Updated ,first published
Rising Parramatta fullback Isaiah Iongi will escape suspension after photos of him seemingly smoking a substance were circulated on social media.
The NRL has issued Iongi with a breach notice over the photos, which emerged in late-February and “brought the game into disrepute”.
Iongi will have five days to respond to the breach notice. However, the development won’t prevent one of the game’s brightest young stars from taking his place in the derby clash against his former club Penrith on Saturday.
Photos of Iongi seemingly smoking a substance appeared on social media days after the Eels No.1 played in the last of Parramatta’s pre-season trial matches against the Roosters.
Sources speaking on the condition of anonymity told this masthead that the photos were posted without his consent, and that they were several years old.
Iongi’s was the first case to be adjudicated on by former Supreme Court judge Geoff Bellew, whom the NRL recently appointed as its new ‘independent decision maker’ with authority for off-field integrity issues.
“The NRL today issued Parramatta Eels player Isaiah Iongi with a breach notice alleging a breach of the NRL Code of Conduct following an NRL Integrity Unit investigation,” a statement from the governing body read on Monday.
“The particulars of the breach notice, determined by the Independent Decision Maker (IDM), are that Iongi featured in imagery, which emerged publicly on 22 February 2026, which has brought the game into disrepute.
“Iongi has five business days to respond to the breach notice.”
Iongi has played in each of Parramatta’s three games since the photos emerged, performing strongly in wins over Brisbane and St George Illawarra in the past two weeks.
After playing just one NRL game for Penrith, Iongi has made the Parramatta No.1 jersey his own following the departure of Clint Gutherson to St George Illawarra.
Tigers dodge Doueihi blow, but Luai out for a month
Dan Walsh
Wests Tigers halfback Adam Doueihi has been cleared of serious injury as the club weighs up its options in the No.7 jersey and how to survive the next month without skipper Jarome Luai.
Scans have confirmed Luai will be out for the next four weeks after suffering medial ligament damage in his knee against South Sydney on Saturday night. The sight of Doueihi in a stricken state with a hamstring injury had raised fears both star halves could be sidelined long-term.
But Doueihi’s prognosis is far more positive than first expected when he was unable to walk from the field two days ago in Gosford, and he moved freely around the Tigers’ Concord training base on Monday.
A call on his availability for Friday’s short, six-day turnaround against the Warriors will be made on Tuesday, allowing for another night’s recovery.
The Tigers fly out for Auckland on Tuesday afternoon, though there is a temptation to keep Doueihi on ice for round four given the extended recovery time the joint-venture’s fixture presents.
The Tigers have a 10-day turnaround after the Warriors game into their traditional Easter Monday marquee clash against Parramatta on April 6, giving Doueihi almost an extra week’s recovery between games.
Back-up half Jock Madden is expected to fill one playmaking role against the Warriors. Madden impressed in the trials and has been an unused reserve in Marshall’s match-day 19-man squad in the first two rounds.
He last played NRL in 2024 at Brisbane and returned to the Tigers – where he played 17 games in 2021-22 – in November on a two-year deal.
Rising star Latu Fainu looms as the Tigers’ other key option given he is ready to return from off-season shoulder surgery that delayed his start to the season.
The 20-year-old playmaker has progressively built up his training loads in recent weeks, though a comeback from the bench or via NSW Cup remains in play if Marshall opts for a conservative approach with he and Doueihi.
A four-week lay-off for Luai will rule him out of games against the Warriors, Eels, Knights and Broncos, before a potential Leichhardt Oval return against Canberra in round nine.
The Tigers attack struggled to pull South Sydney apart despite enjoying 53 tackles in the Rabbitohs’ 20-metre zone even before Luai and Doueihi went down, but back-rower Kai Pearce Paul backed the likes of Madden and Fainu to hold their gloves up in coming weeks.
“The exciting thing for us, I think if you look back to the trials and especially in that first game, the likes of Jock Madden controlled the game and had a great dig as well,” Pearce Paul said.
“I think it’s exciting, regardless of who plays and who doesn’t, it’s a good opportunity for some boys to show themselves … Latu’s not been everything, but he’s been looking good, looking really fast, fit, and I’d say he’s ready to go”.
