An explicit sex video allegedly involving a NSW player has been leaked as part of a plot to sabotage the Blues on the eve of the State of Origin series.
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The video, which has been seen by the Herald, went viral just as Brad Fittler's team boarded a plane to Brisbane for game one of the series against Queensland at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night.
It was also sent to several media outlets and was soon in the hands of the NRL, which immediately launched an investigation.
The alleged player, who the Herald can't name for legal reasons, is depicted in the video in a sex act with a woman while in the company of another man. A tagline describes the player as a "dirty dawg".
The video appears to have been filmed several years ago.
Unlike the Dylan Napa and Tyrone May sex tapes that threw the start of the NRL season into disarray, the identity of the men in the video is unclear.
The NRL was waiting to get in contact with the player alleged to be involved and Blues management when they landed in Brisbane.
When asked at Brisbane airport about the video and suggestions it involves one of his players, NSW coach Brad Fittler said: "We've been made aware of it and it's not him," Fittler said.
When pressed further and asked about the timing of the release of the video, Fittler reiterated: "It's not him". The player was ushered aside by Blues officials within minutes of landing in Brisbane and declined to speak to the Herald.
Either way, the calculated timing of the video leak has confirmed the fears of many club powerbrokers that the Origin series would be hijacked.
After police charged May with two counts of recording an intimate image without consent and two counts of disseminating an image without consent, the drip feed of explicit videos stopped. May will vigorously defend the charges.
Now, just two days before the game's showpiece event, it has started again.
Bulldogs prop Napa was fined 10 per cent of his contract after a series of sex videos, in which he regularly referred to himself as "Big Papi", emerged during the off-season.
NRL Todd Greenberg strongly considered standing him down but instead opted to fine him believing there were a raft of videos involving dozens of players from different clubs in circulation.
Fearing that videos might be leaked on the eve of big matches, such as Origins and the finals series, Greenberg drew a line in the sand and said any lurid video filmed from now on would result in a suspension.
- SMH/The Age
