Prime Minister Scott Morrison says players who refuse to get a flu shot should be banned from competing in the NRL.

Mr Morrison was adamant players should abide by a “no jab, no play” policy after Gold Coast player Bryce Cartwright polarised the rugby league community with his anti-vaccination stance.

Cartwright rejected a request to be vaccinated as part of strict measures to restart the NRL competition on May 28 and must now explain his actions to NRL chief medical officer Paul Bloomfield.

“When I was social services minister I started the ‘no jab, no play’ rule into the childcare facilities,” Mr Morrison told 2GB radio.

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“And I think the same rule applies there — no jab, no play.”

An NRL spokesperson said players who refused to receive the shot would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis in consultation with club and NRL medical staff.

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While reports claimed Cartwright faced a ban, the NRL spokesperson refused to speculate on possible penalties if a player could not justify refusing to have the shot.

The NRL said it was not aware of any other players rejecting the flu shot.

A Rugby League Players’ Association (RLPA) spokesman said a player who refused to be vaccinated had the option to sign a waiver in order to continue to train and be available for selection while their case was dealt with by the NRL.

The spokesman said the RLPA strongly recommended flu shots but believed players who refused should be dealt with case-by-case and that the vaccination was not mandatory.

The rugby league community appeared to be split down the middle by Cartwright’s stance as the majority of NRL teams returned to training on Wednesday.

Titans captain Kevin Proctor said Cartwright should be allowed to play once the NRL season resumes.

He said he did not believe teams would feel uncomfortable facing an opposition player who had refused to have a flu shot.

“I’m not going to go on the field and go, ‘I’m not going to run at him, he hasn’t got a vaccine’,” Proctor said.

“You don’t even think about that stuff. I reckon it is just stupid.”

NRL great Paul Gallen backed Cartwright.

“I’m not against the flu shot, but I just think if they don’t want to have it, they don’t have to have it,” he told 2GB’s Wide World of Sports Radio.

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“If they don’t want to put it into their body, they don’t have to have it.”

But Penrith legend Mark Geyer was adamant Cartwright should get the jab if he wanted to play.

“I respect he and his partner’s decision for his family, if they don’t want to get the kids vaccinated that’s fine,” he told Triple M’s Rush Hour.

“As for Bryce, I’m sorry but no flu shot, no play.”

Cartwright’s partner Shanelle justified their position on social media.

“People have the freedom to say what they like, just like we have the freedom to choose which medical procedures we undergo,” she posted on Instagram.

“But ultimately the proof is in the pudding. Our kids are a picture of health.

“They’ve never had an ear infection, never had a chest infection or bronchitis, they have no neurodevelopmental disorders or autoimmune disorders and are rarely ever sick.

“They’ve never had a round of antibiotics or any other pharmaceutical drug for that matter … As parents we do our best with what we know, for some, health comes in a needle and it works for them.

“What we’re doing is going seemingly well seeing the state of their health. So if it’s not clear, we’re not anti anything.

“We stand for medical freedom and the right to choose. Anyway, that’s my piece.”

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South Sydney half-back Adam Reynolds said he followed the recommendation of the NRL and the RLPA about having a flu shot.

“I had my flu shot three or four weeks ago,” he said.

“I stayed at home during that time and rested up … that is the doctor’s advice.”

Reynolds throws support behind Mitchell

Reynolds has backed his teammate Latrell Mitchell, who he claimed had been on the receiving end of some “unfair” media scrutiny.

Mitchell — along with Melbourne’s Josh Addo-Carr, Newcastle’s Tyronne Roberts-Davis and Penrith’s Nathan Cleary — was fined by the NRL last week for flouting social-distancing laws amid the coronavirus pandemic.

NSW Police also charged Mitchell and Addo-Carr with firearms offences.

Mitchell and Reynolds were also in the news earlier this week when they were tested for COVID-19. Both returned negative results.

Reynolds said Mitchell did not deserve some of the media coverage he had recently attracted and his privacy needed to be respected.

“If it was another player in his situation, they wouldn’t be on the front page of the paper, it’s just because his name is Latrell Mitchell,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s fair that journos or whatnot turn up to his door and harass him at his family home.

