Napa future uncertain as Greenberg talks tough on player misconduct

Bulldogs recruit Dylan Napa faces possible suspension before playing a match for his new club after NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg vowed to take stronger action against players who trash the game's image.

Greenberg returned to work on Monday and immediately held a conference call with captains from all 16 clubs, including the Storm's Cameron Smith, Cronulla's Paul Gallen and Roosters premiership-winning skipper Boyd Cordner, and told them: "Stop looking at head office. You guys need to take ownership of this situation".

‘Angry and frustrated’: NRL CEO Todd Greenberg.Credit:James Brickwood

Later, in a lengthy interview with the Herald, an "angry and frustrated" Greenberg said he had been instructed by the ARL Commission to draw a line in the sand on player behaviour. It is in response to an horrific off-season for rugby league that has seen leading players Jarryd Hayne and Jack de Belin charged with aggravated sexual assault, others charged with assault and then the emergence of the lurid "Big Papi" sex tapes involving Napa.

Greenberg foreshadowed life bans for players found guilty of serious offences against women, as well as declaring that inappropriate messages and videos sent on WhatsApp groups would be considered a violation of social media policy – even if it is private.

"Take it as read: the first time we put the hammer down this year, it’s going to be harder and bigger," he said. "And if anyone says, 'What about?' Well, there will be no 'what about?' We're in a new era now. It’s a reset. The commission has given me strong guidance to go harder. The deterrents aren't working. And anything relating to violence against women in particular, if it’s proven, will be at the very high end of the scale. If it’s on WhatsApp, it’s the same as Facebook."

With that in mind, Greenberg also gave a strong indication that Napa faced an uncertain future.

On notice: Bulldogs recruit Dylan Napa faces suspension over the ‘Big Papi Tapes’.Credit:AAP

The former Roosters prop, who moved to the Bulldogs in the off-season, was last week interviewed by the NRL's integrity unit after a series of videos emerged of him having consensual sex with an unidentified women, as well as performing sex acts on himself.

Asked if he had seen the videos, Greenberg said: "I have and I was just gobsmacked about the stupidity. The message I just gave to the captains this morning was, 'If you put something into a WhatsApp group, we will treat that exactly the same as if you put it on social media because the likelihood of it getting out publicly is high, if not probable. If you’re sending video footage around to other people, what you’re doing is putting your whole career, your livelihood and the reputation of the game in other people’s hands. If you do that, be very careful or it could come back to hurt you'.

"Trying to use someone sending it on as an excuse, is just that: an excuse. You've got to own it. Take some accountability for what you can control. If you don’t make the content, if you don’t film the content, you don't put it out there, people can’t send it on."

The new hardline stance means Napa could be in danger of being suspended before the start of the season, although it is understood some of the captains on the conference calls argued that misdemeanours from several years ago should not be punishable now. The Napa tapes are said to be four to five years old.

"It could cost them a player who hasn’t played a game yet," Greenberg said. "I don’t know if it’s fair or not, but when the game gets damaged by these sorts of things, you have to react and it doesn’t matter when it happens."

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