capacity include coaches, referees, coordinators, club administrators, grounds caretakers and owners of the sport facility.

Persons who participate include players, player supporters, spectators, coaches, referees and other officials such as time keepers and helpers.

Safe as possible means that efforts are made to:

Make checks prior to the sport activity to identify and remove hazards from the environment in which the activity takes place
Educate participants to undertake the activity safely as possible (this includes ensuring that participants know and understand the rules of the game and wearing protective clothing/equipment)
Supervise participants as they undertake sport activities particularly if they are children or have an infirmity.
Ensure that there are persons on hand who can respond appropriately to emergencies. This usually involves the provision training and the development of procedure.

The actions that sport managers and supervisors must take to make participation as safe as possible will depend, to some extent, on the participants themselves. The law tends to view that some people in society are owed a higher standard of Duty of Care as they are less able to look after themselves. This group includes children, persons with a disability, mentally ill, elderly and in some instances those who are pregnant.
Contemplation of Risks

The Duty of Care principle was established in the famous case of Donoghue and Stevenson, 1932. In the many interpretations of this and subsequent cases, it has become a generally accepted principle that anyone (or any business) that makes a product or offers a service must contemplate the safety of the users of that product or service. In effect, if there is a risk that the user of the product or service will sustain injury, illness or other harm, then the product or service should be withdrawn until the product or service is remedied.

If an individual or a business provides a product or service that they know to be unsafe, or recklessly fail to give any consideration of safety, then the individual or business runs the risk of a court action for NEGLIGENCE. Negligence occurs when there is a breach of the Duty of Care and someone is injured as a result.

See also Deaths in Sport
Performing the Duty of Care

Participation in sport is an inherently risky business and many injuries and even deaths do occur. Provided that sport managers have carried out their Duty of Care, then there is no redress for participants if they are injured in the pursuit of a normal sport activity. They can insure for this if they wish. It is only possible to take action in court if there is a breach of the Duty of Care and it is often the case that such a breach occurs when something has been missed or overlooked. For this reason, there is great pressure on all sport organisations to undertake RISK MANAGEMENT.

The following actions are typical of what needs to be undertaken by sports administrators to fulfil the Duty of Care:

Sport officials and coaches must be properly accredited
Sport facilities must be checked for safety and hazards removed prior to sport activity
Children and/or other vulnerable segments of the population should be supervised when they participate in sport activities.
Implements used in the pursuit of sport are in good working order
Sport participants are appropriately prepared for the sport activities they undertake. This includes health checks, fitness training, coaching and knowledge of rules.
Injured persons are withdrawn from participation as soon as the injury comes to light.
Behaviour that may increase the possibility of injury is discouraged and action taken against persistent perpetrators of inappropriate behaviour.

Establishing that a Duty of Care exists

If a person is injured through participation in sport or recreation and wishes to seek some form of compensation, then whether or not they succeed will depend on establishing three things:

That the person was owed a Duty of Care
That there was a breach of this Duty of Care
As a result an injury occurred

We don't know and tbh it doesn't matter whether it does or not. You can't have coaches intimating there will be some sort of retribution/revenge. It's not on, and I suspect you know that.

I agree Conklin's action could be construed as reckless and he should be cited and the the process take its course.

But that doesn't also take away from what Gleeson and, to a lesser degree Hire, said post-match.

"Chalmers please go look up the definition of "accident"

Bear posted it above. Which part did I get wrong?

"If Conklin is known to recklessly flail his arms and elbows then Damo should have used his smarts and not entered the zone of flailing arms and elbows."

What? Who said anything about prior knowledge or a players reputation being relevant? By your earlier comments about the Cats reputations, that means all their opponents are at fault for stepping on the court with them and exposing themselves to their thuggery.

Sorry FYI, you started to make sense for a while but you've just lost it there.

"We don't know and tbh it doesn't matter whether it does or not. You can't have coaches intimating there will be some sort of retribution/revenge. It's not on, and I suspect you know that."

I do know that. They were poor comments from the coach, no question. My point is that isn't the bigger issue here, as Kobe24 trolled us with earlier.

Was Gleeson also coach when Abney pushed Brad Hill in the back on a fast break which made him break his arm when he was playing for the Sixers?

this used to be a decent forum, then people in Perth found it.

