- Veteran Canberra prop Josh Papalii to fight charges
- Star allegedly became threatening toward officers
- The Papalii case is expected to return to court in 2025
NRL player Josh Papalii will fight charges arising from allegations he behaved aggressively and threw glasses while out drinking on a night out.
Canberra Raiders prop Tom Taylor’s lawyer confirmed in the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday that they had pleaded not guilty to charges of resisting a territory official and remaining or re-entering a premises.
ACT Police officers confirmed they responded to reports of three men behaving aggressively towards staff and each other and throwing glasses at licensed premises early on September 16.
Officers were told Papalii had verbally abused staff after they were asked to leave, police said in a statement.
The 32-year-old man also allegedly verbally abused and threatened officers when they asked him to leave.
The group then allegedly re-entered the facility and further intimidated officers before they were again asked to leave and left a short time later, police say.
Raiders great Josh Papalii will fight charges stemming from allegations that he behaved aggressively and threw glasses on a night of drinking in September.
The 32-year-old NRL veteran (pictured with wife Masepa) had a previous brush with the law.
Papalii’s case is expected to return to court in early 2025.
Papali’i, 32, has made 305 appearances for the club since making his debut for the team in 2011, and has one year left on his current contract.
He is one of the most respected forwards in the game after amassing 23 appearances for Queensland and 11 caps for Australia during his career.
In 2017, he was arrested by police under strange circumstances after calling police to tell them he was driving under the influence.
Papalii called triple-0 and reported that he was driving drunk and on the wrong side of the road “to prove a point” after leaving his then teammate and captain Jarrod Croker’s engagement party.
Papali’i was fined $1,000 and disqualified from driving for eight months for the bizarre incident on January 15, in which he exceeded 0.123 on a breathalyser.
The ffoty star’s case is expected to return to court in early 2025
In July, Papali’i’s wife Masepa was banned from playing football for 10 years following her involvement in a fight at a women’s match.
He was handed a huge ban by the Canberra Region Rugby League after he was found to have entered the field during a fierce clash between West Belconnen Warriors and Bungendore Kangaroos earlier this month.
Footage of the incident, which was recorded on Katrina Fanning Shield’s live broadcast coverage over the weekend, emerged on social media and showed a violent fight between everyone.