Two NRL players stood down

Blake Ferguson of Canberra and Jorge Taufua of Manly have both been stepped down with immediate effect by their respective clubs.

Raiders CEO Don Furner revealed that he has been attempting to make contact with Ferguson for two days to discuss with him why he had missed training, but was unsuccessful.

Furner had this to say:

“We have been left with little choice but to stand Blake down from all playing and training duties, until we find out both why he has missed scheduled training commitments, and why he has been drinking whilst injured – which is a clear breach of the club’s rules.

“Blake will be given the opportunity to explain his actions, and following that he may also be required to front the Board to show cause.”

The Sea Eagles’ decision about Taufua, which has been endorsed by the NRL, will see him miss two games (the rest of the regular season) and also include the forfeiture of match payments and a suspended fine.

The decision relates to an off-season incident on the Gold Coast in late October, and after careful deliberation Taufua has chosen to plead guilty, albeit with strong mitigating circumstances.

At the time of the incident, the club took no official sanction as the matter was under due investigative process and Taufua had not offered any plea.