Sorry for pointing out when you don't make sense. You're really going to leave the "Marto should have known better" crap there?

OK, I agree, it's not the bigger issue. But it also can't be dismissed..

Facetiousness didnt come across well I guess.

Its not the first time someone coming for a steal from the blindside has been whacked either.

I don't agree with you that Conk was deliberately flailing his arms around and being reckless. He was doubled teamed , one of your team fouled him. His arm was being held by Hire and he flung it away and connected Damo

Agree ^

At the very least the incident should be reviewed by a panel of experts to determine weather the incident was reckless, deliberate or purely accidental.

The fact of the matter is that it was a hit to the head which resulted in a players broken jaw. It is unprofessional and negligent of the NBL if the incident is not reviewed.

Everyone here has their own opinions on how it should be perceived. Unfortunately, I doubt very much if anyone here is qualified or skilled enough to make that determination. Leave it to the experts and hopefully the NBL do something about it.

Was Gleeson also coach when Abney pushed Brad Hill in the back on a fast break which made him break his arm when he was playing for the Sixers?

I think it was Stacker's last season wasn't it? Could have been Gleeson's first. Not sure how that's relevant to anything though, even if Gleeson was the coach..

99% of Perth supporters will view it as Conklin being reckless/deliberate. 99% of Perth haters will see it as accidental or the Cats fault.

Coaches and players are always going to back their own players no matter what. People are bias. Too much hate going one here.

I like Perth and I like the Croc's too, I don't hate on any NBL team actually, I just don't like seeing this type of incident in the sport...

snooch the point was Gleeson said the Martin incident was one of the dirtiest plays he has seen so I was just throwing it out there that the Abney play was another malicious and intentional play that I thought he was involved in.

#471 : Watch it, I am a Cats member too mate lol :P
You can't hate people for backing their team though and being bias to a point. That's half of what being a supporter is haha.

You saw the same thing with the Childress/Wagstaff incident.

KingJames, ah OK, sorry didn't catch on to that.

Gees there are some total fuckwits in here.
You have to be a seriously twisted and demented individual to turn what happened to Martin (aka the subject of this thread) into a rant against Perth and Gleeson's failings as a Coach.
And for the record, when you hate Perth so much, if you believe Gleeson is a failure, and we won't make the finals (as if) then you should be happy.

Back on the subject at hand: You can have your own "opinion" of Conklin's behaviour, demeanour, attitude, etc, that's fine. You want to believe that he's a saint who's been unfairly persecuted by Perth and the refs, so be it. What is NOT subject to opinion is the fact that he broke Martin's jaw. Simple.
To even suggest that the NBL would not review an incident in which a player's jaw was broken, is beyond insane. What the result of such a review will be, or even if it becomes a formal review, remains to be seen. Ie they may well look at the video and decide there is no further case to answer, but they will certainly be watching the video.

I cannot think of a similarly severe incident to indicate precedent. (I'm sure they have happened, I just can't recall any.) I know that in the AFL (a full contact sport) the MRP is heavily swayed by the extent of the injury, but there still needs to be a finding of at least negligence.
I think what will count against Conklin is that it was his arm. When heads collide, or heads meet shoulders inadvertently, there is usually no case to answer. With arms its going to be a bit harder to avoid negligence. But as I said, we will have to wait and see.

There have been numerous examples over the years where a player has been pinged for a foul while being heavily defended, possibly even fouled, but was caught out by his own actions of overly-aggressive arm movements. This is no different, except no foul was called (not that that means the refs got it right) and we've seen someone get a serious injury.

If you think that it was all a fluid motion by Conklin and he had no control over himself due to the foul from Hire and the other defence, thats fine. I don't see it that way. I think he was annoyed at the double team and the foul (maybe even uncalled fouls) and when he saw a third guy coming, he chose to fend off him with the obvious unfortunate result. That is a reckless movement.

I believe there was intent to make contact but definitely not to break his jaw. Conklin did warm up the elbow a couple of weeks back on Redhage's chin - although most outside of WA wouldn't have an issue with that. There is a history there unfortunately.

