Mal Meninga ordered out of Brisbane bar at 1:10am

[rhugh89]

Queensland Origin coach Mal Meninga ordered out of Brisbane bar at 1:10am

• DEAN RITCHIE AND PETER BADEL
• THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
• JUNE 20, 2013 12:00AM

Mal Meninga has been booted from a Brisbane bar. Picture: Mitch Cameron Source: The Courier-Mail




MAL Meninga was "fed-up" with the booze-fuelled incidents damaging rugby league.


Well, yesterday the Queensland coach found himself forced to deny allegations that he may have added to the game's turmoil.The Daily Telegraph can reveal Meninga was ordered to leave a bar in Brisbane at 1.10am yesterday. Security even gave Meninga a bottle of water as an exit gift.But Meninga vigorously denies being drunk.

The drama comes after Queensland happily served up criticism last week about misbehaving NSW players James Tamou and Blake Ferguson."There you go Queensland, it happens to the best of us ... you're not as perfect as you think," said former NSW skipper Benny Elias.Meninga was out with Queensland players and staff celebrating the 30th birthdays of Billy Slater and Cam Smith.The team started drinking at The Regatta Bar before a few kicked-on to the Down Under Bar and Grill, where the incident occurred.It is understood Meninga had been drinking and wandered behind the bar of a restricted area and asked to be served a drinkSecurity pounced and told the coach he couldn't purchase another beer. He was then followed by security before being told to leave.Queensland star Johnathan Thurston and Maroons great and current assistant coach Allan Langer attempted to talk security into allowing Meninga to return for another drink.Security though ignored their pleas and, cheekily, gave Meninga a bottle of water as he departed.

Meninga last night defended his behaviour."I had one drink at the pub, I made the mistake of going behind the bar to ask for a beer and that was it," he told The Daily Telegraph."I was drinking responsibly, I acted responsibly and I left. I am fed-up with the other incidents going on in the game but they are criminal charges against players. I was out celebrating the boys' 30th birthday."There was no arguments, or pushing or shoving. I tried to get their attention because no one was serving where I was standing."I said, 'can I get a beer please?', then I moved into the (service area) and they said 'sorry, you can't be in here'."The security said 'you better leave'. 'JT' (Thurston) and 'Alfie' (Langer) spoke to management, but I said 'don't worry, I'm happy to go'."I'm just disappointed because I don't feel I did anything wrong. I want to make it clear I left the premises without incident."Meninga wasn't drunk or disorderly.Meninga had earlier fired a barb at the players bringing rugby league into disrepute off the field. "I'm disappointed. To be honest, I'm just fed up," Meninga said. "If players are genuine about their love of the game and putting the game first, it shouldn't happen this often."The NRL will seek a report of the incident from the Queensland Rugby League.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...ane-bar-at-110am/story-fni3fqyo-1226666537610

 

[rhugh89]

We've lowered the bar from great heights

• MIKE COLMAN
• THE COURIER-MAIL
• JUNE 23, 2013 12:00AM

Mal Meninga speaks to the media. Source: The Courier-Mail

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EARLY in the week I was moved to make the observation "first they ban punching, now you can't throw real estate signs through car windows. This game is getting soft." And that was before the 'Origin Coach Steps Behind Bar' headlines.


Please. What is happening to this once great game of ours?If a sober Mal Meninga asking for a beer is the biggest beat-up of a pre-Origin week, then I'm in the wrong job.Now I don't blame the journos. You have to work with the material you're given.What worries me is the lack of imagination on the part of the players and officials.Where are the great stories of yore?When was the last time you saw a poster outside the paper shop that even comes close to the classic "King Wally Bitten By Possum"?On a scale of one to 10 - one being someone loosely resembling Justin Hodges spotted eating a late-night kebab at the Gold Coast (Game lll, 2009), and 10 being Jarryd Hayne and Michael Ennis missing the bus to the match (Game ll, 2010) - I rate the Mal Bar Ban story a minus-2 with an anchor.For years we've been hearing that Origin is dying.

The quality of the football - and the headlines - has breathed new air into its lungs time after time.But things have never been this low before. Unless there is a drastic turnaround in the next few months, I'm sad to say I can see a time when journalists will have no alternative but to restrict themselves to reporting what happens on field, ending over 30 years of off-field gold. Still, should that happen, we'll still have our memories. Such as:Cattledog Swallows Goldfish: When the great Tommy Raudonikus was coaching the Blues in 1997, he organised a team dinner at the palatial home of his mate John Singleton.As the boys sat at a table in a huge dining room, through which meandered a stream filled with exotic tropical fish, Tommy threw down the drinks and became more fired up about the task ahead."Fellas," he spluttered, "You've gotta have a go. You can't take a backward step. Whatever it takes, you've gotta do it ..."At which point he gave the famous one-in, all-in cry of "Cattledog" and dived into the stream, splashed around for a few seconds and bobbed up with a fish in his hands. We'll leave it up to your imagination as to what happened next.Hi-Ho Silver, Away: It just doesn't get any better than the time teetotaller Wayne Pearce took the 1999 Blues for a horseriding bonding session.

Within minutes, more carnage was wrought on their bodies than could have been accomplished by a lifetime of heavy drinking. The scene looked like the outtakes from The Charge of the Light Brigade, only with real blood, most of it coming from Robbie Kearns and Bradley Clyde.Alfie's Tucker: When Allan Langer made his return from England to play in Origin lll, 2001, the beat-up register went off the scale.One reporter broke the scoop that after he arrived home from the airport Alfie's mum served him bacon and eggs. As with all big international stories it went around the world, with it getting an airing on BBC Wales.If It Ain't Broke: As captain or coach, Wally Lewis always drove the team bus, although to the passengers it was often more akin to a ride at the Ekka.One of his favourite tricks was waiting until the players were still walking to their seats, then hitting the accelerator or the brakes to send them rolling down the aisle.During the 1991 camp, Peter Jackson thought he'd outsmart Lewis, and wait until the last possible second before jumping into the front seat.Unfortunately Jacko missed his leap, the King hit the gas and Jacko's head and shoulders went straight through the windscreen.As everyone held their breath in horror Jackson pulled himself back into, felt around his head, found no blood and said, "What are we waiting for?"Some repair work to the screen using tape from the trainer's kit, and the team was on its way.

And finally, Anyone Get The Number of That Man?It was the week of Game ll, 1989, and the Maroons were having a few quiet drinks at Sheila's Tavern in North Sydney when Big Mal Meninga called stumps and started weaving his way to the cab rank.A driver coming up the road didn't see him in the darkness and hit him at low speed.Mal bounced over the bonnet and rolled on to the street. The driver climbed out to help, took one look at Sam Backo emerging from the shadows, jumped back into his car and disappeared.Mal was fine. The car suffered extensive damage.Ah, those were the days


http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...om-great-heights/story-fni3fr51-1226668059692