Newcastle legend Matthew Johns says the Knights overreacted by issuing David Klemmer with a “show cause” notice and standing him down after he blew up at a trainer last weekend.
Klemmer refused to come off the field late in the second half of his side’s 14-point loss to the Bulldogs, spraying trainer Hayden Knowles.
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The saga surrounding the front-rower sparked rumors he could be sacked, while reports emerged of an unhappy camp at Newcastle — who are in danger of claiming the wooden spoon at the end of what’s been a disastrous season.
the Sydney Morning Herald reports Klemmer was stood down due to the company policy of the Wests Group, who own the Knights, after a formal HR complaint was lodged against him.
Rumors about Klemmer’s potential axing from Newcastle have since died down and coach Adam O’Brien reportedly has no issue with his prop. But there are suggestions changes are afoot in Newcastle after too many years of mediocrity.
Club legend Johns said the Knights are at a low ebb and criticized how Klemmer’s situation has been handled, given he saw players refuse to come off “a thousand times” during his career.
“It’s led to a big situation. The situation itself (isn’t a big deal) – I’m really surprised. I sprayed a trainer, I didn’t want to come off. He’s been stood down, apparently his Knights career is in the balance for refusing to leave and giving a trainer a spray, ”Johns told Fox League on Thursday night.
“I’ve seen that a thousand times. I just think it’s an overreaction. Even if it isn’t, and you want to address it, I don’t know why and how it’s turned up in the public domain … I can’t get my head around it.
“You see it a million times, a bloke’s going (off) to the trainer – there’s always argy-bargy.”
Former NSW forward Bryan Fletcher said it would be a “disgrace” if the Knights were trying to use this episode to justify moving Klemmer on, in order to free up space in the salary cap.
However, reports this week say that’s not the case.
The drama comes after O’Brien was criticized for his post-match press conference after the loss to Canterbury. Speaking to reporters, O’Brien said he’d been involved in four grand finals as an assistant coach with the Roosters and Storm, so he knows what it takes to win — even though he’s overseen underwhelming results at Newcastle.
Johns said it’s been an “absolute bludger of a week” for his former club, adding: “The press conference after the game, (after which) Adam O’Brien was criticized for a lot of his comments, talking about his four premierships as an assistant.
“I can’t be too critical of Adam with this – he’s a coach without answers for a fanbase asking a lot of questions. He’s really at a loss at the moment.”
New South Wales Police believe the two Saudi sisters found rotting in their south-western Sydney apartment had died in a suspected suicide pact.
The bodies of Asra Abdallah Alsehli, 24, and her sister Amaal, 23, were found in separate bedrooms inside a Canterbury unit on June 7 after a concern for welfare report.
The grim discovery was made by officers from the Sheriff’s Department after the women failed to pay their rent and owed more than $5,000 to their landlord, NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal records showed.
Police had been baffled for several weeks about how the women died, who were found fully clothed, badly decomposed and no signs of forced entry into the unit.
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But the mystery appears to have been solved with interim toxicology reports showing traces of substances, which were found next to their bodies, detected in their systems, The Daily Telegraph reports.
“There’s no indication of anyone else being in the unit … no forced entry. It really does appear to be a tragic suicide,” a senior police source told the publication.
Further testing is being conducted by specialist pathology labs before an exact cause of death for the sisters can be determined.
It’s believed the bodies were laying in the Canterbury Rd unit for at least six weeks before the remains were discovered.
It was also reported a bottle of bleach, non-perishable foot items and clothing were some of the items found in the bedrooms.
The sisters, who arrived to Australia from Saudi Arabia as teenagers in 2017, largely kept to themselves and were “afraid of something” one friend claimed.
NSW Police released the images of the two women in a press conference last week as they launched a community appeal for anyone who had any information.
But despite the media coverage on the case, officers still know little about the sisters.
The outstanding rent is expected to be paid to the landlord through a black BMW, believed to be owned by the sisters, which was seized when the bodies were found.
Their family in Saudi Arabia have made no plans to fly the bodies home and have not arranged a burial in Australia.
The NSW Coroner can organize a state-funded burial if there were no substantial funds in the deceased person’s bank accounts.
