Canberra Raiders players Hudson Young and Morgan Smithies apologise for Las Vegas hotel scuffle

Canberra duo Hudson Young and Morgan Smithies have spoken publicly for the first time about their Las Vegas fight, a mystery black eye and why security had concerns over an inflatable baseball bat.

Canberra players Hudson Young and Morgan Smithies have apologised for their drunken hotel scuffle as the Raiders decided not to send the pair home from Las Vegas.

Young and Smithies fronted the media on Tuesday morning (AEDT) following revelations they were briefly evicted from the NRL’s hub just hours after touching down in the United States.

The Test duo came to blows in an elevator at the Hilton Resorts World on Thursday night (local time) following a night out.

The physical fight stemmed from a disagreement when one of the players was left without a room due to a check-in meltdown and wanted to share a room with his teammate, who rejected the request.

Hotel security reviewed video footage before deciding to evict them from the premises.

Young confirmed an inflatable baseball bat prompted concerns from security.

“We came back after a night out on Thursday and there was an issue with the room,” Young said.

“We’re not going to go into details of that.

“There was a scuffle in the elevator, nothing in the hallways.

“We came back as a team and one of the boys had got a toy baseball bat somewhere.

“That was mistaken as a weapon in the elevator but it played no role.”

Young said security did not become involved in the incident, despite conceding it “got out of hand”.

“Security didn’t break anything up,” Young said. “We went downstairs to sort our room out and that’s when they’ve reviewed the footage and asked us to leave.

Canberra Raiders players Hudson Young (left) and Morgan Smithies outside their Hilton Resorts World Hotel in Las Vegas on Tuesday morning. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“The club sorted it out and we’re very thankful to be staying here at Resorts World.”

The NRL’s arrival in Vegas coincided with a mass technology bungle at the game’s official accommodation partner, Resorts World.

Hundreds of guests experienced issues checking into the hotel over multiple days, with some waiting up to eight hours for a room.

The Raiders were impacted by the confusion, resulting in players not receiving rooms.

Englishman Smithies was sporting a black eye on Tuesday morning but said it was not a result of the fight.

“That’s from training,” Smithies said.

The Raiders reported the incident to the NRL Integrity Unit, but no sanctions are expected to be handed down this week.

Young and Smithies remain available for selection in Sunday’s season opener against the Warriors at Allegiant Stadium, with any sanctions to be delivered upon returning to Australia.

“I want to apologise for the actions on Thursday night. It wasn’t good enough,” Young said.

Smithies is sporting a black eye he says was from Raiders training, not his hotel fight with Young. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“The NRL invests so much time and effort into this game. It’s such a great space to be a part of here in Vegas and a great spectacle.

“Things got a bit out of hand on Thursday night. I’m happy to move on.

“I’m embarrassed for myself, our teammates and the NRL.

“We’ve dealt with it internally as a club. Sticky’s (coach Ricky Stuart) been on the front foot.

“Everything has been dealt with.”

Young and Smithies insist they remain good friends and that their partners Kelsea Peck (Young) and Tara Stoddart (Smithies) are currently holidaying together in the US.

“We are best mates,” Young said.

“He was at mine for Christmas and our partners are travelling America at the moment so there’s no issues there.

“I spoke to my partner but there was nothing to say because we’re best mates. It was honestly nothing.

Kelsea Peck and Tara Stoddart are the partners of Young and Smithies, and are holidaying together in the US.

“We’re so close as a team and me and Morgan are really good mates. Everyone knows that. We are strong.

“We’ve dealt with this many days ago and have moved on.

“I feel awful, especially for my family as well. It’s a massive thing for them coming over here and they have to deal with this as well.”

Stuart wanted the players to front up and address the issue before the team’s first proper training session.

“He was disappointed and we were in ourselves,” Smithies said.

“We apologised and are looking to move on and focus on this week.

“It’s a massive week so we want to put it to bed.”