As for Gleeson's comments post game, he's obviously just watched the replay of the incident before entering the presser and is pretty peeved at what he perceives as a pretty ordinary act. His comments are a tad irrational but emotion clearly gets the better of him - Hire is in the same boat. Those calling for Gleeson's head need to chill, the crocs simply have their number...at least for another 24 hours.

As for all of the 'prove it that Perth are dirty etc'. Honestly, it's a pretty mute argument if you watch the game objectively. Redhage has always played on the edge and Wagstaff and Knight have followed suit during their time in Perth. Martin is hands down my favourite player in the league so I'm no Perth basher but I do despise the way Wagstaff in particular plays the game at times. His shoulder charge on Jarrod Weeks in Wollongong two weeks prior was over the line and warranted an ejection in my opinion. As for the continued flopping allegations - that's on the officials. If you punish the act, players will simply stop doing it. I hate it but it is what it is until the people who can change it do so.

All in all, the whole Conklin/Damo/Gleeson/Elbow Gate situation has been a magnet for opinion and publicity, which unfortunately for Damo is a good thing. Genuinely feeling for him as he comes across as a good egg who doesn't deserve his season cut short.

One last thing - Downtown ball has a piece up on it's site regarding the situation. Now regardless of you opinion on whether the contact was intentional/reckless/accidental, the result was horrific. Yet some moron named Jan Hague - who is clearly a crocs supporter - has posted in the comments that Martin flopped. I try not to get emotional about these things as it's only sport but for someone to suggest that Martin flopped is plain idiotic. If you wanna troll someone, troll that goose.

Loving the NBL this season - best ever to date!

Suspend for as long as Damo is out. Woopp

And take back the license held by Townsville at the end of the season, oh wait...

Those calling for Gleeson's head need to chill,

I'm not calling for his head by any means, but the league cannot stand for a coach insinuating he is going to send his players out looking for retaliation/revenge.
Post match press conferences are held a reasonable time after a game. Coaches and players have ample time to gather their thoughts. I've got no doubt Gleeson/Hire would have seen the condition Damo was in and responded, but that doesn't make it right.
The league has to intervene imo to send a message that you can't make comments like that.

Would your attitude change if Jawai or another Perth player comes out tomorrow night and throws a cheap shot that gets a Townsville player injured??

No, because then we can claim is was in retaliation to this incident so it was deserved. /s

lol

#jawforajaw

Make it happen Nate

Sorry snooch but I don't understand why my attitude would change? Gleeson and Hire's comments were clearly spoken out of emotion. If the NBL decides to sanction them then I have no issue at all with it. IT would be warranted.

Personally I'm not a big fan of Gleeson but I certainly don't think the club should sack him because he's just seen his captain laid out by - in my opinion - an intended elbow, and then asked to comment on the matter. As I said, his comments were irrational but I can guarantee you there wouldn't have been much time between leaving the court and the press conference. From working in the media myself I can attest that when an incident like Elbow Gate happens Fox will call the presser ASAP in the hope of obtaining comments like both Gleeson's and Dennis's.

It makes for good press.

By the sounds of it Conklin will be charged and a hearing tomorrow.
NBL supposedly set to make some sort of a statement, although you'd have thought they'd have said something - anything - by this stage of the day.

The fact he walked away like he just king hit someone not in his favour.

#lifetimeban #zerotolerance #alcoholthinkagain

@Snooch - Where did you hear that ?

Sauces...got 'em everywhere ;)

Marto had a bit on his lip still when he arrived at the Perth airport today.

another one

#blockconklinbehaviour

@snooch - Tomato or BBQ :P

Press release...

The National Basketball League (NBL) has charged Townsville Crocodiles player Brian Conklin with striking Perth Wildcats player Damian Martin late in the fourth quarter during last night's Round 5 game at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre.

The charges are to be heard by the NBL Tribunal with a final ruling expected prior to the Townsville Crocodiles' game in Perth tomorrow night.

The League’s highest priority is and will always be the wellbeing of its athletes. Whilst acknowledging that incidents of this nature are bound to occur from time to time in a highly competitive sporting environment, contact with the head must be avoided wherever possible.

Continued:

We are expecting the final punishment to be "banned from NBL forever" and revoking the NBL MVP the previous owners accidentally gave him last year.

