NSW coach Laurie Daley says he wants to know the full details before deciding whether to select Michael Jennings for the State of Origin decider in Brisbane.
The Blues’ centre was charged with offensive behaviour after being arrested early on Saturday morning in Parramatta in Sydney’s west.
Daley said he would wait until all the relevant facts were gathered before determining whether to sack or retain the 27-year-old star.
“Until I receive all the facts and all the relevant information, I won’t be saying anything,” Daley told AAP.
Jennings, named man of the match after starring in Origin II on Wednesday night at the MCG, has been a staple of the Blues’ backline since making his NSW debut in 2009.
And with the series to be decided on July 8, sacking the Roosters star would be the biggest call of Daley’s coaching career.
However, Daley has shown he isn’t afraid to punish players for bringing the game into disrepute.
Just last year, he dumped then-NSW halfback Mitchell Pearce for also being arrested in a wild night out in Kings Cross just two weeks before game one.
Police say Jennings approached them in an aggressive manner when they tried to speak to another man who was allegedly kicking a car park boom gate.
Jennings was arrested and taken to Parramatta police station, where he was issued with a field court attendance notice for hindering police and offensive behaviour.
He is expected to appear in Parramatta Local Court on Monday, July 20 – 12 days after the Suncorp Stadium decider.
Sydney Roosters CEO Brian Canavan confirmed the charge with AAP, and said the matter had been reported to the NRL integrity unit on Saturday morning.
“We’re doing our own investigation,” Canavan said.
He said Jennings might have been “coming off a bit of a high” following the Blues’ Origin win on Wednesday in Melbourne.
Muzz
Guest
He has been stood down for 1 game by the Roosters however will play game 3 for NSW.
GPR
Guest
Stand him down from Dragons game, but let him own Hodges again in Origin 3.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Dropping Pearce was part of a bigger message that needed to be sent to him about not taking his origin spot for granted. If there's not anything more about this that's yet to be revealed then there's no need for a club ban let alone an origin ban.
Jeremy
Guest
What's Daley and BLues got to do with this? Was Jennings in a NSW camp at the time or wearing his NSW gear? Nope. It's a Roosters & NRL issue. Nothing to do with Blues. If he is available for selection the Blues can pick him. End of story.
Paul
Roar Rookie
Ferguson was dropped for a much more serious allegation and Dugan happened to be with him at the time, not a part of the incident.
GTW
Guest
He's already used the "leave a club in disgrace because of grog, then go to the Roosters" card, so where does he go from here? He's 27 now and been through enough problems and counseling that he should know better. He's lucky that he played a good game the other night, so Daley will ignore the incident, much like he did the Dugan / Fergo incident in Cronulla in 2013.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Ummm Burgess' incident was far worse. By the sounds of this Jennings' brother kicked a car park gate. The police happened to be there and were speaking to him. Michael obviously took exception to that and walked over and told them to bugger off (perhaps with a few choice words). The police took exception to this and arrested both of them. Foul language and appearing aggressive to police is not on. And he should know better. But he never destroyed public property and then damaged a park car.
Steve
Guest
George Burgess pulled a street sign out of the ground and whacked a parked car with it in Cairns a couple of years ago. A pretty minor offence as well you'd have to say. He got 2 weeks for that if I remember correctly. Jennings should get the same if they are consistent.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Many were calling for Dylan Walker to replace Jennings for Game II. He is in great form, after recovering from his broken hand, whilst Jennings has been awful of late. No doubt Jenko turned it on in Melbourne, for his first good game (imo) in a rep jumper. So Jennings will be a huge loss based on the last game. But I don't think the team loses too much with Walker.
NTJ
Guest
Daley is there to win games for NSW, not to make friends by sending the right message. From what I've read, it's a pretty minor incident compared to what others have done in the past. Idiotic, yes, but others have been given second chances for much worse. And if the message you're referring to is one to the kids who look up to him, I'd like the think the parents of those kids are able to teach them right from wrong.
KillaKanga
Roar Rookie
If Jennings is punted then I want Fergo in the team so I can watch him run right over the top of swinging arm king .
Brett the Manly Fan
Guest
God I hope he get selected, we really need him. If all else fails I say we bring in Brett Stewart at Fullback and move Dugan to Centre, or I would love for Jarrod Croker to have a go, god knows he wouldn't miss any conversions
V.O.R.
Guest
It will be a better spectacle if he is there and turns it on like game 2.......but the fact is...he was arrested...and what message do you want to send?
Jay C
Roar Guru
Storm in a teacup it seems. I would be happy for him to be there for game 3. Sounds like he swore at a cop, which while not great, doesn't really seem worth the beat up. My best mates a cop and I swear at him all the time.
V.O.R.
Guest
If Daley is to show any consistency in his leadership (refer Pearce incident last year) then Jennings is not playing Origin 3