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Manly owner defends Lottoland security

“I think the important thing is not to jump at shadows.”

Published by
Ben Cotton

Manly owner Scott Penn has defended the Lottoland security after Melbourne's Will Chambers appeared to get struck by a fan in Saturday night's clash.

It has put the Sea Eagles' home base at risk of not being allowed to host the club's first final game, with NRL boss Todd Greenberg expressing his displeasure about the altercation.

It is not likely that Manly will finish fifth or sixth and host their first post-season hitout at Lottoland, and Penn stressed that an incident involving one fan should not be a reflection of the arena's safety.

"I think the important thing is not to jump at shadows and don’t let [Saturday] night and a one-person incident, one brain explosion, overshadow the fact our security actually stopped him getting to Chambers," Penn told The Sydney Morning Herald.

"That’s exactly the process that should be in place – and we do [have it]. Sure, we can continue to monitor how we improve it even further but I do feel like the process we had in place protected the player [on Saturday] night."

Earlier, Greenberg declared that Manly may have to move their first final at SCG or Bankwest Stadium should the right security measures not be put in place at Lottoland.

"The behaviour we saw from a fan [on Saturday] night was completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our game," Greenberg said.

"I have asked the integrity unit to work with Manly and NSW Police so we can ensure the individual is dealt with in an appropriate fashion that meets community expectations.

"We have advised Manly that changes to the Lottoland ground must be made in order for the venue to meet the standard required to host an NRL final."

Penn said the club will do "whatever it takes" to ensure their first final is played at Lottoland.

"For us it’s really important to have a home final at our home ground," Penn said. "We need to do whatever it takes to get it. We’ve been working on this for over a month in terms of it being a potential eventuality.

"We feel it would be just recognition for a tremendous year. And it’s exactly what the fans deserve. That’s the importance of a home final – if we have to play somewhere else then it’s not a home final."

Published by
Ben Cotton