Knights await update from NRL integrity unit after 'bubble breach'

Now Starford To'a may have blown it following a naive error of judgment less than 24 hours after helping the Knights overpower Wests Tigers 44-4 at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday.

To'a and teammate Simi Sasagi - who is a member of the Knights' full-time squad but has not yet debuted in the top grade - are being investigated by the NRL integrity unit after apparently breaching biosecurity protocols by attending the Newcastle RL match between Western Suburbs and Central Charlestown at Harker Oval on Sunday.

It is understood the pair had a number of friends playing and intended to watch the game from inside a car parked on the hill, but reportedly then exited the vehicle.

Their presence was reported to Knights officials, who immediately informed the NRL and ordered both players into isolation.

The Knights are awaiting further direction from the integrity unit but To'a and Sasagi are facing the prospect of spending 14 days in quarantine, as well as being fined, judging by how other such incidents have been handled by the governing body.

The timing could hardly have been worse for To'a, after the 20-year-old flyer from Auckland played a starring role in Saturday's triumph against the Tigers.

After scoring a runaway try in his NRL debut last year - the final-round 54-10 loss to Penrith - Toa had to bide his time for the first 12 rounds of this season, with Hymel Hunt entrenched on Newcastle's right wing and Edrick Lee and Enari Tuala handling the left flank.

He won a recall against the Tigers and earned kudos from coach Adam O'Brien after scoring a try and safely defusing a host of towering bombs.

"I was really happy for Star," O'Brien said after the game. "I thought he was outstanding, especially under the high ball.

"I thought he handled the occasion really well."

Given that Lee might not play again this season because of a broken arm, To'a had a chance to cement himself in Newcastle's team and potentially play in the finals.

Now, if he misses Newcastle's next two games, against Manly and North Queensland, he could find that after serving his penance another player may have usurped his position.

Ironically, one of the contenders has also fallen foul of the NRL's COVID-19 rule enforcers this season.

Utility back Tyronne Roberts-Davis, who joined Newcastle at the end of last season from Gold Coast Titans, was fined $5000 by the NRL for his involvement in the much-publicised camping trip that landed Origin stars Latrell Mitchell and Josh Addo-Carr in hot water during the coronavirus shutdown.

Roberts-Davis paid a high price for being photographed alongside Addo-Carr on a motorbike.

The 22-year-old played seven NRL games for the Titans, scoring two tries.

The other option for O'Brien would be to recall experienced Tautau Moga, who was dropped after the loss to Melbourne for defensive lapses.

Knights chief executive Phil Gardner was reluctant to comment while To'a and Sasagi were being investigated by the integrity unit, other than to say both players were "contrite".

Meanwhile, Newcastle's round-26 clash with the Warriors, on Saturday, August 29, has been transferred from Gosford to Tamworth.

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