By STEVE MASCORD
NSW Rugby League officials are unlikely to take action against Western Suburbs over an admission from fullback Shaun Devine that he feigned injury as part of a pre-match plan against Penrith yesterday.
The Magpies inflicted the Panthers’ first defeat of the premiership with a 12-8 victory at Penrith Park, denying Penrith the competition lead and leaving North Sydney and Manly on top.
Devine admitted afterwards he had pretended to be hurt while a scrum was packing down to give his side eight backs in defence as part of a pre-game ploy devised by coach Warren Ryan.
“I don’t know that we would take any action,” NSWRL general manager John Quayle said.
“However, if it starts to happen every week referees will just have to penalise them for acting contrary to the spirit of the game.”
While Devine was down in backplay, Magpies lock Jason Lidden stood out in the backline. When Devine got to his feet, Wests had the advantage of having eight players to mark seven attackers.
Devine said the ploy was devised to slow the speedy Panthers back-line.
“We talked about it leading up to this match,” he said.
“Warren said if we played injured during a scrum we could use an extra back in the back-line.”
The young fullback said the plan had not been used in other matches and Ryan said it would not be used again his season.
The Magpies’ fourth straight victory leapfrogs them ahead of Newcastle and Brisbane into the top five on 10 points.
Manly’s gutsy 24-15 win over South Sydney puts them on top on percentages from Norths, with Penrith in third spot (13 points) ahead of Illawarra on 11 points.
At the other end of the table, Balmain was left winless by yesterday’s clash with fellow strugglers Parramatta.
As if its seventh defeat from eight games was not enough, the Tigers look likely to be without NSW second rower Paul Sironen for at least three weeks after he suffered knee ligament damage.
Coach Alan Jones seemed as concerned about the injury toll as his side’s poor position on the table.
“We’re almost overwhelmed,” he said. “Two of the big men in the side – Steve Edmed and Sironen – are both gone for a long while.”
While the Eels win was not sealed until a last minute penalty awarded by referee Brian Grant, coach Michael Cronin paid tribute to veteran Brett Kenny who scored two tries to set up a 14-4 lead after 45 minutes.
“He’s come through for me all year,” Cronin said. “When we were getting beat he was probably getting a bit frustrated and trying too hard. Kenny’s attitude, on and off the field, has been great.”
This story was issued by AAP on May 8 and appeared in the Illawarra Mercury on May 9, 1991.
