Api Koroisau has apologised to the game and his family after being banned over biosecurity breaches

Penrith will be without Api Koroisau for two matches after he was fined and suspended for breaching biosecurity protocols.

Apisai Koroisau scores for NSW in Origin III on the Gold Coast. Picture: Peter Wallis

A remorseful Api Koroisau on Friday night apologised for embarrassing his family and putting the competition in jeopardy after he was handed a two-match ban for a biosecurity breach that left the game in danger of being ­kicked out of Queensland.

As well as a two-match suspension, Koroisau was given a $35,000 fine by the NRL on Friday after the integrity unit found that he had broken protocols by attending the hotel room of a woman when he was in camp with the Blues for the second game of the State of Origin series.

The revelation, which emerged hot on the heels of photographs showing family members of players sharing food during quarantine, prompted Queensland’s chief health officer Jeannette Young to warn it would only take one more breach for the NRL to be thrown out of the state.

“I made the choice to do the wrong thing and my actions have brought shame and embarrassment to many people, especially my wife and children,” a ­remorseful Koroisau said.

“I will be forever sorry. I sincerely apologise to the NRL, NSW Rugby League, Panthers, the sponsors and stakeholders, and all my teammates for letting you down.

“I apologise to the fans for ­putting our game at risk, ­particularly at such a challenging time for so many people. I apologise to my wife Amy for the pain I have caused. I’ve hurt you and the girls with my selfish, thoughtless actions.

His wife Amy added: “While there have been some painful lies and misrepresentation in certain media reports, I don’t think it is in the best interests of our family to engage with it.

“Api is a great dad and although this has hurt me immensely I have no doubt he will put the necessary strategies in place to learn from this and better who he is.”

Koroisau’s absence for the next fortnight shapes as a blow to the Panthers given they are currently also without halfback Nathan Cleary due to injury. The second game of the suspension will mean he misses the club’s blockbuster against Melbourne.

The NRL had bigger issues to worry about on Friday. Amid further biosecurity breaches, the NRL was warned the game was on its last chance in Queensland.

Asked about her frustration with NRL breaches, Young said: “I’m very, very concerned about what is happening with these NRL players and you would have seen that imagery of that family hotel where they were sharing goods between verandas.

“So I am very concerned. It’s for all of them. This is too risky. We just cannot have people ­deliberately breaching the rules.”

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo acknowledged his concerns but insisted the game and its players were doing the right thing – the Koroisau incident happened before the competition moved to Queensland.

“We’re always concerned because in the end we are operating on exemptions,” Abdo said. “We need that licence to be able to play from the government and the public. We have a good track record of compliance. None of the players have put a foot wrong since they have been up in Queensland. All we can do is deal with things quickly – we have done this (Koroisau) in 24 hours and I think Queensland Health are really pleased we moved quickly through these things.”

Abdo revealed he had spoken to Young on Friday – they speak most days.

“We have to be very, very respectful of the licence we have been given,” Abdo said.

“If someone does something stupid we will remove them from the competition. If there is something serious now, we might not have an options – we will send them back to Sydney.

“We’re going to make it, don’t worry. We are going to get to 25 rounds and have an awesome ­finals series.

“We are taking every ­precaution to ensure there is no breach of the protocols and to keep the Queensland community safe.”

As well as a two-match suspension, Koroisau was given a $35,000 fine by the NRL on Friday after the integrity unit found that he had broken protocols by attending the hotel room of a woman when he was in camp with the Blues for the second game of the State of Origin series.

The revelation, which emerged hot on the heels of photographs showing family members of players sharing food during quarantine, prompted Queensland’s chief health officer Jeannette Young to warn it would only take one more breach for the NRL to be thrown out of the state.

“I made the choice to do the wrong thing and my actions have brought shame and embarrassment to many people, especially my wife and children,” a remorseful Koroisau said.

“I will be forever sorry. I sincerely apologise to the NRL, NSW Rugby League, Panthers, the sponsors and stakeholders, and all my teammates for letting you down.

“I apologise to the fans for putting our game at risk, particularly at such a challenging time for so many people. I apologise to my wife Amy for the pain I have caused.

“I’ve hurt you and the girls with my selfish, thoughtless actions.

His wife Amy added: “While there have been some painful lies and misrepresentation in certain media reports, I don’t think it is in the best interests of our family to engage with it.

“Api is a great dad and although this has hurt me immensely I have no doubt he will put the necessary strategies in place to learn from this and better who he is.”

Koroisau’s absence for the next fortnight shapes as a blow to the Panthers given they are currently also without halfback Nathan Cleary due to injury. The second game of the suspension will mean he misses the club’s blockbuster against Melbourne.

The NRL had bigger issues to worry about on Friday. Amid further biosecurity breaches, the NRL was warned the game was on its last chance in Queensland.

Asked about her frustration with NRL breaches, Young said: “I’m very very concerned about what is happening with these NRL players and you would have seen that imagery of that family hotel where they were sharing goods between verandas.

“So I am very concerned. It’s for all of them. This is too risky. We just cannot have people deliberately breaching the rules.”

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo acknowledged his concerns but insisted the game and its players were doing the right thing – the Koroisau incident happened before the competition moved to Queensland.

“We’re always concerned because in the end we are operating on exemptions,” Abdo said.

“We need that licence to be able to play from the government and the public. We have a good track record of compliance. None of the players have put a foot wrong since they have been up in Queensland.

“All we can do is deal with things quickly – we have done this (Koroisau) in 24 hours and I think Queensland Health are really pleased the we moved quickly through these things.”

Abdo revealed he had spoken to Young on Friday – they speak most days.

“We have to be very, very respectful of the licence we have been given,” Abdo said.

“If someone does something stupid we will remove them from the competition. If there is something serous now, we might not have an options – we will send them back to Sydney.

“We’re going to make it, don’t worry. We are going to get to 25 rounds and have an awesome finals series.

“We are taking every precaution to ensure there is no breach of the protocols and to keep the Queensland community safe.”