St George Illawarra are set to tear up the playing contract of prop Paul Vaughan at an emergency board meeting on Tuesday morning after police broke up a house party at his property on Saturday night.
Dragons sources have told the Herald the club is set to draw a line in the sand and terminate the contract of Vaughan when they gather for the virtual board meeting.
The only thing that could save Vaughan is if the club feels it doesn’t have a legal right to terminate his deal, however the Herald understands this is not his first strike at the club and officials are comfortable to proceed with that course of action.
Vaughan was hit with an eight-game ban and a $50,000 fine by the NRL on Monday night. The sanction rubs him out for the remainder of the regular season and he appears to have played his final game for the club.
The St George Illawarra board will also impose its own sanctions against the remaining 12 players involved on top of the $305,000 combined fines and 20 games worth of suspensions handed out by the NRL.
Jack de Belin is also set to feel the wrath of the Dragons board after attempting to cover up his presence at the party. De Belin hid underneath a bed when NSW police arrived at the premise following a noise complaint.
He later turned himself into police and was fined $1000 for breaching the state's public health order. He is expected to face harsher punishments than the other 11 players.
Furious St George Illawarra chief executive Ryan Webb lashed the 13 players’ “arrogance and ignorance”
Twelve Dragons will also serve one-game suspensions as a fed-up NRL hit the players with huge fines for lying about the gathering, which was suspected to cover up de Belin’s involvement.
“The 13 players’ arrogance and ignorance to both the NRL biosecurity protocols and the state government’s public health order is upsetting and infuriating,” Webb said.
“Every member of the club’s Apollo register were communicated their responsibilities and limitations under level four protocols on numerous occasions.
“All 13 players have let the rest of their teammates, the entirety of our hard-working staff, their families, the wider community and most importantly our Red V members, partners and fans, down.
“The entire club and our stakeholders will now be punished as a result of the combined 20-week suspension procured between the 13 players.
“The Dragons hold no reservations over the punishments handed down by the NRL Integrity Unit or NSW Police given the players’ complete disregard for both the game and community’s expectations.”
Dragons sources have told the Herald the club is set to draw a line in the sand and terminate the contract of Vaughan when they gather for the virtual board meeting.
The only thing that could save Vaughan is if the club feels it doesn’t have a legal right to terminate his deal, however the Herald understands this is not his first strike at the club and officials are comfortable to proceed with that course of action.
Vaughan was hit with an eight-game ban and a $50,000 fine by the NRL on Monday night. The sanction rubs him out for the remainder of the regular season and he appears to have played his final game for the club.
The St George Illawarra board will also impose its own sanctions against the remaining 12 players involved on top of the $305,000 combined fines and 20 games worth of suspensions handed out by the NRL.
Jack de Belin is also set to feel the wrath of the Dragons board after attempting to cover up his presence at the party. De Belin hid underneath a bed when NSW police arrived at the premise following a noise complaint.
He later turned himself into police and was fined $1000 for breaching the state's public health order. He is expected to face harsher punishments than the other 11 players.
Furious St George Illawarra chief executive Ryan Webb lashed the 13 players’ “arrogance and ignorance”
Twelve Dragons will also serve one-game suspensions as a fed-up NRL hit the players with huge fines for lying about the gathering, which was suspected to cover up de Belin’s involvement.
“The 13 players’ arrogance and ignorance to both the NRL biosecurity protocols and the state government’s public health order is upsetting and infuriating,” Webb said.
“Every member of the club’s Apollo register were communicated their responsibilities and limitations under level four protocols on numerous occasions.
“All 13 players have let the rest of their teammates, the entirety of our hard-working staff, their families, the wider community and most importantly our Red V members, partners and fans, down.
“The entire club and our stakeholders will now be punished as a result of the combined 20-week suspension procured between the 13 players.
“The Dragons hold no reservations over the punishments handed down by the NRL Integrity Unit or NSW Police given the players’ complete disregard for both the game and community’s expectations.”