NRL issues warning to Billy Slater over unusual Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow incident in State of Origin

Billy Slater’s pitchside conversation with Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow come in early Country of origin Game I was given the go-ahead by NRL officials – but with a warning. In a highly unusual move, the Queensland head coach left the coaches’ box and walked over to the all-round defender as the Maroons were kicking a goal midway through the first half.

Slater later explained that he wanted to speak to the Hammers about his positional play after being thrown into the fullback position following Reece Walsh’s injury due to concussion. Controversial sending off for Joseph Suaalii after hitting Walsh high, he gave Queensland a one-man advantage that Slater was keen to exploit.

“I figured if it’s necessary, I’ll do it. When Hammer was thrown back to the fullback position, I thought I could help him with a few things just by having a one-on-one conversation,” Slater said after his team’s convincing 38-10 win. “We can’t plan everything, but this is one thing I thought would be beneficial for the team and for Hammer.”

Tabuai-Fidow revealed after the game that he initially thought he was in trouble when Slater called him to the sideline for the impromptu chat. “Johnno (assistant coach Johnathan Thurston) came over and said, ‘Billy wants to talk to you on the sideline.’ I said, ‘Sweet, am I in trouble?’

“He gave me some pointers and I tried to follow them. Billy said, ‘Go out and have fun,’ but he also talked about) my defence. I went back out and did my job.” Slater’s move was more commonly associated with football managers than rugby league coaches.

NRL issues subtle warning over Billy Slater incident on pitchside

Coaches are allowed to sit on the bench during games – Canberra’s Ricky Stuart is one who prefers to sit at ground level – but they are not allowed to leave that area. NRL football boss Graham Annesley had no problem with Slater’s behaviour, but added a subtle warning to his response.

“Anyone sitting on the bench must stay there,” Annesley told News Corp. “But our groundsmen show a degree of discretion depending on the circumstances as it can get quite hectic at times. However, we regularly remind players, coaches and officials of their responsibility to ensure the rules are not abused.”

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Slater patted Tabuai-Fidow on the back before returning to the coaches’ box to oversee the conclusion of a big Queensland win, his words clearly making the right impression on the Hammer, who scored three tries to take the man of the match title from Daly Cherry-Evans.