High-profile Qld NRL player accused of rape

A high-profile NRL player has been accused of rape, with the Queensland club to which he is contracted reporting the matter to the league’s integrity unit.

A high-profile Queensland NRL star and State of Origin player has been accused of rape.

The allegations were made to police after officers attended a player’s residence with a woman on Tuesday night, 9 News Queensland reported.

The woman later made a formal complaint to police, 9 News reported.

The player is currently contracted to a Queensland NRL club, which has reported the matter to the NRL integrity unit, as is standard practice for clubs when off-field incidents occur.

The player remains contracted to a Queensland NRL club.

The NRL Integrity Unit is investigating the allegations. Picture: Damian Shaw

Queensland Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said he was aware of the rape allegation.

“So obviously there is an investigation, no charges have been laid at this stage,” Mr Gollschewski said.

“I understand these types of investigations are quite complex, so it may take some time to go through that.

The allegations have rocked rugby league on the eve of Magic Round.

“But as we always do, we will allow the investigators to do their work and establish the truth and what evidence there is.

“I’ve got high confidence in our people.”

NRL officials, including chief executive Andrew Abdo, were not aware of the incident when the report first went to air on Wednesday night.

“These are very serious allegations,” Abdo said.

“We are working with the relevant parties to find out more, and obviously as we find out more, we’ll be able to say more.

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo.

“At this stage, all I can say is that it’s very disappointing to hear about these allegations that are very serious.

“We have policies in place to deal with these things should they eventuate. We’ll deal with the facts once we know more.”

Abdo said it was too early to implement the NRL’s no-fault stand-down policy which was brought in five years ago for players who have been charged with serious criminal offences that involve a maximum jail term of 11 years or more.

“It’s all speculation at the moment so I can’t really comment on it until we know all the facts,” he said.

“Once we know the facts, we can make decisions based around our policies and respecting the relevant legislation as well.”

It comes on the eve of the NRL’s showcase four-day Magic Round event in Brisbane this weekend, which has sold out.

Originally published as High-profile Qld NRL player accused of rape