Regards,
NBL

I'm happy with that action by the NBL.

#nothugs #bantheconk

The league also apparently going to investigate Gleeson's post-match comments.

Conklin should get two years.

Damian Martin was interviewed on 94.5fm as he was waiting for surgery this arvo. He is not angry with Conklin and says it was an unfortunate part of a tough play. He also confirmed that he had an apology from Conklin via text message today. Conklin didn't call as wasn't sure if Damo could speak on phone. Damo also reiterated that Brian is a good guy and he holds no grudge about it.

Maybe both Perth and anti-Perth fans need to take a leaf out of Damo's book and get rid of the holding grudges shite! All teams have players on their team who play hard (and dirty). I am a one-eyed Perth fan who does see the negatives of the likes of Redhage, just as much as I see the negatives of a Wortho or Goulding.
I'm extremely disappointed in Gleeson's post match comments. Wish he had taken the higher ground. It's ok to be fired up about what happened but to threaten revenge is just bullshit.

I for one hope that Damo recovers well from this, not just from a basketball but a personal point of view. To have your jaw smashed like that and the type of surgery to get plates put in is not the greatest. I hope my fellow Red Army fans take the higher ground tomorrow and support the wildcats without dealing the crap towards the crocs. In other words, don't boo Conklin! Finally big time credit to Mitch Norton. Your concern for Damo was fantastic.

Extremely unprofessional post match press conference by Hire and Gleeson.

Gleeson's is borderline defamatory and calling for vengence is totally stupid.

Hire's is also borderline defamatory putting forth the idea that the Crocs players were laughing at Marto. From memory, Norton went over and checked if he was OK and other Crocs showed concern.

People work their butts off to make this league what it is - and a lot of off season work has been done. What we don't need is amateur, emotionally jacked up coaches and players coming out and saying crap which IMO makes the NBL seem as if its some kind of High school league

Damo is all class and the ultimate professional. Massive respect to him. I think he would be the first guy angry/disappointed at what Hire/Gleeson said.

What I find disappointing, is that we are now 24 hours on, on the eve of what could become a grudge match and we have had no statement from the NBL. (Nothing on the website that I can see.)
Either way they should have come out with something today.

I would like to ask a question, and I'm not being a troll, if Conklin plays and is injured by Jawai would there be a case for criminal prosecution for assault?

Could the action be considered premeditated given Gleason's actions?

Let's just hope nothing stupid happens.
To answer the question, it would very much have to depend on the action itself I would have thought.

I have to say that I'm bothered by the idea that we review the injury and reason backwards to determine punishments.

Judge the action only. The after effects differ from case to case and involve a whole heap of other factors that are beyond the intent of the original offender.

In other words Judge the *play*. The penalty should be the same whether Damo has a broken jaw or whether he gets back up and continues playing. Whether Conklin gets 10 weeks or nothing, Martin's injury shouldn't be a factor

Really people. Hire started the whole thing with his slash across Conklin not called and all this happens in milliseconds, followed by Martin running through with Conklin turning with elbows raised to try and get out of the situation as would another player in that circumstance. If you go hard at a player and get physical and the calls aren't made or there is simply no time then at time people will get hurt. Sorry for Damo but this is incidental and as a result of the aggressive run started by Hire to stop Conklin getting a run on. End of subject, move on or Perth needs to stop this aggressive attack on court and get their own elbows down. And no I am not a Perth or Crocs fan, just a basketball fan with a non bias view.

i feel for martin however will say this, gleeson is angry over the treatment yet his charges do dirty stuff on the court. will never forget the stray forearm redhage gave that got nothing. only for gleeson to say he didnt see anything and he is a fair player.

@Anon - After watching the replay at least 20 times, I can't comprehend how you see Hire's action as "aggressive". Yes he was trying to foul, but it wasn't a nasty push/shove/what have you that warrants the term aggressive.

I don't know if Conklin's actions were deliberate or not, but it was a nasty blow to the head regardless. Even in the AFL (which is a contact sport) if someone received an elbow to the face which broke their jaw, they would probably get a suspension for reckless play. Conklin didn't appear remorseful however, and didn't offer to help him up or to check on him to see if he was okay. I love watching Damo play and I don't think there's a player in the league who I respect more, so it's very disappointing for such a harsh injury to happen to him. I believe that Conklin should be suspended for at least a game (if not more) for reckless play and failing to maintain a duty of care.