The Storm’s Felise Kaufusi said Addo-Carr had apologised to his teammates following the punishment he received from the NRL and NSW Police.

“I think he’s taken it a lot to his heart and [it’s] very, very personal and he just wants to show us that it was a mistake and he just wants to do the best that he can,” Kaufusi said.

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North Queensland prop Scott Bolton has been charged with indecent assault following an incident in Bondi on Saturday night.

NSW Police confirmed a Queensland 30-year-old man had been charged with assault with an act of indecency and granted conditional bail.

Bolton will appear in Waverley Local Court on June 19.

The NRL confirmed the integrity unit had been made aware of the alleged incident.

The Cowboys have stayed on in Sydney following Friday’s win over Penrith in Bathurst ahead of Thursday’s clash with the Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval.

Police were called to a Campbell Parade bar late on Saturday night where a female patron claimed she’d been indecently assaulted.

The Cowboys have been approached for comment.

-AAP

Updated

May 06, 2018 18:51:16

North Queensland Cowboys rugby league player Scott Bolton has been charged with the alleged indecent assault of a woman at Bondi Beach in Sydney overnight.

The NRL confirmed that its Integrity Unit has been made aware of the allegations and that Bolton, 30, has been granted bail to appear in court later this month.

Police said they were called to licenced premises on Campbell Parade about 10:50pm on Saturday after a female patron reported she had been indecently assaulted.

Officers arrested Bolton on Sunday morning at about 9:20am, following an investigation, at Waverley Police Station.

According to the NRL, Bolton has played 215 games for the Cowboys since making his debut in 2007.

He was a member of the club’s 2015 premiership-winning team.

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May 06, 2018 18:43:45

Crystal Palace are braced to be without their captain and vice-captain, Jason Puncheon and Scott Dann, for the remainder of the season after both players suffered suspected cruciate knee ligament damage in the goalless draw with Manchester City.

Both players sustained their injuries while bringing down Kevin de Bruyne –they were each booked for their indiscretions – in Sunday’s stalemate. Dann, who has been in impressive form over recent weeks and had been Palace’s regular captain under Roy Hodgson with Puncheon out of the team, brought down the Belgian just after the quarter-hour mark on the edge of the home side’s penalty area and fell awkwardly with the Belgian’s weight on his right knee.

The centre-half was taken from the field on a stretcher with Hodgson confirming afterwards that he feared Dann had indeed sustained a “serious injury”. Both Dann and Puncheon are due to undergo scans this week once the swelling on their joints has subsided but early indications are that they have each suffered cruciate damage.

Puncheon, a late substitute at Selhurst Park, had attempted to stop De Bruyne countering in the immediate aftermath of Luka Milivojevic’s missed penalty in stoppage time, with his crude challenge leaving both players on the turf. Puncheon and De Bruyne both departed on stretchers, for all that they were able to limp assisted down the touchline and back into the dressing-rooms after the match. While Pep Guardiola suggested that the Belgian will definitely miss Tuesday’s game against Watford – adding that Gabriel Jesus will be out for at least a month with a knee injury he sustained in the same game – Palace now fear being without their own midfielder – a fringe player in recent weeks – for the remainder of the campaign.

Palace had intended to pursue a goalkeeper, midfielder and centre-forward – their England Under-21s forward, Connor Wickham, has not played since November 2016 after suffering his own cruciate knee ligament injury and remains some way off full fitness – during the mid-winter transfer window but may now reassess their strategy in the wake of the injuries, particularly at the back.

Mamadou Sakho and Joel Ward are both absent at present recovering from calf injuries, leaving Martin Kelly and James Tomkins at centre-half for Tuesday’s game at Southampton, with the veteran Damien Delaney in reserve. The young Manchester United loanee, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, and the former Ajax utility player, Jairo Riedewald, could provide cover at centre-half if required.

Puncheon, 31, is due to appear before Guildford Magistrates’ court on 5 January after being charged with a Section 4 public order offence – causing fear or provocation of violence, possession of an offensive weapon and common assault – after an alleged incident in Reigate, Surrey, in the small hours of 17 December.