By Adrian Proszenko and Michael Chammas
The NRL is poised to clear Gold Coast star AJ Brimson of wrongdoing after finding no evidence that he bet on rugby league matches.
Brimson came to the governing body’s attention after an image circulated on social media purportedly showing him winning a big bet on the Melbourne Cup, next to what appears to be a wager on a rugby league fixture. Registered NRL participants, including players, are prevented from betting on rugby league matches under the game’s code of conduct.
Sources not authorised to speak publicly because the NRL hasn’t yet announced its findings publicly said that betting agency records showed the contentious wager allegedly placed by Brimson was made on his mother’s Sportsbet account.
The NRL is aware of an image allegedly posted by AJ Brimson.
The image appeared to show Brimson placing a $100 bet on Melbourne Cup winner Knight’s Choice at $101 for a collect of $10,100. Below the wager appears to be another bet, seemingly on a “try-scorer” rugby league market, which is partially obscured. The post, which was deleted, prompting questions as to whether it may have been placed on a rugby league match.
Brimson’s agent, Jim Banaghan, said on Wednesday the Titans star did not place the bet and put up the social media post as a joke, which had “backfired”. The NRL has accepted Banaghan’s version of events, according to informed sources not authorised to comment publicly.
The NRL has a relationship with Sportsbet. That association aided the governing body’s investigation, which found the wager was placed on the account of Brimson’s mother, Vanessa.
Banaghan said Brimson’s mother had put the $100 wager on as an omen bet given Knight is the surname of her partner. The agent added that he had screenshots of a text exchange between Brimson and his mother that verified their version of events.
“She sent it [the winning bet], he copied it and posted it,” Banaghan said. “I’ve got the whole conversation. It will go to the integrity unit and they will hit it on the head straight away.
“If something looks suspicious, they are obliged to do their best to see if there is something in it.
“We will be providing them with everything to show that it was a giggle gone bad.”
The Titans issued a statement in response: “The Gold Coast Titans have referred a social media post made by AJ Brimson to the NRL’s integrity unit. The club can’t comment further on this matter at this time.”
In 2017, Wests Tigers centre Tim Simona was found to have bet on league matches. The NRL deregistered Simona due to a range of breaches, including betting against his team winning and on opposition players scoring against his team.
Pacific Championships is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now.