The NRL has faced its first off-field behavioral issue in Las Vegas, with Canberra forwards Morgan Smithies and Hudson Young compelled to explain their actions after a skirmish during the opening night of the Raiders’ camp.
The two players appeared before the media on Monday (Tuesday AEDT) to apologize after an incident occurred following a night out, when a hotel mix-up led to one of them being without a room.
“We returned after a night out on Thursday and there was a room issue,” Young said. “We’re not delving into details about it. A scuffle happened in the elevator, not in the hallways.”
“We came back as a team, and one of the guys ended up with a toy baseball bat. It was mistaken for a weapon in the elevator but didn’t play any part.”
The police were not contacted, and Young stated that security was not involved in the dispute, which he admitted “got out of hand.”
“Security didn’t break anything up,” Young said. “We went downstairs to resolve the room issue, and that’s when they reviewed the footage and asked us to leave. The club has sorted it out, and we’re grateful to be staying at Resorts World.”
Smithies and Young are not expected to be sent home. Both are available to be named to face the Warriors in the NRL season opener at Allegiant Stadium this weekend.
“I want to apologize for the actions on Thursday night,” Young said. “It wasn’t good enough. Things got out of hand on Thursday night. I’m happy to move on. I’m embarrassed for myself, our teammates, and the NRL. We’ve dealt with it internally as a club. Sticky [coach Ricky Stuart] has been proactive. Everything has been addressed.”
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The clash marks the first off-field behavioral problem for the NRL in Las Vegas, following a mostly incident-free initial visit to the city last year.
On that trip, the main incident was a verbal altercation between the Sydney Roosters’ Spencer Leniu and Brisbane players in a hotel corridor, following Leniu’s racial slur against the Broncos’ Ezra Mam. This did not escalate physically, and hotel security was not involved.
Clubs have generally given players the freedom to enjoy Las Vegas this year, trusting them to behave appropriately and believing that confining them to hotels is not the best preparation for games.
