Cronk laments Dogs' Mad Monday antics

Cooper Cronk says Cantebury's Mad Monday antics are a bad look for the game and says NRL players need to be more responsible.

NRL

Cooper Cronk says rugby league players have more responsibility than just winning games. (AAP)

Cooper Cronk has implored rugby league to clean up its act in the wake of Canterbury's Mad Monday saga.

The game earned yet another black eye when Bulldogs forward Adam Elliott was photographed naked during the club's end-of-year celebrations at a Sydney pub earlier this week.

While the media has earned plenty of criticism for what some deemed an invasion of privacy, the players could be clearly seen from the streets after wandering from a roped-off private room onto a balcony.

The club is under investigation by the NRL integrity unit and the game's head office is expected to hand down its sanctions on Thursday.

Cronk, who has been a cleanskin throughout his 15-year career and is seen as one of the most professional players in the league, described it as a bad look for the code.

"As rugby league players we've got more of a responsibility than just winning football games," Cronk said at the Fox League finals launch.

"It's about looking after the image of the game and inspiring the next generation of kids to play.

"Whatever they choose to do, it's about 'is it the best thing for the game'? It's disappointing."

Penrith great and board member Greg Alexander said the club needed to take greater responsibility for their players and said they shouldn't have been in a position where their celebrations were in view of the general public.

Questions are being asked of Dogs coach Dean Pay and football manager Gareth Holmes, who were at the celebrations.

And Alexander said someone from the club should have stepped in to stop it from getting out of hand.

"Have we been saying this for 20 years? There's a bit of responsibility for the players. I think there is," Alexander said.

"It's also on the club. They shouldn't have been in that position, the club knew what they were going to. They were going to a day where the players would be drinking alcohol and you've just got to be aware of the surroundings.

"What the Bulldogs players did, it's not acceptable in this day and age. It's not the crime of the century. But they need to be aware of what they're doing."


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Source: AAP



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