KIERSTEN DUKE: Reed Mahoney’s on-field behaviour is hurting the NRL no matter what the Canterbury Bulldogs say

Reed Mahoney is acting like a grub. The Bulldogs can defend him until the cows come home, but he continues to prove that if there is a lower road to take, he will take it.

Last year, he made a name for himself by getting involved in any scrap he could, knowing the big props he was taking on couldn’t belt him for fear of a lengthy suspension.

At the weekend, he rocketed himself into a defenceless player on the ground, sparking an all-in melee with the Sharks.

Daniel Atkinson had dived on a loose ball from a kick and, while Mahoney only had a second to decide what to do, all he had to do was flop on Atkinson’s body and a tackle would have been made.

Instead, he went for Atkinson’s head and appeared to accelerate as he dived towards his victim.

Despite the defenceless Atkinson copping a shoulder to his skull, Mahoney wasn’t sent to the sin bin.

It was simultaneously a head-high shot and a shoulder charge, even if not of the typical variety we normally see. The fact that the referee or, more disturbingly, the Bunker took no action should be a big worry.

Post-match, Mahoney copped a pitiful $1800 fine that will have him laughing all the way to the bank.

What sort of message does that send to all the young guns out there? What sort of standard does it set for the safety of the game?

Mahoney’s hit and several other high shots led to the NRL issuing a warning to all clubs about high tackles, so we can expect a slew of penalties and possibly a few sin bins and send-offs this round to make the message clear.

But it’s too little too late to change Mahoney’s behaviour.

Mahoney claims he was only playing “tough footy” but it seemed like just another brain fart from the Bulldogs hooker. Yet again.

Tackling an opposing player on the ground is one thing. Shoulder charging them as you do it is another.

It is the act of someone looking for an opportunity to put on a cheap shot whenever he can.

There’s a fine line between playing tough and just being downright reckless.

As a professional athlete, you have a duty of care towards your opponents.

Yes, you’re not mates on the field but there’s mutual respect for each other’s bodies and the hard work you put in behind the scenes.

The last thing you’d want to ever do, as a decent professional, is deliberately injure another player.

Being a decent human being or even just professional athlete seems to be something Mahoney is repeatedly having trouble grasping and Saturday night’s antics were just another example of that.

I love that rugby league is a tough sport. It was the main selling point of the games in Vegas for goodness sake! No helmets, no pads.

But when you play one of the world’s toughest games there simply must be mutual respect among players.

Without sounding like the Backstreet Boys, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from; on the field you’re all equal.

Players should treat each other like that. Which, to be fair, the majority do. But man does it make my blood boil when one bad apple spoils the barrel.

Mahoney needs to amend his ways before he ruins someone’s NRL career. Or worse for him, his own.