NRL duo involved in late night incident

Manly's Jorge Taufua and Canterbury's Jacob Loko will be investigated by the NRL integrity unit over a late-night incident.

Bulldogs recruit Jacob Loko and Manly winger Jorge Taufua could be facing the sack from their NRL clubs after being involved in a fight outside a Sydney bar on Saturday night.

Loko and Taufua had to be separated by security staff during a booze-fuelled brawl outside the Hotel Chambers on Elizabeth Street.

CCTV footage aired by Channel 9 on Monday night showed a prolonged fist fight between the two long-time friends and the NRL integrity unit is investigating.

After Loko was evicted from the club, the pair traded blows on several occasions with the brawl spilling onto the road and stopping traffic.

Should the Bulldogs take disciplinary action it could spell the end of Loko's career.

In January Loko pleaded guilty to high-range drink driving in a Manly court after being stopped by police and recording a blood alcohol reading nearly four times over the legal limit. He will be sentenced in May.

Loko only returned from a Bulldogs club suspension last week.

He was suspended for the first two rounds of the NRL season and was free to play on the weekend.

However, he did not return to action because of a hamstring injury he suffered in a pre-season trial against Melbourne.

He was expected to be cleared to play in the next two to three weeks.

Loko arrived at Belmore in the middle of last year after a series of injuries restricted him to just 23 appearance for Parramatta since making his debut in 2011.

The 22-year-old not only went through two knee reconstructions, he also twice suffered setbacks because of staph infections.

Since arriving at Belmore during the middle of last year, after being off-loaded to ease pressure on the Parramatta salary cap, he earned rave reviews from Canterbury coaching staff.

In December Bulldogs great Terry Lamb compared him to Sonny Bill Williams and said he had the makings of an NRL star.

"He's got the body of Sonny Bill, seriously," Lamb told AAP.

"I went into the gym and I looked at him. I saw Sonny when he first came through and I saw how his body was. Jacob has a very, very similar body."

"Almost the same height and everything."

Taufua's contract could also come under scrutiny after he narrowly avoided jail in 2013 for spitting on a police officer on the Gold Coast while celebrating his 21st birthday.

He was given a two-match ban but was allowed to play in that year's finals series after pleading guilty and being given a suspended four-month jail sentence.


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Source: AAP


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