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South Sydney great Sam Burgess has been arrested for allegedly driving unlicensed under the influence of an illegal drug.
NSW Police confirmed that a 34-year-old man was stopped in the Sydney suburb of Kingsford for roadside testing at about 10am Thursday and subsequently taken to a nearby station after testing positive for an illicit substance.
The driver underwent secondary testing and was issued a notice to appear at Waverley Local Court on February 15 for driving unregistered.
On Thursday evening, Burgess took to social media to deny he had driven with drugs in his system.
“After I was released from the police station, I immediately and voluntarily went to an independent, internationally accredited testing facility and undertook a urine test,” he wrote in a statement.
“I deny any suggestion that I have drugs in my system. I have not consumed, obtained, or possessed any illicit drugs.”
“Inquiries are continuing, and police will await the result of a secondary oral fluid analysis,” a police statement said.
Through his lawyer, Burgess told The Daily Telegraph he had not taken drugs and claimed to have obtained a urine sample that proved his innocence.
“He completely denies any suggestion that he was involved with any illicit drugs and we have obtained a urine sample from an internationally-accredited laboratory confirming that he has not consumed any illicit drugs,” his lawyer, Bryan Wrench, said.
Burgess played 182 games for the Rabbitohs between 2010 and 2019 and won the Clive Churchill Medal as man of the match in the club’s drought-breaking 2014 grand final win.
In March, the NRL fined Burgess $30,000 for using illicit drugs and threatening another player in 2018, and driving with traces of cocaine in his system in February 2021 while working at the Rabbitohs in an off-field role.
For the latter incident, Burgess avoided conviction but was placed on a nine-month good behaviour bond.
The NRL also suspended him from official duties with South Sydney for 12 weeks and any further sanctions could impinge on his hopes of launching a professional coaching career.
This year, Burgess coached NSW North Coast bush footy side Orara Valley Axemen and was previously linked with a position on Wayne Bennett’s coaching staff at the Dolphins.
He had only recently been given the green light by the NRL to hold an official role again at a club due to previous off-field incidents, including intimidating a Roosters player.
Sam Burgess. (Photo by Will Russell/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, St George Illawarra’s off-season from hell has got even worse with rising star Talatau Amone in police custody after being charged over an incident near his home last month.
The 20-year-old five-eighth has been charged with reckless grievous bodily harm in company, damaging property and intimidation over an alleged incident with a roofing contractor near his home in the southern Wollongong suburb of Warrawong on November 15.
He did not seek bail, which was formally refused, and will front court in Wollongong on Friday.
St George Ilawarra reported the matter to the NRL’s integrity unit.
“Dragons player Talatau Amone has been charged in relation to an alleged incident earlier this year,” the club said in a statement. “The club has notified the NRL integrity unit. As this is a legal matter the club will be making no further comment.”
A NSW Police statement alleges that two tradesmen working at a neighbouring property last month were confronted by three men armed with hammers.
Police say one of the men was pursued onto and then pushed off a roof, falling two metres and sustaining injuries to his wrists, arms and hip.
A 46-year-old man was arrested at the scene, while police circulated images of a third unidentified man on Thursday.
Amone, who was part of Tonga’s recent Rugby League World Cup campaign, recently re-signed with the Dragons until the end of 2024.
He is one of St George Illawarra’s best young prospects but could be banned from playing by the NRL under its no-fault stand down policy.
Junior Amone. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
He has played 35 NRL games since his debut in 2021 and played every match of last season, striking up a partnership with captain Ben Hunt in the halves.
The Dragons are reeling after copping a mountain of backlash for their controversial decision to survey members about a possible name change.
They have also had to deal with several other incidents. Amone was involved in a scuffle during a training session with centre Zac Lomax, former star Matt Cooper boycotted the 2010 premiership-winning team’s recent reunion due to a feud with ex-chief executive Peter Doust and chairman Craig Young resigned after he provided a letter of support for former NSW halfback Brett Finch for his court case for sharing child sexual abuse material.
The club was also in the headlines when only three of its top 30 squad members bothered to show up for the presentation night in October.
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