An alleged failure to inform the NRL integrity unit of a drink-driving conviction looks set to impact Luciano Leilua’s start to life at new club St George Illawarra.
Leilua, who moved from the North Queensland Cowboys to the Dragons earlier this month, was on Thursday hit with a breach notice by the NRL.
It leaves the forward facing a potential suspension which could rub him out of the start of the 2024 campaign.
The back-rower was suspended from getting behind the wheel and handed a $300 fine earlier this year following a low-range drink-driving conviction.
But the Samoa international’s alleged failure to tell the integrity unit and Cowboys about the conviction could come back to haunt him.
Leilua will be given five days to respond to the breach notice, which could lead to him missing the start of the Dragons’ season.
The 27-year-old only signed with St George Illawarra last Friday and was likely to make Shane Flanagan’s best 17 ahead of their round one clash away to the Gold Coast Titans.
“The Dragons were fully aware prior to signing Leilua of a potential breach to be delivered,” St George Illawarra said in a statement on Thursday.
Commission now eyeing off NZ city for expansion
The chances of a second New Zealand team coming into the NRL are rising with the ARL Commission identifying Christchurch as a potential expansion venue later this decade.
While the PNG bid is still the frontrunner to become the 18th team, possibly as early as 2026, the NRL is set to expand to 20 franchises a couple of years later and another outfit in NZ is firming to be one of the options.
A Perth-based bid, potentially in partnership with the North Sydney Bears, is the other option that is gaining traction with the Commission.
ARL chair Peter V’landys said in a NewsCorp interview that “a second New Zealand team has merit”.
“Maybe not as the 18th team, because we are looking to PNG with the support of the Australian government, but it certainly has merit if we go to 20 teams.
“When (Roosters chairman) Nick Politis says we should be considering 20 teams, you certainly do it because he is a very successful businessman. The Warriors have been wonderful for the game. There is a lot of support in New Zealand.
“We should have a strategy to get there (to 20 teams) at a certain time, whether that’s three years, five years or 10 years.”
The Warriors have stated their opposition to another team coming into the NRL but the prospect of a team in the South Island would create a “local derby” which would bring another rivalry to the competition and also help with the draw by having another side in a friendly time zone.
Foran not the retiring type
Two NRL premiership-winning playmakers have recently re-signed until the end of 2025, and Gold Coast veteran Kieran Foran wants to be the next.
“I won’t pull up stumps,” the off-contract Foran told AAP.
The 33-year-old, who was part of Manly’s 2011 premiership side under coach Des Hasler, is in no rush to extend his deal beyond 2024.
However, with Brisbane’s Adam Reynolds and Sydney Roosters’ Luke Keary both inking new deals, it has shone a light on the value of players with their rare football nous.
“They have had wonderful careers and are still going extremely well, and I’d like to think I can do the same,” Foran told AAP at the club’s season launch.
“I’m not feeling like I am slowing up or seeing the finish line. I feel as good as I have ever felt physically and mentally.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
“There is just no need from my point of view to have an end point in mind.
“I’ll keep playing for as long as I can. I will stay on (beyond 2024) if the club feels it’s needed and if it is what’s right for the club. I won’t pull up stumps.”
Foran has had battles with his body over the years, which is hardly a surprise. He is a No.6 who takes on the line with no thought of self-preservation.
He is in career-best shape and is still the man the Titans will depend on in the big moments.
Like all the best playmakers, Foran makes the players around him better, while making his own pivotal mark on all the games he plays.
That is why the 281-game NRL veteran is not expecting to be made a special case under his old Manly coach Hasler, who has taken over at the helm of the Titans in 2024.
Reynolds won the 2014 title with South Sydney, and Keary won three premierships with the Roosters (2013, 2018-19). The veterans still hold the key to their teams’ performances week-in and week-out.
While Foran is also the linchpin at the Titans, that fact is not funnelling into any complacency.
“I am a realist,” he said. “I know I will be judged on performance and results, no different to anyone else.”
Gus in strife with Cowboys over leaking contract info
Canterbury general manager Phil Gould has earned the ire of the Cowboys after claiming on his podcast that gun forward Heilum Luki had sealed a deal to remain with North Queensland.
The club has denied that they have agreed to terms with Luki, who has been chased by several teams including the Dragons and Dolphins, who have offered lucrative long-term contracts.
“It was kind of expected he’d take a big offer to go elsewhere to the Dragons or Dolphins,” Gould said on Six Tackles with Gus.
Heilum Luki. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
“He had an option in his favour to stay with the club and has elected to stay. I don’t think they thought that was going to happen.
“That will put a lot of pressure on (re-signing) Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, who is an outstanding young talent and probably on a much smaller contract than he can get somewhere else.
“They’d have to upgrade him to keep him, but they didn’t have that sort of money available, particularly after Heilum Luki took up his option to stay.”
The Cowboys recently released Luciano Leilua to St George Illawarra, who are also chasing Finefeuiaki as part of Shane Flanagan’s roster rebuild.
