Girls fined as Nathan Cleary avoids sanction from NSW Police
Police have cleared Penrith superstar Nathan Cleary of committing any social distancing offences after having a group of women in his house.
However it’s a different story for the women.
Cleary, who was fined $4000 by the NRL on Tuesday, will not receive a further punishment from police after they cleared him of any wrongdoing.
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Other people in the house at the time were the subject of an investigation, with police clamping down on anyone breaking the coronavirus-related public health order.
On Thursday afternoon, police confirmed that the five women seen with the Panthers player were all fined $1000 each for breaching social distancing rules.
It’s believed Cleary has been spared as he did not leave his residence when the group of at least five girls visited.
“Following inquiries conducted by Nepean Police Area Command, no offence relating to the 22-year-old man was detected,” a police spokeswoman said.
The police actions followed the release of two videos on social media platform Tik Tok which showed Cleary dancing with the girls.
Cleary had claimed on Nine News that the girls had only been in the house for 10 minutes when they arrived unplanned, and he did not know he was being photographed.
However, the videos clearly show him looking at and dancing to the camera for the social media posts.
The NRL's integrity unit are aware of the videos and investigating, but it's not believed they will substantially change Cleary's punishment.
He had 60 per cent of his $10,000 fine, and a one-game ban, suspended on Tuesday.
Brad Fittler blasts under-fire stars
Blues coach Brad Fittler says he wouldn't select three players fined for lockdown breaches if he was naming his State of Origin team now and admits it will still be hard to do in six months' time.
Fittler said he was horrified when the actions of NSW stars Cleary, Latrell Mitchell and Josh Addo-Carr were exposed this week for disregarding public health orders, with all of them to pay a financial price after the NRL announced they'd brought the game into disrepute.
Mitchell and Addo-Carr, who were fined $50,000 for their part in a 12-man camping trip, were also charged by NSW Police over firearm offences.
Cleary was fined $10,000, while all fines were 60 per cent suspended for the remainder of the season.
Fittler didn't hold back on the ramifications of the players' actions, saying it's not inconceivable it will cost the sport its season restart, scheduled for May 28.
The competition is still awaiting a green light from federal and state politicians.
“If I was picking the team right now, definitely not,” Fittler said when asked on Wide World of Sports Radio if he would name the trio if an Origin series started this week.
All three players were part of Fittler's successful Blues squad last year but he said they will have plenty of ground to make up if they want another shot at inter-state football, which has been set down for November, immediately after the pushed-back NRL season finishes.
He said off and on-field factors play a part in all his selections and that the trio have dented their prospects, even six months out.
“What they've done is not only put themselves under pressure, they've put their teammates under pressure, their club team, they've obviously put their representative jerseys under pressure and they've put their coaches under pressure,” he said.
“We've got to deal with the fact 'do we pick them? Then all of a sudden for the first couple of days at training it's all about them (in the media) and whether we've picked them or haven't picked them.
“That's why it's easy to say sometimes 'you know what, go and have a rest, go and see what you can do for your club'.”
with Yahoo Sports Staff