The Canterbury apartment was listed for rent for $520 this week with a disturbing claimer included at the bottom of the advertisement.
“Disclaimer: This property has found two deceased persons on 06/07/2022, crime scene has been established and it is still under police investigation,” the description wrote.
“According to the police, this is not a random crime and will not be a potential risk for the community.”
Bulldogs halfback Kyle Flanagan has enjoyed a remarkable rise under interim boss Mick Potter in Canterbury, with the now free-scoring team surging up the ladder.
Now the 23-year-old number seven has shut down talk of a mooted move to the English Super League, declaring he ‘definitely’ wants to extend his time at the club.
Having been benched in the opening months of the season and subsequently for struggling form, Flanagan had been linked to a move to English side Hull FC in recent months.
But he shut that talk down at Tuesday’s press conference, laughing off a question around whether he had held talks with Hull.
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“No,” Flanagan laughed. “The first time I got out there on social media and shut that stuff down, that was the first I’d heard of it.
“I’m on contract here next year at the Bulldogs and keep winning footy games, I won’t have to listen to that sort of stuff.”
With his contract expiring at the end of 2023, Flanagan declared his allegiance to the Dogs long-term, stating his desire for a long-term deal.
“Yeah, I think so,” Flanagan replied to a question about remaining at the club.
“Obviously I live in Cronulla and I love the Bulldogs. They gave me an opportunity and I like to think I have turned things around and things are going forward for the club.
“As I said, if we keep winning and combinations keep building, this footy team is only going to get better.
“I’m loving my time here and I definitely want to extend here.”
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Flanagan was full of praise for interim boss Potter, declaring he has simplified the club’s on-field strategy and removed the shackles from the side.
“I can’t give any more credit to what Pottsy has done for me individually or this footy team.
“He is such a calm head and simplifies things so much for us. He just backs up and gives us confidence to go out there and play footy, and we do exactly that.
“We are repaying the faith he puts in us.”
“We are out there putting the wins on the board, the shackles are off and we are just playing what we see.,” he added.”
“It’s really exciting to be playing in this footy team and for myself, I’m just really enjoying my own footy and starting to love playing every weekend.”
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The Sydney apartment where two sisters were found dead under mysterious circumstances has been listed for rent with a disturbing disclaimer included in the advertisement.
The bodies of Saudi sisters Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, were discovered inside their unit at Canterbury, in Sydney’s south-west, on June 7.
Now, the “newly renovated” two bedroom apartment is up for rent again for $520 a week, with the real estate agents issuing a confronting disclaimer at the bottom of the ad.
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“Disclaimer: This property has found two deceased persons on 06/07/2022, crime scene has been established and it is still under police investigation,” the description wrote.
“According to the police, this is not a random crime and will not be a potential risk for the community.”
Mystery continues to surround the death of the asylum seeker sisters asylum seekers who arrived to Australia from Saudi Arabia in 2017.
NSW Police released the images of the two women in a press conference last week as they launched a community appeal for anyone who had any information.
Detective Inspector Claudia Allcroft said there were no visible signs of forced entry or any injuries to the bodies, which had remained in the unit for “some time”.
Authorities believe they were to have been dead for up to a month before police were called by their landlord as they were behind on rent payments.
“Detectives are interested in speaking with anyone who may have seen or who may have information about the women’s movements in the days and weeks prior to their deaths – which we believe occurred in early May,” she said last Wednesday.
Det Insp Allcroft said police have been in contact with the family of the sisters, who are in Saudi Arabia, adding that there was “nothing to suggest” they were involved in the deaths.
She refused to comment on the visa status of both women and said no information suggested the sisters had fled their home country.
Post mortem examinations have been conducted, however, police are still awaiting a coroner’s report and toxicology results.
Two crucifixes were found in a Canterbury apartment where Saudi sisters Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, were found dead in June, a worker with access to the apartment has told the ABC.
The discovery was made after the women’s bodies were removed.
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The worker told the ABC that the crucifixes were found on the floor of one of the bedrooms.
The ABC could not independently corroborate this claim.
It’s unclear whether the discovery of the crosses was a sign that the sisters had renounced Islam and converted to Christianity or whether they were using them as a disguise.
