Revealed: The secret fight with teammate that led to Raiders sacking Curtis Scott

[josie andrews]

A punch-up with teammate John Bateman last year was one of a number of reasons behind Canberra sacking troubled centre Curtis Scott on Monday, it has been revealed.

Senior News Corp journalist Phil Rothfield broke the story on Monday night, hours after the Raiders ended Scott’s contract prematurely on grounds of bringing the club into disrepute.

Scott had recently been stood down since being charged with assault for allegedly punching a man at a Canberra nightclub in May.

In a competely different and until now unknown incident, Rothfield says Scott and Bateman got into a fight after a team function last year in which Scott injured his hand, which sidelined him for a number of weeks.

Police were never involved and the club chose to keep the fight a secret.

“This was there on the rap sheet that we didn’t know about,” Rothfield told NRL 360 on Monday.

“ It wasn’t the reason John Bateman went home (to England last year)... but it was a very serious incident.

“Curtis Scott contacted them the next day and told them what happened, but he was injured, he had misbehaved.

“There were no police charges so it didn’t go to (the integrity unit). It obviously contributed heavily to his sacking.”

The 23-year-old has a history of off-field trouble.

On the Australia Day long weekend last year, Scott was arrested and pepper sprayed by NSW Police officers as he lay asleep under a tree in Sydney’s Moore Park.

He was charged with seven offences over that incident but they were later all dismissed, and he sued NSW Police for the arrest.

Regardless, his Raiders career is officially over.

The Australian reports Scott’s lawyer, Sam Macedone, is considering launching legal action against the Raiders for unlawful dismissal.

Rothfield backed up that suggestion on NRL 360, saying, “I think he will sue”.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-pr ... 4467d89dae