NRL player Luciano Leilua charged with domestic violence offences

North Queensland NRL forward Luciano Leilua has been arrested and charged with domestic violence offences after an alleged incident on Monday.

NSW police confirmed they were called to a home around 1pm on Monday after reports of a domestic violence incident.

Officers attended and were told a 26-year-old man allegedly assaulted a woman known to him and smashed the woman’s phone.

He was arrested at the home and taken to a local police station, where he was charged with common assault (DV); damage or destroy property (DV) and granted bail to appear at a local court on 11 October.

The matter has been brought to the attention of the NRL Integrity Unit who are liaising with the North Queensland club, a NRL spokesperson said.

The club said in a statement it had “been made aware of an alleged incident regarding Leilua, which has resulted in police charges”.

“The club is gathering further information and assisting the NRL Integrity Unit as well as providing support to all parties involved,” it said. “Further comment will be made in due course.”

It is unclear whether any potential no-fault stand-down policy decision by the NRL would carry across to the upcoming Rugby League World Cup in the UK, with Leilua included in Samoa’s squad.

The NRL has an automatic stand-down policy for charges which bring with them a minimum 11-year prison sentence.

While Leilua’s case does not fall in that category, the NRL has previously stood down players charged with domestic violence under the discretionary part of the policy.