Johnathan Thurston has apologised for his late night antics which saw the NRL superstar locked up in the Brisbane watchhouse on Thursday morning.
The contrite North Queensland Cowboys captain flew back to Townsville after being released following his early-morning arrest on a public nuisance charge.
The injured Thurston was kicked out of the Treasury Casino at 3.40am (AEST) for harassing other guests with his crutch, before police arrested him outside.
The 27-year-old was reportedly wrestling with another man and failed to follow police instructions.
The Test and Queensland halfback told reporters at Townsville Airport he was sorry for the drama and apologised to his fans.
"You know I shouldn't have put myself in that position," Thurston said.
The second man, understood to be former Brisbane rugby league player Nathan Daly, 25, who now lives in Townsville, was also arrested for public nuisance.
Both were taken to the watchhouse before being released and will appear in court on October 6.
A casino spokeswoman said Thurston had been there for about an hour when asked to leave, but did not appear to be intoxicated.
"He was asked to leave because he was disturbing other patrons with his walking crutch," the spokeswoman said.
"He consented to all requests and was polite to security guards.
"His actions at the time provided no indication he was intoxicated."
The Courier-Mail reported a police source said Thurston laughed at police officers before wrestling Daly on the road and ending up on a taxi.
The officer told the newspaper both men were "grossly intoxicated" but police would not confirm this when contacted by AAP.
It's understood fellow Cowboys and Queensland back Willie Tonga was with the pair but was not arrested.
Australian rugby league captain Darren Lockyer told Channel Nine Thurston's arrest was poor timing considering he was racing the clock to return from a foot injury to play for Australia next month.
"Obviously he is coming back from an injury and he wants to press his claims for a Test jersey in the Four Nations this year," Lockyer said.
"It's not good but I've known Johnathan for a long time. He's a decent bloke and we'll just have to not pass judgment on it till we know the full details."
Thurston was previously charged with public drunkenness after being arrested outside his Townsville apartment semi-naked in January 2008.
