Bad boy Taumata loses last chance at NRL

The Storm showed they wouldn’t tolerate any disruption from NRL bad boy Arana Taumata, sacking the new recruit after only being on board with the Storm for several weeks.

For Taumata, it seems certainly the end of the road. Sacked by 4 NRL clubs, the young player shows so much promise on the Rugby League field but can’t keep a lid on things away from the game.

An extremely promising pivot, Taumata was involved in a fight while out socialising on Saturday night.

The Storm confirmed the events are still being investigated by Police, but they wasted no time in showing Taumata the door.

Also out at the same gathering were Storm players Will Chambers and Dane Nielsen both receiving hefty fines and warnings from the Melbourne club. However it seems that new boy Taumata was the instigator, leaving the club with no option but to walk him.

Only 20 years old, Taumata was sent packing by the Broncos in 2006, then bounced from the Roosters in 2007 for further misbehaviour and finally the Bulldogs sacking him in 2008 after he apparently broke another mans jaw in an off-field incident.

When Melbourne gambled on the talented youngster, they made it clear – no warnings, one mess up and you’re gone.

“Arana’s come to the club with the understanding that he’s had one opportunity and unfortunately he has transgressed and left us with no choice,” Storm boss Brian Waldron said.

“We’re disappointed for a number of reasons, certainly from an image of the club point of view but Arana and the boys have let us and themselves down.

“Arana’s got some issues to deal with personally, we’ve tried to help him through those but he understands that when you make choices there are consequences.”

With officials and players from the Storm working so hard to keep a cleanskin image, the club was naturally frustrated at this outburst and bad publicity from their new recruit.

“I’ll be damned if we’re going to let individuals destroy what we’ve done here and that’s why we’ve been so strong with this issue and we will protect the image of the game and the Storm to the detriment of individuals if need be.”

Prior to this incident, word from the Storm was that new buy Taumata was settling in well. Showing enough promise to suggest he could take on the pivot role and allow Greg Inglis to run riot on the fringes once again.