Brisbane Broncos players perform citizen’s arrest on the Sunshine Coast

A group of Brisbane Broncos players were reportedly embroiled in a dramatic citizen’s arrest following an alleged domestic voilence incident.

Broncos player Matt Lodge.

Brisbane Broncos players Matt Lodge, Ben Te’o and Jordan Riki were reportedly embroiled in a dramatic citizen’s arrest on the Sunshine Coast on Wednesday evening.

The Courier-Mail’s Travis Meyn revealed the trio aided a woman in a suspected domestic violence case following a team dinner in Mooloolaba.

According to the report, while making their way towards the Twin Waters Resort, Lodge and Te’o came upon a distressed woman arguing with a man on the street.

A Broncos player told The Courier-Mail the woman said “he is going to kill me”, urging the group to call the police.

The duo protected the woman and drove her home before Broncos young gun Jordan Riki allegedly tackled the man and detained him until police arrived.

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“They did intervene in an incident in Maroochydore after witnessing an event on the side of the road,” said Sunshine Coast District Police superintendent Craig Hawkins.

“They saw a woman in distress and intervened. Police were called and took action in regards to a domestic violence incident.

“We don’t encourage people to get involved in things like this other than calling police. On this occasion they took the action they did and went to the aid of a young lady they saw was in distress.

“We don’t encourage that behaviour but they felt as though they needed to intervene and certainly helped with her protection. Thankfully it worked out appropriately and no-one was injured.”

Jordan Riki of the Broncos.

Broncos chief executive Paul White — who is a former police officer — applauded the players for their response to the incident.

“They acted instinctively, they didn’t have an opportunity to contemplate,” White said.

“They saw a woman in distress and went to assist her. They rang police and by the time they arrived, some of the other teammates had arrived and restrained the man.

“I concur with the police, but sometimes you come across things and you have to act instinctively. Our players were confronted with a situation and their actions protected the lady involved.

“The players did what was right. Their immediate concern was for the safety of the woman and police took the necessary action.”

The Broncos squad is completing a pre-season camp on the Sunshine Coast, with their first game of the 2021 NRL premiership scheduled for Friday, March 12th against the Parramatta Eels.

Click here to read The Courier-Mail’s full report on the incident