NRL talent Reece Walsh has reportedly been charged over the possession of cocaine after being arrested during a night out on the Gold Coast's Surfers Paradise party strip.
Footage emerged on social media of the Gold Coast-born 19-year-old being handcuffed by Queensland Police in the early hours of Sunday morning.
"At 0.15am this morning, a 19-year-old Nerang man was issued with a direction to move-on from an area in Surfers Paradise," a Queensland Police statement obtained by AAP read.
"Around 1.00am, police saw the man had returned to the same area in an alleged contravention of this direction.
"The man was arrested and taken to the Surfers Paradise Police Station where he assisted police with their inquiries."
Walsh breaks down while admitting responsibility
Walsh broke down on a Zoom call on Sunday afternoon with his manager and the club's chief executive.
"This is solely on me. I should never have done it. It's a mistake that I've made and I'm aware of that. I'm remorseful and should never have done it," he said.
He admitted to being in possession of a small bag of cocaine.
"I was told by officers last night to move on. I didn't move on, which led to me getting arrested and taken back to the police station. Once I got back to the police station I was searched and I was in possession of a small bag of cocaine which I had some of during the night."
Warriors chief executive Cameron George said Walsh had been charged and would undergo drug and alcohol counselling.
"We don't condone this behaviour so we'll continue to work through this situation with the NRL integrity unit and also our club in terms of sanctioning processes, but as it stands now he's been charged on one count of possession of a prohibited substance and will attend court in mid-October," he said.
"It hurts the kid. He's learning. He's been exposed into a very big arena that carries a lot of responsibility and pressure. However, none of that is an excuse for Reece, which he established this morning."
Unable to crack it for the Broncos' top 30, Walsh signed a deal to join the Warriors in March and was given an early release to head there immediately.
Warriors coach Nathan Brown shifted captain and superstar fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to accommodate Walsh and the young gun responded in kind, scoring nine tries and setting up 11 others from 16 appearances.
It was enough for Queensland coach Paul Green to call him up for a State of Origin debut after just seven games, although Walsh never played after suffering an injury the day before the game.
He has claimed the Rugby League Players Association's Rookie of the Year Award last weekend and was a contender to take home the Dally M rookie honours tomorrow night, but he will not be attending.
AAP/ABC
