Fresh blow for footy star Josh Papali’i after he was accused of shocking acts in alleged 3am pub incident with his brother

Raiders prop Josh Papali’i is set to face court after being accused of a late-night incident at a Canberra leagues club that also allegedly involved his brother John.

The 32-year-old NRL star will have to attend the ACT Magistrates Court for allegedly intimidating police and failing to quit a licensed premises, ACT Policing revealed on Thursday.

About 3am on September 16, police were called to an incident regarding three men who were ‘behaving aggressively towards each other and staff, and throwing glasses’.

When the group was asked to leave, Papali’i was allegedly verbally abusive and threatening to police.

The men left after some negotiation, but soon returned.

Asked to leave again, the 32-year-old allegedly attempted to further intimidate police, before the group left the area a short time later.

Papali’i’s brother John, 30, will be served with a criminal infringement notice for failing to leave a licensed premises, the Canberra Times reported. 

The following night, Josh Papali’i was named club person of the year after he brought up 300 games for the ACT club during the NRL season.

The prop forward has also been charged with failing to leave a licensed premises

The Raiders released the following statement soon after Papali’i’s arrest: ‘The Canberra Raiders are aware of an incident involving Josh Papali’i.

‘Josh and others were asked to leave a licensed premises in he early hours of Monday morning following attendance by ACT Police.

‘The club has informed the NRL integrity unit.’

The September incident was not the star’s first run-in with the law.

The prop forward has played 305 games for the club since making his debut for the team in 2011, and has a year to run on his current contract.

He is one of the most respected forwards in the game after racking up 23 appearances for Queensland and 11 games for Australia during his career.

The 32-year-old NRL veteran (pictured with wife Masepa) had a previous brush with the law

In 2017 he was arrested by police in strange circumstances after he called police to tell them he was drink driving.

Papalii rang triple-0 and reported that he was driving drunk and on the wrong side of the road ‘in order 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 breathalyser.

In July, Papali’i’s wife Masepa was banned from playing footy for 10 years following her involvement in a brawn at a women’s game.