North Queensland embroiled in off-field drama following alleged traffic incident

Injured Cowboys star Nene Macdonald has become entangled in off-field controversy after an alleged traffic incident on Magnetic Island.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 22: Nene Macdonald of the Cowboys is caught in the in-goal area during the round two NRL match between the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium on March 22, 2019 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

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Nene Macdonald is embroiled in an off-field drama with Queensland police investigating an alleged traffic incident involving the injured Cowboys winger.

The Cowboys released a statement this afternoon confirming they are aware of an off-field incident involving a squad member which has been reported to the NRL integrity unit.

That squad member is Macdonald, who only joined North Queensland this season after previous stints with the Roosters, Titans and St George Illawarra.

Macdonald has endured a tough season. Picture by Zak Simmonds.

It is understood Macdonald - named in Queensland’s 2019 Emerging Origin squad last December - hired a car which was subsequently written off and abandoned following a crash.

Queensland detectives are looking into whether Macdonald was the driver of the vehicle at the time of the alleged incident.

“The North Queensland Cowboys are aware of an alleged traffic incident involving a squad member overnight,” a club statement said.

“The club has been in contact with the player in question as well as the NRL and will be making no further comment on this matter until internal investigations are completed.”

It has been a turbulent period for Macdonald.

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The 25-year-old Papua New Guinea international played just five games for the Cowboys this season before suffering a sickening ankle fracture in his side’s round-five loss to Melbourne in Townsville.

Queensland coach Kevin Walters rated Macdonald so highly he included him in his Emerging Origin squad this season, with Macdonald among 15 players who attended a pre-season camp in January.

But while fellow teammates David Fifita and Joe Ofahengaue have kicked on to make their Origin debuts this year, Macdonald suffered the pain of a season-ending ankle injury.

Macdonald is contracted to the Cowboys until the end of 2021 and North Queensland bosses will decide his fate in the coming days.