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| - Australian rugby league was plunged into yet more controversy Wednesday with two Canterbury Bulldogs players suspended over a sex scandal involving "young females" ahead of their season-opening game this week. New Zealand Test forward Corey Harawira-Naera, 24, and winger Jayden Okunbor, 23, took "two young females of a consensual age" back to their team hotel on a pre-season trip this month, Bulldogs chief Andrew Hill said. Local media said they met the girls while visiting a school in the New South Wales beachside town of Port Macquarie. The pair were suspended from the Bulldogs' season-opening game against fierce rivals the Parramatta Eels on Thursday over code of conduct breaches, although they are not currently being investigated by police. "I think it's clear they've breached the game's and the club's obligations," Hill said. "They're not behaviour or values that are reflective of this football club. "There's an investigation under process, I'm not in a position to make further comment. The club has acted swiftly," he added. The sport in Australia has long been dogged by scandal, with the latest incident a blow to the National Rugby League (NRL) which has been working hard to improve its image. The build-up to the 2019 season was also overshadowed with Panthers' playmaker Tyrone May suspended after being charged for allegedly filming and sharing images of sexual acts with two separate women without their knowledge. It followed Bulldogs star Dylan Napa being fined 10 percent of his 2019 salary for appearing in several sex tapes. After those incidents, the NRL introduced new rules where players charged with serious criminal offences are automatically suspended instead of being able to play while awaiting the outcome of their court cases. mp/dm/dh
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