Senior Manly Sea Eagles players including Dylan Walker and Kieran Foran have voiced their support for under-fire back-rower Haumole Olakauโatu in the wake of a try celebration that appeared to show solidarity with former teammate Manase Fainu.
Fainu was this week found guilty of stabbing a Mormon church youth leader during a wild brawl in 2019 and is now awaiting sentencing.
The NRL has this week spoken to Olakauโatu and Warriors player Addin Fonua-Blake after the integrity commission raised concerns about the context of the gestures appearing to show support for Fainu in the wake of the verdict. Some reports had suggested the celebration was using gang-related signs.
Olakauโatu has since claimed the gesture was merely a homage to his friend and not a gang-related issue, and heโs been supported in that stance by his senior clubmates.
โI can understand (the concerns) with the audience the NRL want to bring in, but Haumole and Manase are best mates,โ Dylan Walker - himself no stranger to controversy - told the Daily Telegraph.
โWe talk a lot about mental health, but this is a kid (Fainu) who had a big future, heโll be sitting somewhere and if he sees that, it will give him a little bit of hope.
โI donโt think itโs a gang sign, it was deadest for (Fainu). Weโre all about helping people through tough times. This is a classic example.
โI thought it was a show of support and a good gesture to try and help a best mateโ
Foran was also quick to heap praise on the former dummy-half and agreed that he didnโt see a problem with players supporting a friend through tough times.
โWhen we were in training in pre-season, I couldnโt believe some of the things (Fainu) was coming up with on the field,โ Foran told the Telegraph.
โI honestly thought if he gets off his charges and stays fit, we can win the comp. He was frighteningly good.
โBut there have been a lot of postcode wars and people have lost their lives. We donโt want to be encouraging thatโฆ but my opinion is Haumole wasnโt encouraging that, he was showing support for his mate.โ
Olokauโatu was one of the โManly 7โ โ the group of players who refused to play in a game that included a jersey celebrating diversity and inclusion.
