Oct 14th, 2019

Oct 14th, 2019

Melbourne Storm star Nelson Asofa-Solomona faces questioning by the NRL integrity unit and his club after allegedly throwing a volley of brutal punches in a Bali street fight - but coach Craig Bellamy has vouched for his character.

The Storm mentor told The Daily Telegraph on Monday that Asofa-Solomona would not have gone looking for trouble while on a team post-season trip.

"Nelson is not the sort of bloke to provoke anything," Bellamy said. "But if a teammate's in a bit of strife he'll go in and stick up for him.

"I know him well and he'll only get aggressive if someone is being picked on."

Asofa-Solomona, a New Zealand Test prop and a star for the Storm, arrived back in Melbourne on Monday to face the music. He told Seven: "My side of the story will be told soon."

Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy and (inset) a still image of Nelson Asofa-Solomona's Bali street brawl. (Getty)

Asofa-Solomona, who stands 200cm tall and weighs 115kg, was seen in a viral video outside the popular La Favela nightclub in Seminyak, allegedly throwing haymakers amid a huge brawl.

However, Nine News correspondent Renae Henry has spoken with the nightclub owner, Gonzalo Assiego, who revealed that the trouble began inside the club when one of Asofa-Solomona's teammates was attacked by another patron.

The teammate, identified by Nine's Danny Weidler as winger Suliasi Vunivalu, suffered a cut under his eye after being punched in the face; an unprovoked 'king hit'. Assiego released CCTV footage exclusively to Nine News, showing the initial assault.

A still image from CCTV footage inside La Favela nightclub in Bali, as a Storm player was attacked. (Nine)

Assiego said that once the matter went outside, Vunivalu's attacker and a group of friends - including one armed with a bottle - approached the Storm players. That was when Asofa-Solomona allegedly reacted violently and was captured in the viral footage.

"It's so bad, because (the public) don't see the reality of what happened before," Assiego told Henry for Nine News.

"His reaction was aggressive for sure, but we don't know what happened ... and I explained what happened before. I feel sorry for him."

Melbourne Storm player caught in Bali altercation

Bellamy told the Telegraph on Monday: "It's disappointing but as far as we know Suli (Vunivalu) copped the king hit and Nelson has reacted. That's all we know until we actually talk to him this afternoon."

Yet a Storm official earlier suggested to Telegraph that Asofa-Solomona would receive limited sympathy for his alleged role in the brawl, regardless of whether he was defending a teammate.

"No matter what the circumstances are, we don't accept this sort of behaviour," the unnamed official said.

In a statement released on Sunday night, Melbourne Storm announced they had reported the matter to the NRL Integrity Unit.

Nelson Asofa-Solomona (L). (Getty)

"Melbourne Storm has reported an incident involving a member of our NRL squad currently on holidays in Bali to the NRL's Integrity Unit," a club statement read.

"Storm has launched a full investigation into what has occurred.

"Storm takes these type of incidents very seriously and will not be making any further public comment at this time."

A number of Storm players were in Bali on an end-of-season trip, including Josh Addo-Carr, Cameron Munster, Felise Kaufusi, Brandon Smith and Tui Kamikamica.

Asofa-Solomona was set to play post-season Test matches for New Zealand against Australia and Great Britain, but now faces the prospect of being stood down.