NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo described the rape allegations against the Queensland player as “very serious” and confirmed the league was working with the club on the investigation.
The player, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has not yet been charged but was the subject of a formal complaint lodged with Queensland Police by the woman.
“Obviously these are very serious allegations,” Abdo said.
“We are working with the relevant parties to find out more and when we know more we will be able to say more. However, at this stage all I can say is that these allegations are very disappointing.
“They are very serious. We have policies in place to deal with these (problems) if they arise. We’ll deal with the facts when we know a little more.”
If charged, the player would be subject to the league’s no-fault waiver policy, which suspends any player accused of a crime that carries a minimum prison term of 11 years.
Under Queensland law, accused sex offenders cannot be publicly named until charges have been brought, so the NRL likely cannot charge a player until then because of the risk of being publicly identified.
“I cannot comment on this until we know all the facts,” Abdo said.
“When we know all the facts, we can make decisions based on our policies and, of course, respecting the relevant regulations.”
The accusations came days after the NRL Magic Round’s premier event, which will take place in Brisbane this weekend.
“We will keep going,” Abdo said.
“We have a strict policy that we do not tolerate any form of violence against anyone, so we will wait until we know the facts and then we will be able to say more at the appropriate time.”
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028