- Veteran Canberra backs Josh Papalii to fight charges
- Star allegedly became threatening to officers
- Papalii’s case is expected to go to trial in 2025
NRL player Josh Papalii will fight charges arising from allegations he behaved aggressively and threw a pair of glasses during a night out.
Canberra Raiders propaganda lawyer Tom Taylor confirmed in the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday that not guilty pleas had been entered to charges of resisting an area officer and remaining or re-entering a premises.
ACT Policing confirmed officers responded to reports of three men behaving aggressively towards staff and each other and throwing glasses at a licensed premises in early September.
Officers were told Papalii had verbally abused staff after they were asked to leave, police said in a statement.
The 32-year-old is also said to have been verbally abusive and threatening towards the officers when they asked him to leave.
The group then allegedly reentered the building and further intimidated the officers before being asked to leave again and leaving again a short time later, police say.
Raiders great Josh Papalii will fight charges arising from allegations he behaved aggressively and threw glasses during a night out in September
The 32-year-old NRL veteran (pictured with wife Masepa) has previously had run-ins with the law
Papalii’s case is expected to go to trial 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 strikers in the sport, having made 23 appearances for Queensland and 11 appearances for Australia during his career.
In 2017, he was arrested by police under strange circumstances after calling the police to report that 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 then teammate and captain Jarrod Croker’s engagement party.
Papali’i was fined $1000 and disqualified from driving for eight months over the bizarre incident on January 15 in which he blew 0.123 on a breath test.
The ffoty star’s case is expected to go to trial in early 2025
In July, Papali’i’s wife Masepa was banned from playing footy for 10 years after being involved in a match at a women’s match.
She was handed a huge ban by the Canberra Region Rugby League after it emerged she took the field during a fiery clash between West Belconnen Warriors and the Bungendore Kangaroos earlier this month.
Footage of the incident, recorded last weekend during the Katrina Fanning Shield livestream, surfaced on social media showing a violent all-in brawl.