Two years ago, the NRL handed then Roosters halfback Mitchell Pearce an eight-match ban and a $125,000 fine when video emerged of him having simulated sex with a poodle-cross following a drunken bender with other players on Australia Day. The NRL says it is impossible to draw comparisons between the Pearce incident and the claim in News Corp publications late last week from an anonymous woman that Souths players exposed themselves in a FaceTime chat without her consent. Loading Others claim this latest incident, which occurred after Souths’ 30-10 win over the Warriors in Auckland in late May, is worse because the player involved sent the naked images while Pearce was clothed and secretly recorded without his consent before the owner of the footage then sold it to media outlets. On Saturday, News Corp published screenshots from the player’s Facebook Messenger account during the video exchanges with the woman, although no player was clearly identified in the explicit images of a naked man exposing his genitalia and another man with his pants down revealing his backside.

Politis refused to comment when contacted on Sunday but rejected the idea of raising the matter with Greenberg or chief operating officer Nick Weeks in a bid to have the Souths player stood down. In a bizarre twist, the woman involved in the sexting scandal has identified herself as a Roosters fan who hails from Sydney’s eastern suburbs. There is no suggestion she is trying to sabotage Souths’ run at the premiership. She is presently holidaying in Johannesburg, South Africa, but investigators hope to interview her via a telephone hook-up in coming days to get her version of events. The NRL, which was first made aware on Thursday of the woman’s allegations, says it is too premature and the facts too blurred to decide if the Souths player should be stood down. Is this harassment? Gross indecency? A honey trap from a scorned admirer? A legal issue or a moral one? It remains murky at best.

It is understood the Souths player has claimed that the explicit photos were consensually shared. In 2013, neither Souths nor the NRL took action when naked selfies of prop George Burgess found their way onto Twitter and porn sites. Options open: Anthony Seibold and the Souths coaching staff gave the player the chance to stand down from their Dragons clash, but he declined. Credit:AAP The Rabbitohs on Friday appointed a five-person panel to review the complaint, which includes NRL investigator Karyn Murphy, who will ensure the club doesn’t drag out the investigation, therefore buying more time for the player should Souths reach the grand final on September 30. What makes the investigation problematic is

that different social media accounts and forums, as well as other players, have been involved and at various times of the evening. Social media accounts and phone records are being sought to unravel exactly what has occurred. While all this is playing out, the Souths player in question has engaged two of the city’s most experienced defamation lawyers to examine every syllable being printed and uttered on the matter. Then there's the truly innocent victim in all this, whose welfare means more than what effect a possible ban could have on a preliminary final in front of 45,000 spectators on Saturday night. The player’s partner has fled the city after news photographers parked themselves outside the couple’s home late last week. As this was happening on Saturday morning, the player in question was weighing up an offer from the Souths coaching staff to rule himself out of the semi-final against the Dragons.