Storm owners want investor to help fund junior pathways – not buy the club
Christian Nicolussi
Melbourne Storm’s cashed-up owners have no intentions of selling the NRL club, but confirmed they had sounded out private equity firms in the hope they can help invest in their future training and pathways programs.
News Corp reported on Sunday the Storm’s millionaire owners, including bookmaker Matt Tripp, Bart Campbell and Jayco Caravans founder Gerry Ryan, were prepared to hand over control of the club they bought in 2013 if they could secure the right investor.
But sources with knowledge of the situation not authorised to speak publicly confirmed the owners were eager to find an investor to help them take the Storm forward, rather than take the club completely off their hands.
The Storm have become one of the most successful sporting organisations in the country: they have played in 10 NRL grand finals, have a legendary coach in Craig Bellamy and some of the best players in the competition, including Harry Grant and Cameron Munster.
But without the financial backing of a leagues club, the Storm struggle to fund their junior development, especially in a state dominated by cashed-up AFL clubs who spend millions of dollars on next generation of talent.
The AFL invests more than $50 million each year on junior development in the northern states, while the Victorian male pathways in rugby league receive nothing from the NRL, except some assistance for travel costs.
The Storm also want an overhaul of their training facilities at AAMI Park.
The same News Corp report said American private equity company Ares Management had been acting for the Storm in the hope of finding a suitable buyer. But Storm officials said there had been no contact with Ares Management in more than six months.
Tripp, who is also chairman of the club, said the Storm wanted a private backer with experience in the sports industry to help them realise their big plans.
“The only thing I’ll say is none of our existing shareholders want to bail out, and I love my role, I love this club and I won’t be going anywhere,” Tripp said on Sunday.
“We’re essentially looking for capital injection to help take the club to the next level.”
It was reported in 2020 the Storm was worth more than $30 million on the open market. Last year, there were reports Manly owner Scott Penn had knocked back an offer to buy the Sea Eagles for a similar amount.
Brand Finance revealed at the end of last year the Storm were now valued at $96 million, behind the Penrith Panthers ($129 million), Broncos ($120 million) and Parramatta ($98 million). However, those results were only based on a club’s brand, and did not include assets.
The Storm were stunned at home by the Broncos on Friday night and travel to North Queensland this weekend. They remain in the market for an outside back that can kick goals after their well-publicised attempt to sign Zac Lomax failed.
‘Tingling in my hands’: Dragons prop feared worst after neck scare
Christian Nicolussi
Loko Pasifiki Tonga feared the worst when he immediately felt tingles in his hands after being crunched in a tackle at St George Illawarra training.
The giant prop was placed in a neck brace and rushed to hospital in an ambulance on Thursday and there were initial fears he had suffered a serious injury.
Pasifiki Tonga, 20, was later cleared of any damage, and while he hopes to resume contact work as early as this week, he said there were a few concerning hours for family and friends when a photo emerged on social media of him being taken from training by medicos.
“I got tangled up in a tackle with one of the boys – I was running the ball not tackling – and I had a bit of whiplash,” Pasifiki Tonga said.
“In the moment I heard a bit. I also had tingling in my hands. I fell to the ground in the hope it would relieve the pain.
“I wanted to get straight up, but I had to lay there and follow protocols. When the ambulance came, they [the officers] told me to lay still and not move until the scans.”
Pasifiki Tonga was taken to Wollongong Hospital, and remarkably discharged later that evening.
“Everything came back perfect – there was nothing broken and nothing too scary, which was a huge relief,” Pasifiki Tonga said.
“We’ll see how I go this week with contact. All is well now. I can move my neck, but I’m trying not to at the moment.
“The goal is to play NRL again, and that’s still the goal, nothing has changed. Like I said, I’m just glad it was nothing serious.”
Pasifiki Tonga, who stands nearly two metres tall, was named to play in the NSW Cup game against Parramatta on Sunday, but was obviously ruled out. Winger David Fale had a hat-trick of tries before the hour mark as the Dragons won easily.
Pasifiki Tonga played 10 NRL games last year.
Dragons coach Shane Flanagan said over the weekend about the training scare with Pasifiki Tonga: “He’s fine, he’s back doing some rehab running today. He’s a bit sore, but he’ll be OK. We’ll just reassess him next week.
“We’re lucky that there’s no damage, and he’ll be right in the next week or two.”
