Panthers legend John Cartwright demands life ban for Penrith trainer who ‘sledged his son’

Panthers great John Cartwright has berated the trainer, who allegedly sled his injured son like a coward, and requested that he be permanently rubbed out of the game.

However, it has been claimed that new evidence has come to light that clears the Panthers coach of any wrongdoing and that he will be free on Sunday to control the water in the grand final against Parramatta.

Panthers coach Pete Green has come under fire after allegedly slashing Souths star Jed Cartwright in their preliminary final showdown of the NRL on Saturday night.

Jed started his NRL career with Penrith but was hampered by a series of back injuries.

Green is said to have slammed the former Penrith star during the match, citing his history of back problems. The situation boiled over when furious Souths playmaker Cody Walker had to be restrained on the sidelines.

Now it can be revealed that Green was wearing a microphone and his comments were passed on to the Panthers medical chief.

The technology was installed at the start of the season so that coaches could provide live updates on injured players.

The audio of the incident has been heard by the NRL and no further action will be taken as South Sydney is not making a formal complaint.

It’s clear that Green said words of “you’ve got to give him that one Dyl” to Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards after a tough tackle from Jed Cartwright.

Cartwright, who played 184 games for Penrith between 1985 and 1996, said players should not tolerate sleds from trainers and called for a ban on Green.

If it is true that a trainer was sledding an opponent, he should be banned for life. It’s the lowest act in the game – the lowest of the lowest. That’s not on. You shouldn’t take any sleds off the trainer,” Cartwright told the… Daily Telegram.

“The game is hard enough without taking it from someone you can’t stand. It’s the height of a coward.

‘You’re sledding opponents, and that’s fair enough – you can say what you like. But you don’t need it from a guy you can’t tackle or be tackled by.

“If a man walks with privileges, and he has the privilege of doing the work he does, but if he drags opponents, then, as I said, he should be suspended for life. I thought Jed had a great game – he didn’t deserve it.

“If a player slams and gets under the skin of an opponent and gives them a penalty, it’s all fair. But no trainer who brings water out.’

Jed Cartwright later confronted the trainer about the incident and John praised his son for standing up for himself and his composure during the incident.

“That was something I was proud of—that Jed didn’t just turn it upside down. And he shouldn’t have it with a trainer who wore out there. If a player said something to Jed, it wouldn’t bother him,” Cartwright said.

“Jed was really upset, really upset. And he’s the most down to earth guy you’ll ever meet.

“He’s had a really tough run with injuries and that physio (Green) would know that. Jed is not making these injuries up. He’s had broken backs, disc injuries, groin surgeries, they’ve all been real.”

To make matters worse, it can be revealed that Green was the physio in charge of treating Cartwright’s injuries during his time at Penrith.

“He was treating him as a physio for a medical condition and he dragged him over it during the match,” Kent said Monday night on NRL360.

“As John Cartwright says, a player shouldn’t be riding a sled of some guy with a water bottle.

“The trainer must not say a word to the opposition … he must be finished this week.”