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

Panthers great John Cartwright has slammed the trainer who allegedly sledged his injured son as a coward and called for him to be permanently rubbed out of the game. 

However, it has been claimed new evidence has come to light that clears the Panthers trainer of any wrong-doing and he will be free to run the water in the grand final against Parramatta on Sunday. 

Panthers trainer Pete Green has come under fire after allegedly sledging Souths star Jed Cartwright in their NRL preliminary final showdown on Saturday night.

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

Green allegedly sledged the former Penrith star during the match, referencing his history of back problems. The situation boiled over when furious Souths playmaker Cody Walker had to be restrained on the sideline.

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

The technology was put in place at the start of the season so trainers could give live updates on injured players.

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

Dylan Edwards of the Panthers looks to offload as he is tackled by Jed Cartwright of the Rabbitohs during their NRL preliminary final

It is understood Green said words to effect of ‘you’ve got to give him that one Dyl’ to Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards after a heavy tackle from Jed Cartwright. 

Cartwright, who played 184 games for Penrith between 1985 to 1996, said players should not have to tolerate sledges from trainers and called for Green to be banned,

‘If it’s true that a trainer was sledging an opposition player then he should be banned for life. It’s the lowest act in the game – the lowest of the low. That’s not on. You shouldn’t have to cop any sledge off a f…ing trainer,’ Cartwright told the Daily Telegraph.

‘The game is hard enough without copping it from someone you can’t have a crack back at. It’s the height of being a coward.

‘You cop sledges from opposition players, which is fair enough – you can say what you like. But you don’t need it off a bloke you can’t tackle or be tackled by. 

‘If there’s a bloke out there running with privilege, and he is privileged to be doing the job that he does, but if he’s sledging opposition players, then, as I said, he should be barred for life. I thought Jed had a great game – he didn’t deserve that.

‘If player sledges and gets under the skin of an opponent and they give away a penalty then that is all fair. But not a trainer bringing water out.’

Jed Cartwright later confronted the trainer over 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 cop it on the chin. And he shouldn’t have to cop it from a trainer running around out there sledging. If a player said something to Jed, it wouldn’t bother him,’ Cartwright said.

ohn Cartwright of the Panthers celebrates winning the 1991 NSWRL Grand Final between the Penrith Panthers and the Canberra Raiders

‘Jed was really upset, very upset. And he is the most level-headed kid you will ever meet.

‘He’s had a really hard run with injuries and that physio (Green) would know that. Jed isn’t making up these injuries. He’s had broken backs, disc injuries, groin operations, they have all been real.’

Compounding the issue, it can be revealed that Green was the physio charged with treating Cartwright’s injuries during his time at Penrith.

‘He was treating him for a medical condition as a physio, and he was sledging him about it during the game,’ Kent said on NRL360 on Monday night.

‘As John Cartwright says, a player shouldn’t have to cop a sledge off some bloke running a water bottle.

‘The trainer should not be allowed to say one word to the opposition… he should be out of this week straight away.’