A pub gathering attended by several Broncos stars earlier this month has sparked an investigation by the NRL's Intergrity Unit, although Saturday's clash against the Raiders in Canberra is expected to go ahead as scheduled.
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On another horror day for the embattled club, Tevita Pangai Junior was also stood down by the NRL, fined $30,000 and looks set to have his Broncos contract torn up after a series of COVID-19 rule breaches which included attending the opening of a barber shop with alleged connections to a bikie gang.
The former Raiders under-20s star was reportedly one of up to 10 Broncos players who attended the Everton Park Hotel for lunch on Saturday, August 1. The NRL has asked Queensland Police for CCTV footage from the pub to assist their investigation.
Despite the breach, the incident is not expected to cause a biosecurity problem given Queensland was under more relaxed virus restrictions at the time.
Those restrictions would have allowed such a gathering at a restaurant or cafe, but not a bar or pub which has led to the NRL's investigation of the incident.
Brisbane have cleared the players of any wrongdoing, but now await the findings of the NRL's Integrity Unit.
"The club has spoken at length to players involved, who attended the hotel for lunch on Saturday, August 1 - after players and staff inside the club's 'COVID bubble' had transitioned back into more relaxed Project Apollo Queensland restrictions," a Broncos statement read.
"The team had played Cronulla at Suncorp Stadium the night before, which marked the end of a 14-day hard lockdown put in place after the team travelled to Sydney for the Round 10 game against the West Tigers on July 17.
"The players were of the understanding that lunch at the hotel was permissible under the more-relaxed restrictions which they were under at the time.
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"The club has been working closely with the NRL and provided a range of information as requested, and is awaiting a determination."
Meanwhile Anthony Seibold has hired Brisbane firm Howden Saggers Lawyers to investigate a series of scurrilous social media posts about the Broncos coach, a matter which is now in the hands of Queensland police.
Seibold is quarantining in Brisbane for two weeks after staying in Sydney over the weekend to deal with a family matter, and will not travel to Canberra for the Raiders clash.
Assistant Peter Gentle will instead be at the helm and Raiders back rower Elliott Whitehead was bracing for a dangerous Broncos outfit on Saturday night.
"They've got a lot of distractions and I'm sure they'll be coming down here to try get the win and take the distractions off them," Whitehead said.
"We'll have to be at our best so hopefully we can stick to the gameplan and get the win."