He apologised to teammates and fans via Twitter, but Raiders fullback Josh Dugan is losing the support of both after failing to show up for training on Tuesday morning.
Raiders coach David Furner is set to announce the immediate punishments for Dugan and centre Blake Ferguson at a 4pm press conference on Tuesday after the pair was involved in a weekend bender that sparked noise complaints to police.
The Raiders board is also due to meet on Thursday when the future of Dugan and Ferguson at the club will be high on the agenda.
Photo from Josh Dugan's Instagram account, which he captioned: "Make your own luck! Whatever will be will be!".
Dugan and Ferguson were stood down for a match for alcohol-related incidents last season and The Canberra Times understands Raiders players are fed up with their attitude, especially given the latest incident came after a 32-10 loss to the Penrith Panthers.
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Both players have been given repeat warnings by the club.
Ferguson was present with teammates at the morning video review session of the Penrith match, but Dugan didn’t show and failed to give an explanation.
Josh Dugan at a house in Nicholls on Monday.
Instead, Dugan posted this message on Twitter: "I apologize to my team mates and the fans but this is personal and needs to be sorted out as soon as possible for me to move forward".
It’s understood Raiders players aren’t satisfied by the excuses and have met this morning. The players will provide a recommendation to coach David Furner before any punishment is decided.
But, at a minimum, Dugan and Ferguson are expected to be stood down for Sunday’s match against the Gold Coast Titans. Their contracts at the club are also believed to be in jeopardy.
The club has refused to make any official comment other than a text from coach David Furner saying: ‘‘we are going through the processes at the moment’’.
Today’s photo in The Canberra Times of Dugan drinking on a rooftop and sticking up his middle finger fuelled an angry reaction from fans.
Having been a Raiders fan for 20-years, Sarah Wilson said she returning her entire family’s memberships.
Wilson said she had been forced to hide the paper from her 10-year-old son.
‘‘When we received The Canberra Times [print edition] this morning I hid it because the picture of [Dugan] sticking his finger up is disgusting,’’ Wilson said.
‘‘Today is the actual date of Canberra’s 100th birthday, my husband and I wanted to keep the paper and put it away for the grandkids. Not only do I have to hide it from my son because that’s Josh Dugan sticking his finger up with a bottle of alcohol, but it’s ruined that momentous historical day.
‘‘We debated heavily about whether to become members this year just because of the drama, the performance, the scandals and never-ending headlines ... Round one, this has already happened, we’ve had enough, so we’re done.’’
The Raiders said no one had handed in their membership on Tuesday, as of 1.20pm.
Read more:
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...in-jeopardy-20130312-2fxm9.html#ixzz2NI8mSJhU
