Queensland and South Sydney Rabbitohs' second rower Jai Arrow is out of State of Origin Game 3 due to a COVID breach.
After it was reported earlier afternoon, the NRL have now confirmed Arrow has breached the game's strict COVID biosecurity protocols. It has been announced that he will be suspended for two games, and fined $35,000 for the incident.
It means Arrow will miss Origin 3, and the Rabbitohs' next game against Canterbury.
It's been alleged that Arrow brought an "unregistered guest" into the camp.
It's understood Arrow then trained with the Maroons team on Wednesday afternoon, although the impact of this, and any potential impact on the Origin series, is yet to be determined.
The NRL are operating under strict Level 4 COVID protocols, with players and staff only allowed to leave their homes in the event of games, training or essential reasons.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said the Apollo team had acted to minimise risk.
"In our view this is a clear breach of our biosecurity protocols, Jai has been placed into isolation from the squad and will return home to Sydney," he said.
"There are no excuses for breaching the protocols, they are our licence to continue playing – players have to comply, or we will all face the consequences.
"I want to be very clear, any material deliberate repeat offence by a player will result in us removing that player from the approved bubble roster.
"I’d like to thank Queensland Health for their ongoing assistance in managing the situation and ensuring community health and safety."
According to a Sydney Morning Herald report, the South Sydney Rabbitohs were unaware of the breach by Arrow.
The location of Game 3 was only announced mid this week, with the game set to head to Newcastle, owing to Sydney's ongoing lockdown.
Already a game has been moved out of the Sydney basin this weekend, with the South Sydney Rabbitohs forced to host the North Queensland Cowboys in the same location.
Queensland's preparations for Game 3 were already struck a blow on Tuesday night when bench second-rower David Fifita was ruled out after failing to overturn a judiciary charge for dangerous contact on Sam Williams during the Gold Coast Titans' Round 16 victory over the Canberra Raiders in the nation's capital.
While Francis Molo has been called into the team for Fifita, Thomas Flegler is the only other reserve forwards. Queensland may need to call in re-enforcements to play on the edge, with Jaydn Su'A and Coen Hess the two likely options.
It's unclear exactly what repercussions await Arrow, but it's likely if he is being forced out of Origin, he would also need to isolate for 14 days, meaning he would miss the Rabbitohs' Round 18 clash with the Canterbury Bulldogs, pending which day the breach took place.
