David Furner

When a coach makes this decision, you know he means business – and for Raiders coach, he means just that, after he imposed a booze ban on his players for the remainder of the 2012 NRL season.

Just 8 weeks into the competition, a good number of players attended the 30th birthday of injured prop Brett White, although no player was permitted to touch any alcoholic beverage.

Although the Raiders club has had some characters in the past, some riddled with alcoholic problems, Furner said that the decision does not stem from that.

“We just want to be focusing on football for the next few weeks,” Furner said, “I just asked them to be professional.

“It’s a small sacrifice to win football games.

“A lot of young blokes these days like to get out and test their fame a bit but we need to win some footy games.”

If you believe some speculation, the players are not happy at the fact that they have had an alcohol ban imposed on them so early in the season – with other reports suggesting Furner is struggling to retain the support of the players.

Despite all that, speculation is rife that Furner’s job is in jeopardy, but he knows that he has to go out there and coach.

“It’s the environment we’re in,” he said. “I can only control what’s in front of me.

“The speculation is frustrating more than anything but I understand you need results and we can’t use injuries as an excuse.”

By ricky

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