Pickett
Roar Rookie
NZ 2 seems the most obvious choice to me. Build up rivalry with Auckland Worriers. If Christchurch is the one, then so be it. Seems to be a lot of naysayers saying 'it cant be done', 'waste of time and money', 'no ones interested'. Didn't they say this about getting RL going during COVID or playing a double header at Vegas? If no one's interested, then you have to generate interest. From looking at crowds in the trials in the last few years, there seems to be enough interest build on.
Good Grief
Roar Rookie
NRL integrity unit… sickens me every time i see this expression. Was Luciano at work at the time? If not, how is it any of their business? Luciano doesn’t drive the team bus. This is a not a violent crime, it’s effectively a misdemeanour offence and he’s already been penalised by the legal system… like a regular citizen. As for “bringing the game into disrepute” - please, if he’s not on the clock this should have nothing to do with his job as a footy player. It’s no reflection on NRL, it only affects his own reputation.
fiwiboy7042
Roar Rookie
You know, Tony. The South Island's REAL rugby teams! :happy: :thumbup:
KenW
Roar Rookie
Would have been a 5 minute hearing in court. Apparently it was and should have been history by now. It's part of their contract conditions that they do need to tell the club/NRL about any arrest though, he didn't do it and now it's bigger than it should have been. Realistically we're still only talking about a 2 game ban so it's not like he's been rubbed out of the game or anything.
Dualcode
Roar Rookie
PNG would be an interesting one even though a 2nd kiwi team based in Christchurch is another challenge in itself for an NRL team.
Nat
Roar Guru
Wow. Ok so how often does this attempt at "baffle with BS" work in your social circles? So you married a Kiwi therefore you speak on behalf of all South Is people. Again you have completely missed the point and now contradicted yourself. Before you went to 1000 words to explain why PSG and Toulouse were not that far away from each other and now PSG are a super club in a sphere of it's own. Tell me, as far as successful rugby clubs go - where do the Crusaders sit? Do you think anyone outside of NZ Sth Is has has heard them? The comparison is apt, your ability to dispute the context of the comparison is as poor as your attempt to use the ICC of the Americas. Do your research. Rugby League Park was known by that name because the Canterbury Rugby League club bought it from the Canterbury City Council. For the dilapidated state you want to propose it was in it still hosted league and union club and international matches all that time. Another swing and a miss. I am no expansionist evangelist. It is my opinion that NZ 2.0 would be the most beneficial opportunity and nothing you have put forward has diminished that one bit. No matter where the NRL wanted to expand someone would throw up exactly the same arguments as you have attempted here. Not so many may be so forthright as to pretend they speak on behalf of 1.1m people because they married a Kiwi and been there half a dozen times. FYI, Football is the largest participation sport in Aust by a long, long way.
Nat
Roar Guru
"Does that speak to any major character flaw or ability to play the game?" It most certainly does. He chose to drink and drive, there's one. Ge was caught and did not inform his employer knowing full well of his obligations to do so - there's 2 major flaws. Because of those two flaws in his character he has been fined and suspended from playing so it has effected his ability to play.
Tufanooo
Roar Rookie
They also have basketball clubs in the South Island. And hockey. And baseball. And football...in fact they have more registered football players than any other sport. Even if the code was in rude health, you don't see expansion to the South island for them, even though there is arguably a better chance for them than a league team They also have great crowds for football and basketball when there are ad hoc matches. Key being ad hoc. Hey, all these sports should open a professional team there. People also like baseball in Australia. Let's open a fly in fly out team for the MLB. Cricket has been played in the US since the 1700's...and now there are thousands of registered players, and internationals have also been played there. By your logic clearly the US are obviously massive fans of it. Let's make the US full members of the ICC. Sports can co-exist after all... You are blatantly misrepresenting not just my words, but a presence of a sport as some kind of established fan presence. And of course you can have two codes co-exist at one time. Hence why it does in the urbanised centre of NZ: Auckland. Not the disparate population of the South Island. I'm married to a Kiwi. I lived in NZ for 9 years. I still regularly go there. Have you ever even been to the South Island? (Queenstown for skiing doesn't count - it's hardly representative of the South Island. The workforce are European or south American students). Your PSG example is still absurd. You are picking a superclub who's popularity exists beyond its league. I was right to pull you up on it. You're obviously a die hard fan and evangelist of rugby league and I greatly respect that. But you are grossly exaggerating the existence of a sport with actual following of it. Fyi, their stadium was known as rugby league because it was the inferior one to Lancaster park/Jade stadium where rugby was played on It only got a name change and gentle touch up because the Crusaders have to play there now. It was a derelict aged shed from the 40's that was being allowed to die until the quake. But respect to it, it did survive the earthquake. They also have a baseball park there too. Is the South Island therefore a hidden bastion for the MLB to tap into?
Nat
Roar Guru
Sorry but you have wasted a lot of words there on opinion without fact. I did purposefully pick Toulouse for the popularity of that club but in no world are they anywhere near PSG. The main point was to suggest that you can have two popular codes co-exist at one time. "There is no rugby league following in the South Island. None". Are you speaking on behalf of the whole Sth Island? Christchurch has been hosting league matches for nearly 100 years. They have been hosting RL internationals for over 70 yrs. Until recently their stadium was known as Rugby League Park. The (NRL) Canterbury Bulldogs have a pathways program set up with the NZ Canterbury Rugby League junior division. The NZ Warriors have agreed to play there every season up and until the new larger Te Kaha stadium is opened in 2026. If you believe all that equates to "no rugby league following" than good luck to you.
