A dozen Dragons players fined for breaching Covid protocols at house party

As many as 12 St George Illawarra players are under investigation for breaching Covid-19 protocols.

Paul Vaughan allegedly hosted a party that breached NRL Covid protocols

A dozen St George Illawarra players have been fined by NSW Police and further sanctions are set to follow from the NRL in coming days after ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys vowed that there would be serious consequences for any players found to have flagrantly put the competition at risk by breaching Covid-19 guidelines.

The NRL, already locked in tense negotiations with the Victorian government over exemptions for Melbourne Storm’s State of Origin players, was rocked by yet another Covid scandal on Sunday morning when it emerged that Dragons prop Paul Vaughan had hosted a function for some of his teammates at his Shellharbour home in violation of the game’s biosecurity protocols and government guidelines.

The NRL integrity unit spent most of Sunday interviewing the Dragons players at the centre of the latest allegations, believed to include Vaughan, Zac Lomax, Corey Norman, Kaide Ellis, Blake Lawrie, Jack Bird, Daniel Alvaro, Gerard Beale, Matt Dufty, Josh Kerr and Tyrell Fuimaono.

The players have all been banned from training until further notice.

V’landys was seething at the latest developments and NSW Police showed their disdain for the actions of the Dragons players by issuing fines to 12 men and one woman – believed to be Vaughan’s wife – late on Sunday.

“Four men – aged 21, 30, and two aged 24 – were also spoken to and it was determined they were not residents,” police said in a statement.

“They were all given directions to leave and return to their homes. Following inquiries, police have since spoken to a further seven men – aged 26, 28, two aged 30 and three aged 25 – who had also attended the home.”

NSW Police confirmed they were called to a Shellharbour home at 9.40pm on Saturday night following reports of visitors. News Corp quoted a witness who claimed that when police arrived, people were seen scarpering down the street.

The Dragons were in damage control on Sunday, the latest events coming after the club had secured one of their best wins of the season after coming from behind to beat the Warriors in golden point.

The gloss was quickly taken off that victory by the actions of their players. Vaughan in particular faces a grilling from the NRL – he was fined and forced to undergo 14 days in isolation after breaching the NRL’s bubble by visiting a cafe ahead of a Dragons game against the Sydney Roosters last year.

At the very least, Vaughan faces a significant fine. He is also likely to receive a suspension from the NRL given he is a repeat offender.

“There is an investigation going on and the players will be given every opportunity to explain but on the surface, it doesn’t look good and I think players have to appreciate that there is hard work going on behind the scenes that allow us to play and have the relationships with the governments,” V’landys said.

“These incidents do not help. They have to understand if we don’t play the competition it is going to have a devastating effect on not only themselves and their friends and their colleagues, but players into the future.

“There is short-term pain for long-term gain. If the competition stops, everyone is affected. the finances of the game are destroyed, not just for the current players but for the future players as well.

“Everyone deserves due process and to be given every opportunity to explain but they should be prepared if the facts don’t go their way, it is going to be very serious. ”

The Australian understands that none of the club’s State of Origin players – Ben Hunt, Andrew McCullough and Tariq Sims – were in attendance.

The NRL was attempting to determine on Sunday whether members of the public were also at the function. If they were, there is every chance the players involved will be forced to go into quarantine for 14 days, meaning they are likely to be unavailable for the club’s next game against Manly.

Under the current level-four biosecurity protocols, players are banned from having visitors to their homes. NSW government guidelines also mandate that visitors are prevented unless there is a reasonable excuse. Safe to say watching Super Saturday on Fox League is not among them.

It is understood the Dragons were made aware of the function by some of their players. They then informed the NRL, who began an investigation through the integrity unit.

“St George Illawarra are aware of a NSW state government stay-at-home order and NRL biosecurity breach involving a number of players,” the Dragons said in a statement.

“The Dragons will not make comment at this time, while the investigation into the matter with the NRL integrity unit and NSW Police continues.”