Well as for the suspension, the NBL has dug it's own grave here.

They only gave Childress one game for his hit on Wagstaff- an insufficient penalty.

It means they cannot possibly suspend Conklin and retain any kind of consistency, because Childress' hit was much worse than what Conklin did.

@Perth Fan - Could't agree with you more.

Here's the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9gvpyO1iu8

I just can't see how the NBL can possibly suspend someone for what Conklin did. They've set the bar *so* low by only giving one game to a guy who smashed someone in mid air after having a few seconds to think about it.

Look at an incident in the AFL like this one... which is a similar incident but a less dangerous action because the victim (Swallow) was not in mid air like Wagstaff was:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5bsSHTL79U

Hodge got 3 weeks for that. That's how a professional league deals with this stuff. The NBL outed themselves as a bush league, backed themselves into a corner with the weak response to the Childress hit in my view. Now they've set a ridiculous precedent.

LV, of course you have to consider the effects as well. Obviously a complete accident wouldn't get any penalty, but doing something recklessly or intentionally that results in an injury is going to be considered worse than it having no effect.

Are you saying that throwing a punch and missing should be the same as throwing a punch and connecting?

I'm sure medical advice would have cleared him to fly considering he spent the night at the Townsville hospital getting scans.

Everything Perth Fan said is spot on. I'm also a wildcats fan and agree with everything you said, especially regarding the comments made by Trevor.

Sick of the one eyed bullshit by anti-Perth supporters, let's be hones, if Conklin squared Damo up and hit him these idiots would find an explanation. My thoughts:

1. Was a filthy play by Conklin, he threw the elbow down with no other intention but to strike Damo. It happened quickly but he made that spot second decision.

2. Conklin walking away from the incident is one of the most unsportsmanlike acts I've seen in decades of being an NBL supporter, my hat goes off to Mitch Norton for going to Damo's aid.

2. Hire and Gleeson although acting under emotion, should be more professional regarding there post game comments. There really is no excuse for Gleeson's comments about Nate.

All Glleson sad was they'd put Nate on him and he could pick on someone his own size. There's no retaliation in that from my view. Just an off hand comment and people over react.

Perth Fan's post is spot on. Well said sir.

It was his bottom jaw, mouthguard wouldn't have helped.

No mouthguard I've ever encountered would have made a meaningful difference against that particular location & severity of impact IMO.

Perth Fan you the real MVP. Absolutely spot on.

I take no issue with anything Perth Fan said, but I think that he/she is dreaming expecting the red army not to boo Conklin.

Hello, this is a Perth basketball crowd. We will boo anything! We boo correct decisions from refs, we'll boo opponents who get fired up even if they were obviously provoked, I could go on ... the point being, it's all part of the gladiatorial experience of being in the jungle.
I'm certainly planning to boo him,
Do I think he broke Damo's jaw on purpose? No I don't. But it's still a more than sufficient excuse to anoint him public enemy #1 for the evening and create a little extra atmosphere ;)

It ain't that serious.

Luuc, what can I say... I am a bit of a dreamer. Look I boo the opponents as much as the next person as a part of the red army. I just think that with an act of what I feel was not deliberate does not warrant the bad taste it's leaving. Damian Martin is my favourite cats player, so I'm gutted that he is in the situation he is. But if he (the one who is personally effected by the broken jaw) can move past it, so can I. If you had the pleasure of listening to him yesterday on the radio, you probably would feel the same way too. The guy places no blame or anger towards Conklin. If that's the lead out wildcats captain is giving, we in the red army should follow suit!
If on the other hand I see dirty play tonite in either team, I'll call it for what it is and react accordingly. That is make comments and the odd boo both for and against my wildcats. Yes I'm a one-eyed fan, but like I said on previous post, I see the good and bad in the wildcats. Maybe it's time some others do to, not only in regards to the wildcats but their own teams too!

This backs up my point on Damo

https://www.facebook.com/wildcats/videos/10153753886944314/

Nice video from Damo.

I'm still booing Conklin though! :p