Aust drugs debacle set to drag out

UPDATED 6.47pm: Gold Coast have stood down representative stars Greg Bird and Dave Taylor as the drugs scandal enveloping the NRL club deepens.

State of Origin pair Bird and Taylor were both served notices on Sunday to appear in court of drug-related charges in relation to the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission investigation into a drug trafficking syndicate in south-east Queensland.

Titans chief executive Graham Annesley, facing the media for the second time in 48 hours after Jamie Dowling and Beau Falloon were stood down on Friday, confirmed the representative duo were the latest players embroiled in the emerging saga.

Dowling and Falloon are both facing charge of supply of cocaine following the same investigation which has also entangled Queensland Reds star Karmichael Hunt.

Titans winger Kalifa Faifai Loa has also been stood down after receiving a notice to appear on Sunday while former Titan Jamie Vickery is also facing charges.

The Titans walked into a media frenzy upon their arrival at Gold Coast Airport on Sunday with Taylor saying only "no comment" as he was whisked away into a waiting car outside the terminal as the media pack pressed him for information.

Bird was also a target of media attention as he left the airport, refusing to comment on the scandal which has also resulted in Queensland Reds star Karmichael Hunt facing drug supply charges.
Falloon, Dowling, Hunt and an unnamed 22-year-old woman are all to face Southport Magistrates Court on March 5.

The Titans board and officials entered crisis talks at the club's headquarters on Sunday afternoon with chief executive Graham Annesley expected to front a media conference at 4.30pm (7.30pm NZT).

Titans coach Neil Henry said the drugs scandal was a distraction and it was proving difficult for the club to find out information.

"At the moment there's some serious allegations ... there's still a lot of speculation and innuendo about further action but we're not aware of it at the moment," Henry said at the airport.

"It's something that we'll deal with. We don't take it lightly.

"There's a lot of rumours out there ... we'll wait and see. It's speculation at the moment."

Saga to drag out?

It's feared the fallout from rugby league's cocaine saga could continue right through the bulk of this year's NRL season.

It's understood up to 30 top players could be caught up in the Police operation, which has already seen the arrest of former Kangaroos star Karmichael Hunt.

Rugby League Week's Tony Adams expects it to plague the sport for a lot of 2015.

"Maybe not even weeks, maybe weeks and months.

"This could go on and on, because I think what's going to happen is you'll get players caught up in it and players in a panic will roll over and give up their mates."

Tony Adams says there's a retired Queensland rugby league icon who's rumoured to be caught up in the saga, and there'd be shock if his name came out.