Brisbane Broncos winger Josiah Karapani has been stood down from this weekend's clash with Cronulla after being charged with drink-driving. It is the second time this season the 24-year-old has been sidelined following an interaction with police.
Details of the Incident
Karapani was stopped by police on the Pacific Motorway around 7am on Sunday morning after allegedly speeding 19km/h over the 100km/h limit. He was taken to Holland Park Police Station and recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.037, according to the club.
“As a provisional licence holder (P Plater), Josiah is subject to a zero-blood alcohol concentration,” Brisbane said in a statement. “He has been issued with a notice to appear in court on July 21 in relation to the drink driving offence.”
The club added that Karapani received an infringement notice for the speeding offence, along with further fines for failure to display P plates, driving an unregistered vehicle, and driving an uninsured vehicle.
Club and NRL Response
“The NRL Integrity Unit has been informed,” the Broncos said. “Josiah will not be available for NRL selection for this Saturday night’s Round 18 game against the Sharks.”
Karapani has played 14 games this season, scoring five tries. He missed one game earlier this year after a 3.30am incident in March, when he was slapped with a $1001 fine by Queensland Police and issued with a public nuisance offence in Fortitude Valley.
Leadership Group's Stance
Brisbane captain Adam Reynolds said the club’s senior leaders took a non-negotiable stance on culture and behaviour in standing down Karapani for one match. “It’s important everyone knows the standards and culture of this club that we are setting is above any player or person in this organisation,” Reynolds said at the time. “Everyone needs to jump on board or you risk facing some time away from the team.”
“Josiah is fully aware of the mistake he has made and is fully apologetic towards the group. I am sure he won’t make that mistake again. He is a big part of our team but unfortunately he won’t be there this week.”
Veteran Ben Hunt, also a part of the leadership group, said when you are a Bronco there is no hiding from bad behaviour. “It is a huge club here,” Hunt said. “It is still in a way a one-club town. I know the Dolphins are here now but there is so much spotlight on this club. You go out and you make a mistake and you are going to get found out. There are some boys still learning some lessons and Kara is one of them.”
Outlook for Karapani
Hunt expressed confidence that Karapani would bounce back. “I’ll back him. He is a good kid and was very apologetic,” he said. “He came in this week and trained as hard as he could. He will keep working hard and will be back in there at some stage.”
