Canberra veteran Jordan Rapana has had his license disqualified after being found to be operating a motor vehicle whilst under the influence of alcohol.
Although the 32-year-old was told he had been disqualified from driving for the next three-months and fined $500 in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Monday, further punishments could still await the Raider.
While The Courier Mail's Laura Pettigrew claimed that no criminal conviction had been recorded despite Rapana blowing 0.098 on September 27, it is not yet known whether the NRL's Integrity Unit will hit the New Zealand-born back with further financial sanctions.
According to Pettigrew's Monday morning report, Rapana's solicitor, Dave Garratt, claimed that the dual international was expected to receive a "huge" fine from the league.
And as recent Integrity Unit cases have come with suspensions attached, the Raiders' coach, Ricky Stuart, could well be without the try-scorer for some weeks to start 2022.
Given the view that a recorded conviction could see the league come down harder on the former Titan, Garratt was said to have requested Magistrate Matthew McLaughlin to forgo handing one down.
“When I report back to the NRL integrity unit today if there is no conviction recorded it will look better on Mr. Rapana,” he was quoted by Pettigrew.
Rapana and his legal team were also said to argue that a conviction could see him blocked from a mooted move overseas and that the loss of his license would be too much of a burden for his pregnant wife.
As Rapana's reading was said to be within low-range for drink-driving offences, the presiding magistrate suggested that given the Raiders and the league appeared likely to punish him further, a formal conviction was not required.
Rapana remains contracted in the nation's capital for a further two-seasons, but as the NRL is yet to make any public comment surrounding the incident, the Kiwi representative now faces a nervous wait to see whether he is forced into a stint on the sidelines or not.
