NRL 2020: Raiders recruit Curtis Scott arrested after Moore Park incident

The NRL is bracing itself for yet another potential off-season scandal after a star Raiders recruit was arrested by police overnight in the Moore Park area.

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NRL CEO Todd Greenberg will decide this week whether to use his discretionary powers and stand-down Curtis Scott after a boozy night ended with the Canberra recruit being tasered by police on Sunday night.

Scott was charged with six offences including two counts of assaulting a police officer.

While the charges do not automatically trigger the NRL’s No-fault Stand Down policy, Greenberg has the discretionary power to ban Scott from playing until the matter is resolved in the criminal court system.

“The NRL takes allegations of this nature extremely seriously. The NRL Integrity Unit is working with both NSW Police and the Canberra Raiders to gain a clear understanding of the incident,” a spokesperson for the NRL said on Monday.

Scott’s eventful evening started with a visit to exclusive Sydney hotspot the Ivy but reportedly ended with him asleep in bushes opposite the Sydney Cricket Ground. Security guards spotted Scott and reported him to the police. It’s alleged Scott punched one of the officers in the face when they tried to wake him and the confrontation led to Scott being tasered and a night in police lockup. It’s also alleged Scott threw a mobile phone at a car near where he was found. It’s believed Scott was trying to find a taxi back to his hotel before falling asleep in the Moore Park precinct.

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Curtis Scott was arrested overnight near Moore Park. Picture: AAP Image/James Ross

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart was informed of the drama at 9.45am on Monday morning.

"It pisses me off but I have to wait until I hear his side of the story," said Raiders coach Ricky Stuart

Police released the following statement on Monday morning.

“A man will appear before court after he allegedly assaulted police and resisted arrest. About 12.45am, Monday 27 January 2020, police were called to Driver Avenue, Moore Park, following reports a man was acting erratically.

“Officers attached to Surry Hills Police Area Command located the man and attempted to assist him.“ The 23-year-old man allegedly became aggressive and kicked and punched one of the officers.

“The man was tasered and arrested.“ He was taken to Surry Hills Police Station where he was charged with assault and resist police, remain on/enter etc trust lands after request to leave, and behave in offensive manner.

Curtis Scott on his night out at the Ivy. Source – https://www.instagram.com/samhumphreys/

Curtis Scott at the Ivy. Source – https://www.instagram.com/samhumphreys/

“He was granted bail to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday 20 February 2020.”

Scott was tagged on social media partying at the Ivy throughout the evening and social media posts show a group of Raiders players in Sydney for the Australia Day weekend.

George Williams, Sam Humphreys, John Bateman, Elliott Whitehead, Jack Murchie and Ryan Sutton were all tagged on Instagram posts. The group travelled to Sydney and spent most of the weekend hoping from one eastern suburbs hotspot to another including the popular Bondi beach watering hole, the Bucket List on Saturday afternoon.

George Williams, Sam Humphreys, John Bateman, Elliott Whitehead, Jack Murchie and Ryan Sutton in Sydney.

Fellow Raiders newcomer and English playmaker Williams left a message on his social saying: “Good few days in Sydney … Canberra bound”, as news broke of teammate’s arrest on Monday morning.

The former Melbourne Storm star had spent the long weekend in Sydney catching up with family and old mates.

He also had drama on Saturday night at the Clovelly Hotel where he was searched on the footpath outside the premises in a random police drug check. He was found to have had nothing in his possession, according to his manager Sam Ayoub.

Scott joined the Raiders after being granted an early release by Storm, two years before his contract expired. It is a blow for the Raiders who released another centre Joey Leilua to the Wests Tigers over the weekend.

Curtis Scott in his new Raiders gear. Picture: Canberra Raiders

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Only last week Scott spoke in a Fox Sports interview about why he enjoyed playing for a club outside of Sydney.

“(Signing with Canberra) was to stay out of the Sydney rat-race and the Sydney fishbowl,” he said, “It’s a good place to just concentrate on footy and at the moment, that’s the most important thing – apart from my family – that’s going on in my life,”

Originally published as NRL 2020: Raiders recruit Curtis Scott arrested after Moore Park incident