Knockout blow for Australian skipper

A BOOZY celebration at an indigenous grassroots league tournament has cost Rabbitohs superstar Greg Inglis his Kangaroos captaincy after he blew over the limit at least 13 hours after he stopped drinking.

The remorseful Maroons skipper – who was honoured as the biggest NRL name to headline the Koori Knockout community games in Dubbo – said he was drinking after the event on Sunday until he returned to his hotel room between 11pm and 1am.

He slept until noon the next day thinking he was “right to drive” back to Sydney but the footy star still had alcohol in his system.

At 2pm he drove through Lithgow on the Great Western Highway and was pulled over by police and breathalysed.

He blew 0.085 – a reading obtained at least 13 hours since he stopped drinking.

“I am sincerely apologetic. I hope we can get this sorted and move on from this,” the 31- year- old said in Redfern afternoon.

“I went out to the Knockout, giving back to the community and seeing all the kids smile in Dubbo. I went back to the hotel and thought I’d be right to drive ( the next day).”

While Inglis refused to voluntarily step down as captain at the press conference, the decision was taken out of his hands a few hours later.

Australian Coach Mal Meninga said the night of heavy drinking followed by a drinkdriving charge had made In- this glis’ position untenable.

He was suspended for the upcoming Tests against New Zealand and Tonga, with Sydney Roosters star Boyd Cordner to take over as captain.

Despite stripping Inglis of his captaincy, Meninga said the player had done the right thing by coming clean and apologising.

“No one respects those values more than Greg and we look forward to him returning to the team next year,” he said.

“Greg was in fact an integral in the team part of the creation of the RISE values. As a result he’s accepted the penalty and I think he has shown real leadership by the way he has been accountable for his actions.”

NRL CEO Todd Greenberg went as far as to say Inglis deserved “credit” for his apology.

“Greg is not just a great player, he is one of our best role models, but he made a poor decision on this occasion,” he said.

“He deserves full credit for being upfront today by apologising and taking full ownership of his mistake.”