Nene disqualified days before crash
FORMER North Queensland Cowboy Nene Macdonald had his licence disqualified in court just two days before he allegedly crashed and abandoned a hire car on Magnetic Island.
Bosam (Nene) Macdonald pleaded guilty to an unlicensed driving offence after he was caught behind the wheel in Cairns on December 28, 2016, according to court documents.
The former league star, who has left the North Queensland club to take time away from the game, was supposed to appear in Cairns Magistrates Court on January 12, 2017, but didn’t show. An arrest warrant was issued after he failed to appear, according to court documents.
Macdonald joined the St George Illawarra Dragons at the beginning of the 2017 season and played 46 games before returning to Queensland.
Macdonald, who is from Cairns, was arrested on May 25 and bailed.
Court documents show when he was questioned, he said he was not aware of any traffic matters and he had been working in Sydney for the past two years.
Macdonald pleaded guilty on June 18 and his licence was disqualified for six months.
Two days later, Macdonald allegedly crashed a Toyota Corolla, which police will allege was leased in his name, leaving it abandoned at the very top of the range on Arcadia Rd between Geoffrey and Nelly bays.
He allegedly leased the car from Thrifty Rentals in February.
A Magnetic Island resident said abandoning the car was “extremely dangerous”.
Macdonald handed himself in to police on the afternoon of June 20 and has since been charged with driving on a disqualified licence.
He is expected to appear in Townsville Magistrates Court on July 24.
Macdonald parted ways with the club on Friday just months into his three-year contract, in what the Cowboys described as a mutual agreement.
The centre, who has had stints with the Titans, Dragons and Roosters before linking up with North Queensland, had been sidelined with a season ending ankle injury that he suffered in Round 5 against the Melbourne Storm.
Cowboys general manager of football Peter Parr told the Bulletin the alleged Magnetic Island crash played a part in the decision to part ways but was not the only “sole discussion point”.
“Obviously, that was an incident that was unfortunate and we addressed that with him – it played a part but it wasn’t the sole factor in the discussions,” Parr said.