Canberra Raiders sack four players after glassing to cap horror week
Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart was unapologetic after releasing four players who were involved in an alcohol-fuelled brawl.
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The Canberra Raiders have made the tough decision to release four junior players after they were involved in a boozy brawl that saw one of them get glassed.
The Daily Telegraph reported members of the Raiders’ under-18 side, after playing in a win against Cronulla, were involved in an alcohol-fuelled in Canberra’s Civic district.
One was hit with a glass bottle.
Raiders officials were made aware of the incident and spoke to the players earlier this week. The Daily Telegraph reported three of the players lied to the club about their involvement, prompting the hammer blow.
“The incident is one thing, but lying to your superiors just doesn’t wash at our club,” Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said.
“It may seem tough, but this isn’t the culture that we accept at our club.’’
The decision, which was communicated to the playing group on Friday, came after NRL forwards Corey Harawira-Naera and Corey Horsburgh were caught drink-driving.
Harawira-Naera returned a mid-range reading after being stopped by ACT Police on Christmas Eve while Horsburgh’s blood alcohol level was considered low-range when he was tested in a separate incident on January 3.
Both players are scheduled to front court in the next few weeks and Stuart promptly dropped them from the senior team.
“It’s not my job to keep a position in this team – it’s their job,’’ Stuart said.
“And they haven’t given themselves a real good head start.
“They know it was a bad choice and very disappointing to say the least.
“One thing in the NRL is, there is always someone to take your spot.
“I’ll leave them to take care of their court case because I’ve got other players that need to be ready for round one.”
Even the Raiders’ one win this week - forward Josh Papalii’s boxing victory against Ben Hannant at the NRL Fight Night - came with a tinge of controversy as the Raiders enforcer admitted he didn’t think he’d won.
Originally published as Canberra Raiders sack four players after glassing to cap horror week
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