Bulldogs duo Jayden Okunbor and Corey Harawira-Naera have been stood down 48 hours before the NRL season opener over alleged misconduct involving high school girls during a pre-season trip to Port Macquarie.
Both players have been issued with show cause notices by the game's governing body following an incident at the Bulldogs team hotel while on the mid-north coast for a recent trial against Canberra.
Neither Okunbor or Harawira-Naera are under criminal investigation.
The females involved are over the age of consent, which is 16 in NSW, and neither they or their families have complained to the club, the NRL or the NSW police.
The matter came to light during an internal Bulldogs investigation and the club in turn alerted the NRL Integrity Unit.
Canterbury referred the matter to the NRL after "receiving concerning reports of alleged misconduct by the two players", and has begun its own internal review according to CEO Andrew Hill.
The breach notice rules Harawira-Naera and Okunbor out of Thursday's blockbuster clash with Parramatta, while the pair have seven days to respond to the show cause notices.
"Corey Harawira-Naera and Jayden Okunbor have been stood down by the Bulldogs after each was issued a show cause notice by the NRL as to why they shouldn’t face further disciplinary action for alleged breaches of the Game’s Code of Conduct," Hill said via a club statement.
"The allegations are that each player engaged in behaviour that represents a serious breach of the NRL Rules and the Bulldogs’ code of conduct, resulting in the NRL notice.
"The club supports the NRL’s decision to issue the breach notices and will continue to work with the NRL to conclude the process."
The incident comes as Canterbury continue to go without a front-of-jersey sponsor just days out from starting their 2020 campaign.
Both Okunbor and Harawira-Naera trained alongside teammates on Monday and were made available to the media afterwards in the lead-in to Thursday's season opener.
Their suspensions have seen Christian Crichton and Joe Stimson elevated into Dean Pay's starting line-up against the Eels.
Pay will front the media on Wednesday morning as part of his regular pre-game media commitments.
