The daughter of a bona fide Manly Sea Eagles legend has unleashed an extraordinary spray on under-fire half Josh Schuster.
Schuster has been in and out of the Sea Eagles side throughout 2023 with injuries. He missed Saturday’s loss to the Titans to give a quad strain – that he initially suffered against Souths back in round four – more time to recover.
Kristie Fulton, the daughter of Immortal Bob Fulton, said Schuster needed to “grow up” amid reports of a punch-up also involving development player Dean Matterson at training last week.
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Fulton’s spray came on her personal Facebook page where she had shared a news story about Schuster.
“The solution is simple, he needs to grow up,” she wrote.
“Move to Manly, cut ties with the negative influences in his life, stop hanging with fans, control the diet and have the mindset and attitude he once did circa 2019.
“Too many enablers and excuse makers around him. It’s always everyone else’s fault.”
Fulton ran the club’s elite pathways program until she was sacked last October. Schuster was one of her father’s favourite players as he came through Manly’s development pathway.
Last week, skipper Daly Cherry-Evans admitted Schuster was “at a crossroads”, and suggested he wasn’t working as hard at his recovery as should.
“It’s never a fun time when you’re in and out of first grade through injury,” Cherry-Evans told News Corp.
“It’s not going to be easy for him to get back into first grade, because he’s been quite inconsistent and coming in and out.
“I have been playing long enough to see so many people at this club not maximise their opportunity.
“That is rugby league mate – if you’re not willing to work hard enough, if you’re not willing to sacrifice, you just don’t last long. He is at a crossroads early in his career but it can be a real positive.”
Newcastle legend Andrew Johns recalled a conversation with Schuster that indicated he had been told his discipline needed to improve.
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“I think we can all see Josh’s talent. I spoke to him last week … and I hit him between the eyes,” Johns said on Wide World of Sports’ Immortal Behaviour.
“I said, ‘mate, everyone can see you’re one of the most naturally talented players. But there’s a long list of players with natural talent who didn’t make it because they haven’t reached their potential because they haven’t worked enough’.
“And he actually said, ‘I get told that all the time. It doesn’t hurt’.”
Johns said Schuster had disclosed a battle with his weight that he hadn’t yet got on top of.
“Josh has to be so diligent in the way he prepares, the sacrifice he has to make in his lifestyle to get the best out of it,” he said.
“I played with players who had so much natural talent and just for whatever reason didn’t make it, or did make it but should have been at the top of the tree for 10 years.
“The coaches and the conditioners in the club, they can’t be there 24/7. So it ultimately comes back on Josh.”
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