David Williams named as betting scandal erupts on eve of Origin, one star set to be banned six weeks
PHIL ROTHFIELD — EXCLUSIVE
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
JULY 08, 2014 11:00PM
RUGBY League has been rocked by a betting scandal on the day of its showpiece third State of Origin game, with Manly star David Williams confirmed as one player involved.
A week after the Todd Carney photo shame, news emerged on Tuesday that the NRL is on the verge of banning a star player for betting on rugby league games.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal a big-name player from a Sydney club will be suspended for six weeks for breaking the code’s strict gambling guidelines.
A number of other players will be fined for betting in smaller amounts, all caught in an integrity unit audit of TAB and sports bookmaker betting records.
The Daily Telegraph online can this morning confirm one of the players involved is Manly’s glamour winger “Wolfman” Williams.
The Sea Eagles star was caught having a number of multi bets that involved AFL, soccer and rugby league matches.
It is understood he was betting from an Iphone app.
There is no suggestion he was involved in match fixing. The bets did not involve his Manly team.
Most of the bets are understood to have been traced from smartphones and account records.
The NRL has delayed the announcement until after Origin to protect sponsors and ensure a scandal-free build-up to Wednesday night’s third game in the series at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
Ryan Tandy was banned for life from the NRL after being found guilty of attempted match-fixing.
The NRL will call a press conference to announce the betting sanctions on Thursday, the first it has had to deal with since former Bulldogs forward, the late Ryan Tandy, was found guilty of attempted match-fixing.
Last night officials refused to reveal the identity of the player who has been suspended.
Parramatta has confirmed their halfback Chris Sandow, who has recently undergone counselling for gambling issues, was not involved.
The guilty players are expected to be named by the NRL, but there is no suggestion they were involved in any match-fixing activity.
Some were betting in amounts as small as $5.
The players involved have already been informed by the NRL of their penalties.
Under NRL guidelines, players, officials and coaches are banned from betting on NRL fixtures.
The ban also extends to player managers and any employees of the 16 clubs.
NRL boss Dave Smith and his team will deal with the scandal after State of Origin III is settled.
The betting press conference will conclude a month-long integrity unit investigation in which players and their agents and legal advisers were given the opportunity to defend charges.
Apart from the NRL deregistering Ryan Tandy in 2011, there is no record of other NRL players being suspended for betting on games.
The NRL’s integrity unit boss Jim Doyle recently said the gambling investigation was limited to a small number of players.
“Let me be clear that there is no suggestion of widespread abuse of betting rules or inappropriate conduct on the field related to betting,” Mr Doyle said.
“The integrity unit is looking into whether a small number of players have breached the Code of Conduct by placing small bets on rugby league games against our rules.
“If so, we will take appropriate action, which may include suspensions, to protect the interests of all players, fans and members.”
NRL integrity unit boss Jim Doyle says the investigation has been limited to a small number of players.
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I wonder who the big name player from a Sydney club is? I have heard a strong rumour that is was Paul Gallen but I am not accusing anyone as of yet. At least it seems that no Titans are involved.