Yorkshire clubs quick to point out pitfalls to star names

More players are signing up to the social networking site so activity has become something which is being monitored.

Leeds Rhinos, whose prop Ryan Bailey was fined by the club in March after he posted jokes about the Japanese earthquake and tsunami on Facebook, have educated their players about what they should and should not say in the social media.

They say players “are expected to talk on Twitter as they would talk to the man on the street” and are reminded of the player conduct aspect of their contract.

Anything which brings the game or the club into disrepute will be acted on.

Hull FC and Hull KR have both seen fake Twitter accounts emerge in the names of their respective head coaches Richard Agar and Justin Morgan which caused some consternation and also a little amusement.

Twitter was one way of keeping up to date on the Willie Mason saga at Hull KR. The Australian brilliantly and succinctly tweeted “Not a chance I’m going to Bradford” when they tried off-loading him on loan to Odsal – not too surprising, given Mason was at the same time trying to complete a big-money move to French club Toulon.

Hull FC are not active supporters of their players using Twitter and warn them of their contractual obligations, while Bradford Bulls allow it but have highlighted its pitfalls.

Castleford Tigers, meanwhile, take a different approach.

“We encourage our players to use social media if they feel comfortable with it and are aware of their responsibilities as there are obvious marketing benefits for the club,” said a spokesman.

“We’ve certainly seen the relationships between players and fans grow as a result of interaction through Twitter.

“We do, however, stress the dangers that social media can pose and it is exactly like talking in public. If they wouldn’t feel comfortable talking to a journalist about what they have to say then don’t say it at all.”

In cricketing circles, Yorkshire CCC last year restricted their players to using Twitter for personal use only, banning all cricket-related comments after Azeem Rafiq was suspended for his foul-mouthed rant about England Under-19 coach John Abrahams.