Canberra Raiders sack four players over glassing cover-up
A week to forget for the Canberra Raiders has just gotten worse, with the NRL club forced to sack four young players over a violent, alcohol-related cover-up.
The four Raiders juniors were hauled into a meeting with club officials this week to discuss the incident, which reportedly ended up with one of the players being glassed.
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The reported incident happened after a an SG Ball under-18s match against Cronulla last weekend.
The Daily Telegraph reported that all four players were involved in the alcohol-fuelled incident which turned ugly when one of them was attacked with a glass bottle.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said the club was left with little choice but to sack the players after the same report stated that they tried to cover up the incident and provide officials with false information about what transpired.
“The incident is one thing, but lying to your superiors just doesn’t wash at our club,” Stuart said.
“It may seem tough, but this isn’t the culture that we accept at our club.”
It continues a turbulent pre-season period for the Raiders, with Stuart also announcing that he would dump two of the club's first team players for drink-driving offences over the summer.
Corey Harawira-Naera and Corey Horsburgh are set to miss the Raiders' opening round clash against the Wests Tigers after being charged over separate drink driving incidents.
Harawira-Naera was caught drink driving by ACT Police on Christmas Eve while Horsburgh was charged on January 3.
Raiders duo set to face court
Horsburgh is due to face court on February 23, while Harawira-Naera is still awaiting a court date.
“It is disappointing but it’s not my job to be keeping their spot in the 17,” he told reporters on Thursday.
“That’s their job and they’ve made it harder for themselves.
“They’re upset with themselves and have put themselves on the back foot.
“They know it was a bad choice. I’ve left it, they’ve got their court cases pending.”
Canberra immediately reported both incidents to the NRL's integrity unit at the time, with both players yet to receive a punishment from the NRL.
The Raiders were said to be particularly disappointed in Harawira-Naera, who was handed a lifeline by the club last season following a previous scandal at the Bulldogs.
The 25-year-old was sacked by Canterbury last year after he was embroiled in a schoolgirl sex scandal in Port Macquarie.
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