It involves three current big-name players and, unlike the most recent one linked to Napa and another player, this one is legit. I haven’t seen the video but I do know this: players at one club have seen stills from it and they are already edgy about what happens if it goes viral on social media. Indeed, quite a few players are nervous right now. Says one: “We can’t remember what we did on a night out four or five years ago, let alone if someone shot it on their phones. I’m a different bloke now. I’ve settled down and got married and have kids.” Hard line: NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg this week shut the door on Ben Barba returning to the game. Credit:AAP Greenberg returned early from annual leave last month in the face of the worst off-season for scandal in history, including the Julian O’Neill years.

Loading He talked tough about banning players for life if it’s proven that they have assaulted or sexually abused a woman. Within days, Cowboys fullback Ben Barba was sacked following an altercation with his long-time partner, Ainslie, at the Townsville casino following a drinking session. “It starts now,” Greenberg said. Maybe it should’ve “started” with Barba a long time ago. He also said this about the Bulldogs potentially losing Napa, who hasn’t played for the club since his off-season transfer from the Roosters: “It might be [harsh], but it's not my primary concern. It's a bit like the Cowboys. It's a little harsh on them: they are missing a player [Barba] that's never laced on a boot for them. That's the real difficulty with recruitment and retention for clubs. My message to clubs is when you are buying and selling players, look equally at the values as opposed to the skill-set. They should be assessed in equal priority.” Greenberg’s strong words about Barba are fair enough. He had no choice but to ban Barba for life. But Napa’s indiscretions aren’t in the same postcode.

To suspend him for something he did four or five years ago, when he was 22, from a club he hasn’t yet played for after an off-season transfer from the Roosters, would be grossly unfair. A hefty fine would be appropriate followed by a clear warning to players and clubs that the next bloke to star in their own amateur porn video that finds its way into the public domain can expect to be sidelined indefinitely. Instead, head office will make an example of Napa because it can. Greenberg will do so to back up his tough talk from a few weeks ago. This is where the NRL lets itself down. Fans are growing angry, if not weary, about the image of their game being constantly trashed. But they also believe in fairness. They know grandstanding when they see it.

Suspending Napa and wounding the Bulldogs’ season before it even starts for foolish behaviour from four to five years ago is simply not fair. Neither was Greenberg’s left jab about the Dogs not doing sufficient due diligence before they signed Napa. Sure, it has been widely known that Napa is a loose cannon off the field. He was the man of the match in post-grand final celebrations, as evidenced by the sight of him on Oxford Street still wearing his playing gear from the night before. No return: Ben Barba's alleged assault on his partner was just the latest chapter in the NRL's off-season of woe. Credit:AAP The Roosters were also concerned at the start of last season about his lack of discipline. Napa didn’t want to leave the club but was told quite clearly he would be playing NSW Cup if he didn’t take the offer on the table at Belmore. He was considered a liability.

But how were the Bulldogs to know that videos like the ones featuring Napa would leak out as they did? They are football clubs, not MI5. Because the integrity unit’s verdict on Napa won’t drop for another fortnight, the Bulldogs are saying very little on the matter even if it’s becoming clearer by the day that their man is about be scapegoated. Chief executive Andrew Hill did tell me this: “The club, our sponsors and our members would find it very hard to accept if we were penalised for an incident involving Dylan when he played at another club and up to five years ago. To make comparisons with other incidents is wrong. They should be considered on a case-by-case basis.” There’s also a belief from several clubs, not just from the Bulldogs, that Souths are getting a dream run through this delicate time. They struggle to see the difference between the nude FaceTime chat involving Sam Burgess and a woman that made front-page news during last year’s finals series and the “Big Papi” tapes involving Napa.

Rival clubs also continue to moan about Greenberg providing a reference for Greg Inglis for his appearance in court on drink-driving charges last month. Fisticuffs: Paul Gallen and John Hopoate had to be separated as tensions bubbled over at Thursday's weigh-in. Credit:Janie Barrett DEARTH OF INTEREST Are you forking out $49.95 to watch the fight between Paul Gallen and John Hopoate on Main Event? No, me neither.

Despite the war of words and angry social media posts, subscriptions for the bout between the veteran Sharks captain and the retired Manly winger/proctologist are said to be slow. It needs at least 4000 for all concerned to break even. There’s a belief that any interest in boxing is good for boxing but that’s not so. If Australian boxing is relying on footballers past and present to keep it humming along, it is in serious trouble. HAYNE PLANE STILL FLYING SPOTTED: Jarryd Hayne at the Super Bowl in Atlanta. Well, someone wearing his San Francisco 49ers “No. 38” jersey. This column spotted the Hayne Plane’s jumper at the tailgate party outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium before the match between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams.

Obviously, Thomas Kolkman, 25, from Ontario, Canada, hadn’t received the memo about Hayne’s troubles since leaving the 49ers. Hayne has been charged with the aggravated sexual assault of a 26-year-old woman on grand final day last year. He has pleaded not guilty and will next appear in court on February 13. “I’ll have to get another jersey,” he said, genuinely shocked. Kolkman didn’t have a ticket to the game, which meant he’d come all the way from Canada to stand on a hill drinking cans out of an esky for a match that didn’t involve the team he supports. For mine, the real star of the Super Bowl was Mercedes-Benz Stadium; a 71,000-seat pleasure dome with a mesmerising halo-style big screen hanging from the roof. I’ll have one of those for Christmas thanks.

Bowled over: Snoop Dogg paid tribute to Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman at the Patriots' after-party. Credit:Invision Like Sydney’s so-called stadium war, the construction of Atlanta’s AUS$2.1 billion stadium in 2017 still draws criticism from some locals. “The money could have been better spent on schools,” said one Georgia Tech lecturer I started chatting to at Starbucks. “But I’m biased.” It is estimated the Super Bowl generated about AUS$490 million each for previous host cities Minneapolis and Houston. THE QUOTE: “Yeah, the champs are here! Shoutout to motherf..ker Julian Edelman the MVP! That’s my dog right there. I’ve been wearing your jersey all week. Seven days this week, man.” — Rapper Snoop Dogg, of Los Angeles, was quite excited at the Patriots’ post-match Super Bowl party, at which he performed.

THUMBS UP Granted, Urunga’s C-grade team would've beaten Sri Lanka in the two-Test series against Australia but a raised shandy to fast bowler Pat Cummins, who took his maiden 10-wicket haul in the first Test victory, and Mitchell Starc, who took the second of his career in the second Test in the face of much criticism. THUMBS DOWN The appalling behaviour of the country’s biggest trainer, Darren Weir, hurts the entire racing industry. So, does the decision from Racing Victoria to sit on information about his misconduct since August. Pouncing on Weir earlier might’ve hurt their spring carnival — but the stench of not doing it sooner lingers. IT'S A BIG WEEKEND FOR...