Canberra Raiders duo Hudson Young and Morgan Smithies have broken their silence after they were involved in an incident during the lead-up to their match in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium.
Less than a week out from their match against the New Zealand Warriors to kick off the 2025 NRL season, the two players apologised for their actions and for bringing the game into disrepute at a press conference overnight in Las Vegas.
New details have also come to light on how the incident started between the two close friends, whose partners are currently travelling around America together at the moment.
Details from The Sydney Morning Herald confirmed that Smithies and Young returned to the hotel after a night out and began to argue once the English international didn't have a room due to a system malfunction at the hotel.
Having spent Christmas together, Smithies wanted to spend the night sharing the same bed with Young, which was met with resistance and ensured a wrestle and a scuffle began between the two players with punches being thrown.
It is understood that security was only alerted when one of the players knocked on the emergency button in the lift. Later, security mistook an inflatable baseball bat for a weapon and evicted the players from the hotel.
To make matters worse, one of the players were escorted to his new room but it was already taken by an unidentified Penrith Panthers players once they were allowed back into the hotel.
โWe came back after a night out on Thursday and there was an issue with the room,โ Young said at a press conference in Las Vegas.
โWe're not going to go into details of that. There was a scuffle in the elevator, nothing in the hallways.
โWe came back as a team and one of the boys had got a toy baseball bat somewhere. That was mistaken as a weapon in the elevator but it played no role.โ
โI want to apologise for the actions on Thursday night. It wasn't good enough,โ Young added.
โThe NRL invests so much time and effort into this game. It's such a great space to be a part of here in Vegas and a great spectacle.
โThings got a bit out of hand on Thursday night. I'm happy to move on. I'm embarrassed for myself, our teammates and the NRL.
โWe've dealt with it internally as a club. Sticky's been on the front foot. Everything has been dealt with.โ
While the two players are expected to be named on Tuesday to play on the weekend, The Daily Telegraph reports that the NRL Integrity Unit is investigating the matter and will formally request permission to review the CCTV footage of the off-field incident.
โNRL players are professionals and know they are expected to conduct themselves appropriately at all times,โ NRL CEO Andrew Abdo told The Daily Telegraph.
โWe expect exceptional standards from our athletes on and off the field.โ