Birdy
Roar Rookie
As much as I'd like to see a club in PNG all the Albo dollars in the world can't guarantee player and fan safety Put them on the back burner for another decade. How do you keep saying no to Perth? The way RL pulled the rug out from under them is diabolical. Then you have a well deserving Ipswich or Brisbane east's. Rearranging western and south West Sydney would sort that out. NZ2 is inevitable! Just to throw in a couple of curley locations , how long does the Gosford stadium get minimal use and is the NSW mid north coast ever a possible starter? Coffs harbour is growing at a rate of knotty. Imagine Pt Mscquarie to Ballina and west to Armidale and tamworth. That's if albo doesn't bury the place in bird killing towers.
Tufanooo
Roar Rookie
Sorry, but why are the Dragons obliged to release to the fan base a player who got hit for a DD violation? I'm a fan and I don't care that he got done in for that. Hundreds of thousands of Australians have. I'd care if those domestic violence charges last year were proven though.
Tufanooo
Roar Rookie
But that's not an appropriate comparison, and it's also quite unfair to your own argument. Firstly you are comparing a rugby team in the south of france with the biggest football team in Paris. Toulouse rugby are actually just as popular as the toulouse football team in ligue 1, because there has always been a strong rugby following in Southern France. And secondly, there is a decent rugby league following in Auckland. South Auckland clearly has a huge following for it. It has a big following amongst the Maori and PI populations. This we've known for a while. 15% of Auckland's population is PI (not Maori). Warriors games actually match the attendance averages for the Blues and the Chiefs...and bring a more diverse crowd too! So, the Warriors are in fact bigger than at least the Chiefs, and arguably even the Blues at the moment. But people should not be looking at that clear success and deluding themselves to think that that can be transplanted to the South Island. There is no rugby league following in the South Island. None. There's in fact barely a passionate rugby following anymore. Even the Crusaders struggle to get good crowds now. The Highlanders and Crusaders are struggling to get more than 13k averages to home grounds. But the biggest problem is that the demographic that the NRL has tapped into so well in Auckland is barely present in the South Island: 15% of Auckland is PI. Just 3% of the South Island is PI. It's also an island where the population centres are too spread out. People outside Christchurch are never going to come to Christchurch to watch an NRL match, and if the team started to rove around the island and play between Chch, Dunedin, Nelson and Invercargill, then they lose the ability to really put down roots in Christchurch and build a "tribe" It would be a mistake to put an NRL team on the South Island in my opinion. But then, I also think it's a mistake to have more than 16 teams, so I'm probably to be ignored.
Tony
Roar Guru
Yes, if it only works while the Australian Government of the day thinks it's a good idea it becomes high risk
Tufanooo
Roar Rookie
This is being overblown. Maybe no one told anyone because there was nothing to tell. Low range drink driving? He's a bit dumb for doing it, but come on...it's so trivial. Would have been a 5 minute hearing in court.
Don
Roar Rookie
Rugby league being behind a paywall in NZ actually makes it far less attractive to attract sponsors. Isn't most Rugby only on Subscription TV in NZ? One live FTA game a week on Sky Open? NZ has had most of their popular sports only available live on pay tv through Sky Sports for some time. Has that changed?
Tufanooo
Roar Rookie
What's the problem here anyway? Man gets a DD charge. Gets fined, gets licence banned. So what? Does that speak to any major character flaw or ability to play the game?
Bernie
Roar Rookie
and if they didnt know, that would mean Lucky's manager didnt fess up during negotiations. which is a wittle bit sneaky .... not something that would endear him to club management. touch of the "Volkmann shoulder" about it.
Tufanooo
Roar Rookie
More like 5. But, yes, the point stands nonetheless. Christchurch would be a dreadful place to expand to. Rugby league is chronically unpopular there, the local stadium makes Leichhardt look first rate and the South Island is a big island with the major population centres spread far away. because major population centres are spread out on a scarcely populated island people are absolutely not ever, ever, ever going to drive from places like Dunedin, Queenstown Invercargill or Nelson to watch a sport that they have no interest in. (360km, 450km 550km, 400km one way) They would succeed in Perth, as long as they accept their place and don't try to go after the AFL. Schedule games when AFL matches aren't on, and they should do alright. Perth is a lot different now to when the Reds played there, and the reds did pretty well for that era tbh.
KenW
Roar Rookie
Apparently the Cowboys (and the NRL Integrity commision) found out about 3 weeks after the event when he was going to court. So the DD charge was known about by the Dragons, it's unclear to me if they knew there was a cloud about him trying to keep it secret.
Nat
Roar Guru
I agree. I'm a fan of PNG league. They are one of my favourite teams to watch in QRL but this expansion is political to the point of disrespectful to the game and people over there. Fortunately/unfortunately the majority of fans will never understand how this came about nor how quickly it could be pulled when the political influence wanes.