Souths back NRL star over assault claim

South Sydney won't stand down back-rower Ben Te'o despite allegations he assaulted a woman in Brisbane last month.

The woman made an initial approach to police, who attended the scene of the alleged assault, but those allegations have since been withdrawn.

Te'o strongly rejected the assault allegations, claiming he did not act improperly and made it clear that he'd not been contacted by police or had charges laid against him.

"This matter is no longer under investigation," a police spokesman confirmed to AAP on Wednesday.

The woman will air her side of the story on the Nine Network on Wednesday night.

The alleged assault is believed to have taken place in the home of a Brisbane NRL player on April 20, the night after the Australia-New Zealand Test played in Canberra.

The Brisbane player and another NRL footballer are expected to be named in the TV report, but it is believed they were not directly involved in the incident.

South Sydney chief executive Shane Richardson said he was made aware of the incident on the following Monday after it occurred, more than a month ago.

But the information only filtered through to NRL CEO David Smith late on Tuesday evening.

Smith was grilled over the timeline of events, but refused to answer whether he was satisfied with South Sydney's actions in keeping the league informed of all developments.

It is an ugly scenario for the NRL to deal with in the days following their Women in League round, which celebrates the contributions of women at all levels the game.

Te'o has been named to start in the second-row in the Rabbitohs' next fixture, against Cronulla on Monday night.

"Us not standing him down has got nothing to do with us winning the game against Cronulla on Monday night," Richardson said.

"It's got everything to do with the process involved.

"... We asked him if he wanted to stand down and he said no."

Te'o released a statement on Wednesday maintaining his innocence.

"I have not been informed of the exact nature of the news story, however I am able to refute entirely any suggestion that I acted improperly," the Queensland State of Origin forward said.

"I found myself in unfortunate circumstances that were not caused by me and I acted appropriately to deal with a difficult situation.

"I have not pressed charges against the female and to the best of my knowledge no charges have been laid against me."

Richardson revealed Te'o had called the police from the phone of a former teammate to report the incident.

Te'o was stood down from South Sydney's pre-season trial match with Newcastle after breaking team protocol, but otherwise Richardson said he'd not put a foot wrong since joining the club in the off-season.

An independent investigator has been enlisted to assist the NRL's integrity unit, who will investigate the matter.

Smith said that process had begun on Wednesday morning, and he was not prepared to put a time frame on when it might be completed.

"These allegations are always serious matters," Smith said.

"As part of our integrity approach we clearly want to be confident of our own facts, make sure we've thoroughly and independently investigated the facts and that we're comfortable with the outcome."