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Jack de Belin hid under a bed in an attempt to escape the attention of NSW Police at teammate Paul Vaughan’s party place as the St George Illawarra Covid breach takes another humiliating turn.
Thirteen Dragons players on Monday were hit with $305,000 in fines — including $50,000 and a massive eight-game suspension for host Vaughan — after the NRL Integrity Unit found they tried to deceive the governing body on the events of last Saturday night.
The sanctions are so wide-ranging that the NRL has made the unprecedented decision to stagger the match suspensions of the Covid breakers so that the Dragons are able to field a side in their upcoming games.
The Dragons themselves have slammed the players’ “arrogance and ignorance” over the incident.
The governing body is fuming at the lengths of the deception the players went to in their attempts to withhold information from the integrity unit.
“When the police arrived, Jack de Belin was hiding under a bed,” Paul Kent revealed on NRL360. “That didn’t come to light until later.”
“I’d heard that a couple of players hid in cupboards,” The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield added.
The Integrity Unit spoke to de Belin on Sunday night, who confirmed he had been in attendance at the party, but did not disclose where he was when police arrived. On Monday he was fined $1000, like his 12 other teammates.
The governing body has determined staggering the suspensions is the best way to minimise overall damage to the game and in particular to the TV broadcast.
It comes amid fresh claims that the NSW Police are now believed to be investigating whether some other players’ wives and partners were at the party as well.
The NRL was not aware of this information. They are of the understanding only Vaughan’s wife, Ellie, was at the house.
The Dragons will hold an emergency board meeting on Tuesday where Vaughan’s future at the Dragons will be discussed.
It follows neighbours claiming that shortly after police entered the Vaughans home, a number of men and women could be seen “scampering” out a side door and “running” off down the street.
Meanwhile, there is certainly going to be some criticism of the decision to stagger the suspensions, however, the alternative was to make the Dragons basically field a reserve grade team for their next game against Manly on Friday week after this round’s bye.
Regardless the ongoing suspensions will damage the team’s hopes for weeks to come, potentially ruining their chances of playing finals this year.
The Dragons currently sit seventh on the NRL ladder.
“The 13 players’ arrogance and ignorance to both the NRL biosecurity protocols and the state government’s public health order is upsetting and infuriating,” said Dragons CEO Ryan Webb, adding that the players were well aware of the level-four protocols.
“All 13 players have let the rest of their teammates, the entirety of our hard-working staff, their families, the wider community and most importantly our Red V members, partners and fans, down.
“The entire club and our stakeholders will now be punished as a result of the combined 20-week suspension procured between the 13 players.
“The Dragons hold no reservations over the punishments handed down by the NRL Integrity Unit or NSW Police given the players’ complete disregard for both the game and community’s expectations.”
Thirteen Dragons players on Monday were hit with $305,000 in fines — including $50,000 and a massive eight-game suspension for host Vaughan — after the NRL Integrity Unit found they tried to deceive the governing body on the events of last Saturday night.
The sanctions are so wide-ranging that the NRL has made the unprecedented decision to stagger the match suspensions of the Covid breakers so that the Dragons are able to field a side in their upcoming games.
The Dragons themselves have slammed the players’ “arrogance and ignorance” over the incident.
The governing body is fuming at the lengths of the deception the players went to in their attempts to withhold information from the integrity unit.
“When the police arrived, Jack de Belin was hiding under a bed,” Paul Kent revealed on NRL360. “That didn’t come to light until later.”
“I’d heard that a couple of players hid in cupboards,” The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield added.
The Integrity Unit spoke to de Belin on Sunday night, who confirmed he had been in attendance at the party, but did not disclose where he was when police arrived. On Monday he was fined $1000, like his 12 other teammates.
The governing body has determined staggering the suspensions is the best way to minimise overall damage to the game and in particular to the TV broadcast.
It comes amid fresh claims that the NSW Police are now believed to be investigating whether some other players’ wives and partners were at the party as well.
The NRL was not aware of this information. They are of the understanding only Vaughan’s wife, Ellie, was at the house.
The Dragons will hold an emergency board meeting on Tuesday where Vaughan’s future at the Dragons will be discussed.
It follows neighbours claiming that shortly after police entered the Vaughans home, a number of men and women could be seen “scampering” out a side door and “running” off down the street.
Meanwhile, there is certainly going to be some criticism of the decision to stagger the suspensions, however, the alternative was to make the Dragons basically field a reserve grade team for their next game against Manly on Friday week after this round’s bye.
Regardless the ongoing suspensions will damage the team’s hopes for weeks to come, potentially ruining their chances of playing finals this year.
The Dragons currently sit seventh on the NRL ladder.
“The 13 players’ arrogance and ignorance to both the NRL biosecurity protocols and the state government’s public health order is upsetting and infuriating,” said Dragons CEO Ryan Webb, adding that the players were well aware of the level-four protocols.
“All 13 players have let the rest of their teammates, the entirety of our hard-working staff, their families, the wider community and most importantly our Red V members, partners and fans, down.
“The entire club and our stakeholders will now be punished as a result of the combined 20-week suspension procured between the 13 players.
“The Dragons hold no reservations over the punishments handed down by the NRL Integrity Unit or NSW Police given the players’ complete disregard for both the game and community’s expectations.”
