NRL: New punishments for players found guilty for violence against women

Tim Simona would be one of various current and former NRL stars to feel the severity of the newly discussed protocols regarding the treatment of women. Photo / Photosport.

NRL officials are considering enforcing new protocols which could see players who have a record of domestic violence, sex offences or disrespecting women banned from the competition for life.

Discussions are underway as the NRL explores the possibility of such a move, one that would be the first for a major Australian football code.

If new protocols are introduced to the competition, NRL players who find themselves on the wrong side of law regarding assaults towards women would receive bans ranging from nine months to life.

The NRL believes former South Sydney player Kirisome Auva'a would have received a nine month ban as a base sanction under the new proposed protocols.

Auva'a pleaded guilty to domestic violence in November 2014 after he threw his ex-girlfriend to the ground and pushed her into a garage door.

NRL gender adviser Catharine Lumby told The Daily Telegraph: "What the integrity commission has initiated now is if the club or any player breaches the very clear protocols, notifying the NRL about ­assault and abuse and how they ­respond to women, the NRL can now step in."

The discussed protocols have emerged following a series of indiscretions involving NRL stars, including Panthers player Bryce Cartwright used a club "fixer" to pay a woman to have an abortion, while Jaya Taki, ex-partner of former Tigers star Tim Simona, stated she felt pressured into having an abortion and was subjected to death threats.

Lumby contacted NRL boss Todd Greenberg after the revelations of these incidents along with various other stories from the past 18 months involving high-profile players.

"I think the NRL is showing serious commitment after a series (of) incidents which have really damaged the brand of the game, not to mention the harm that has been done to some women," Lumby told The Daily Telegraph.

Greenberg said the new policy was yet to be finalised.

"One thing is certain, if players engage in violent acts against women which are proven in the courts they can expect to spend a lot of time on the sideline," he said.