Kearney says Bulldogs right to stand down pair

Warriors coach Stephen Kearney has commended the Bulldogs’ strong stance on the latest offfield scandal to hit the NRL.

Kiwis forward Corey Harawira-Naera and team-mate Jayden Okunbor have been stood down indefinitely for having consensual sex with high school girls during the club’s trip to Port Macquarie last month.

The players are not the subject of a criminal investigation given the girls were not under the age of consent, which is 16 years of age in NSW. No complaints were lodged to police, the club or to the NRL.

However, the behaviour is in breach of the club and the NRL’s code of conduct.

reported that the players met the girls during one of the club’s school visits in the lead-up to a trial game against Canberra.

The Bulldogs have not set a possible return date for the disgraced duo and Kearney says he would have responded in exactly the same way.

‘‘If someone did that in our footy team they’d be sitting out this week too. It’s not good enough,’’ Kearney said. ‘‘Obviously [coach] Dean Pay and the Canterbury Bulldogs made a call that way. If something like that happened here, I’d be exactly the same. That sort of behaviour should not be tolerated.’’

The scandal has already cost the Bulldogs a A$2 million (NZ$2.07 million) major sponsorship deal with a family restaurant chain.

Bulldogs chief executive Andrew Hill and Pay addressed the situation with media yesterday, with Hill saying the players were stood down as they did not reflect the values of the club.

‘‘These are very concerning matters the club treats seriously,’’ he said.