The Penrith Panthers many have got away with a premiership point from Townsville on Saturday after drawing with the North Queensland Cowboys, but a viral video—and one suspicious water bottle—has put them in hot water over unsportsmanlike conduct.
In a golden point thriller that ended 30-all against the Cowboys, the drama didn’t end at full-time.
Amateur footage that surfaced after the game appears to show veteran Panthers trainer and former Huddersfield Giants utility back, Shane Elford up to some old-school mischief in the modern game – repeatedly spraying the match ball with water just before extra time kicked off.
Yes, you read that right. Caught red-handed (or maybe just wet-handed), Elford is seen giving the ball a generous spray not once, but twice, before passing it to fullback Dylan Edwards to restart play.
And this wasn’t a one-off, according to North Queensland Cowboys coach Todd Payten.
“He did it before every kick-off,” Payten told Code Sports.
“We saw it in the box. I’ll let the NRL sort it out, but we definitely noticed.”
Wetting the ball can make the ball harder to grip, making it easier to fumble from a kick off.
This all might seem subtle at first, but there’s no debate that it a deliberate attempt to tamper with the ball – which goes against the spirit of the game and NRL regulations.
At one point in the footage, Elford is seen casually chatting to hooker Mitch Kenny while soaking the ball in plain sight.
The trainer acted nonchalantly, seeming unfased about the cameras – however, it didn’t go unnoticed.
This isn’t Elford’s first time at the centre of controversy.
Back in 2022, there were calls to sideline him and fellow trainer Pete Green ahead of the NRL Grand Final for repeated run-ins with opposition players.
Adding to the drama of the 30-all draw, Penrith had their own gripes after the refs missed what looked like a clear offside in the dying minutes of regular time.
With 90 seconds left on the clock, a Panthers kick appeared to ricochet off Scott Drinkwater’s foot before finding John Bateman – who looked to in an offside position.
A penalty would have set up Nathan Cleary for a shot to win the game from 30 metres out… but play was waved on.
Rather than a golden finish, in the end both teams shared the points – but Penrith now will not have to answer to the NRL, while dealing with the online backlash.