No signs of forced entry
In June, the bodies of the women were found naked and in separate beds.
This prompted the apartment’s building manager Michael Baird to dismiss suicide as a potential cause of death.
“Two young women do not commit suicide together unless they’re doing it together. They don’t get naked, they don’t go to separate rooms, they don’t die separately,” he said.
Police say they have not yet ruled out homicide or suicide as their investigations continue.
A worker, who accessed the apartment after the police had made the grim discovery, said the sisters’ bodies were found in a state of decomposition.
Last month, tradespeople entered the apartment to replace the flooring.
One told the ABC that the apartment still “has the smell of dead bodies.”
The sisters are thought to have been dead for over a month before a sheriff was called at the behest of their landlord, as the girls were behind on rent payments. This sheriff made the discovery and called the police.
After locating the bodies, police said there were no obvious signs of injury or forced entry although they have called the deaths “unusual.”
They are waiting on the results of postmortem examinations and toxicology tests.
In a press conference last week, the NSW Police released images of the two women and published their names, as they launched a community appeal for any information about the women’s movements.
Burwood Police Station has now established Strike Force Woolbird to investigate the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
The apartment block in Canterbury in Sydney’s western suburbs where two Saudi women were found dead in June 2022. (ABC RN: Brendan Esposito)
living in fear
The ABC has confirmed that the sisters had applied for a protection visa with the Department of Home Affairs, and they had been in contact with a settlement service for refugees.
Michael Baird, a director of Sydney’s Transparent FM Building Management which manages the Canterbury apartment block, said he was aware that the young women were concerned about their safety.
In a January 2022 email sent to the site manager, younger sister Amaal asked if building management could check the security cameras as she feared someone had tampered with a recent food delivery order.
“I think the girls were very, very scared. Very afraid of something. And we’re not sure whether it was something or someone, they didn’t tell us,” Mr Baird said.
Mr Baird said his first interaction with the women had taken place earlier this yearwhen their car had been “keyed”.
“We believed that it was not a personal attack on them because they’d parked their car in an unusual position. And somebody’s obviously taken offense to it,” Mr Baird said, about the incident.
His second interaction with the women was when he organized for a plumber to visit their apartment.
“When [the plumber] came out of that unit, he said that he was concerned that there was something untoward happening in the apartment. He got a very bad vibe,” Mr Baird said.
“He was pretty shaken up. He said, ‘I’m never coming back to that apartment again’.”
Mr Baird asked the local site manager to contact the police at the time and he understood that the women had subsequently told police they were fine.
Mr Baird has not been contacted by the police for a statement.
Another building worker told the ABC that he knew that the women had noticed a man watching their apartment from across the street.
The worker, who is familiar with the building’s residents, said he’d also seen an unknown Middle Eastern man inside the building on two occasions in the months leading up to the sisters’ death.
The building worker said when he asked the man which apartment he was from, the man gave the women’s address.
‘really good people’
The sisters arrived in Australia from Saudi Arabia in 2017.
They lived in Sydney’s western suburbs for about eighteen months with their friend Rita, while they attended the local TAFE.
“[Amaal and Asra] we were just really good people. They did nothing harmful,” Rita said.
“They moved to this house because it was like closer to their TAFE. And they usually stayed up all night and only slept in the morning.”
She said the women worked in construction. They had applied for an ABN in 2018, and were registered as sole traders.
Rita said the sisters’ mother had visited Australia on one occasion.
“Their mum came here once. She didn’t like it. Then she went back to her country,” Rita said.
The young women led a discreet life. They didn’t have many visitors, apart from a man Rita believed to be Asra’s boyfriend, an “Iraqi man with a beard”.
Early in 2020, after they’d lived with Rita for about 18 months, the sisters decided to move out.
They moved into the Canterbury apartment in November 2021.
At the time of publication, Rita said the police had not interviewed her or her family.
A Home Affairs departmental spokesperson told the ABC: “The Department does not comment on individual cases.”
Since 2017, 86 women from Saudi Arabia applied for permanent protection in Australia and 75 were granted a permanent protection visa.
This story has been updated from an earlier version to clarify who found the women’s bodies.
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