Brisbane Broncos lead race to sign sacked Canberra Raiders fullback Josh Dugan if NRL allow it

The Broncos are yet to negotiate with the sacked Raider but the door is ajar for the former NSW Origin fullback to move to Red Hill.St George Illawarra are frontrunners with significant room in their salary cap for this season.But Gold Coast last night declared they would not be pursuing Dugan.The NRL confirmed no one had tried to register a new contract for Dugan since he was axed from Canberra last week.The Titans had internal discussions about chasing Dugan.The Raiders will email a "Dugan Dirt Dossier" to the NRL on Tuesday and the governing body will decide his fate late this week.Dugan's laundry list of misdemeanours is likely to induce a suspension of several weeks because he brought the game into disrepute.Raiders coach David Furner confirmed there were behavioural issues previously unreported in the media that would be revealed to the game's bosses in the dossier.The Broncos have strong cultural benchmarks that take precedence over talent. They would find it hard to justify signing Dugan if the NRL ruled his behavioural breaches were serious.

But Brisbane lack backline strike players and most NRL clubs would be foolish to ignore the 22-year-old's on-field class.NRL chief executive David Smith will have the final say on when Dugan is allowed to return to the NRL after consulting the ARL Commission.Senior NRL official and head of strategy Shane Mattiske said the Raiders' report would form the basis of their ruling."It will depend on the detail in the Raiders' report which I expect will be delivered on Tuesday," Mattiske said."We have placed conditions on the registration of players before."

When Knights centre Joseph "BJ" Leilua was sacked by Sydney Roosters last year, the NRL placed a condition on his registration that effectively suspended him for four games.Six of seven charges laid against Leilua in a Sydney court of sending a naked photo of his ex-girlfriend to her brother and best friend were dismissed. No conviction was recorded and he was placed on a one-year good behaviour bond. The NRL stipulated Leilua attend education sessions.Coach Anthony Griffin showed how crucial culture was to his Broncos last year when he told Dane Gagai he would not play first grade that season and could leave.Gagai reportedly had an attitude problem and made a series of minor breaches of the club's code of conduct.He has since become a lethal centre for Newcastle. 

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