NRL legend Cooper Cronk has launched a withering attack on Paul Vaughan, saying that he'd blacklist the sacked Dragons star.
Cronk said that while Vaughan was certain to pick up another club, he would struggle to play alongside the repeat offender.
The Dragons sacked Vaughan after an alleged sexting incident, a biosecurity breach where he visited a cafe during level four NRL restrictions, then the already-infamous party he hosted last weekend during the ongoing lockdown; which directly defied orders from the club's senior officials, including coach Anthony Griffin.
"It's inexcusable, there's no doubt. If this continues, there might be some more stories that come out in the next couple of days of what happened," Cronk said on NRL 360.
"Paul Vaughan is gone, obviously. He ran the gauntlet, got caught. And he'll pick up another club but it won't be near the amount of money.
"As a player that's played the game and as a senior player that wants to win a competition, I'd struggle to play with Paul Vaughan because you want to win comps built on character, trust, resilience.
"If he's gone against the law twice, blatantly, you'd struggle to line up next to him in big games.
"There's no doubt that Paul Vaughan is a talented football player, he helps your team win games and things like that. But to win a comp, it's built on character and trust."
Cronk said that he would give other players a pass mark, yet pointed out that Griffin had already made damning calls.
He pointed to the decision to offload gun fullback Matt Dufty, despite him being one of the team's best players. Dufty was reportedly out the front of Vaughan's house when police arrived following a noise complaint, running 5km home to his house.
"I think the 12 other players haven't been trusted for the first time, they didn't sign into a QR code under a different name last time," Cronk said, referring to Vaughan's cafe breach.
"I think the second strike goes heavily against Paul Vaughan but the other guys have some runs on the board. I think Anthony Griffin has actually made decisions around cleaning out that character out of the Dragons.
"The questions about Matt Dufty, one of the best players in our competition but for some reason he's not being given a contract. So Anthony Griffin is making some drastic changes.
"What about the call [to] the other guys and say they [police] are coming – he just took off by himself!"
Vaughan was reportedly offered to the Brisbane Broncos, only for new head of football Ben Ikin to decline.
The former Australian Test and NSW Origin prop was contracted with St George Illawarra for $800,000 next season, making his sacking extremely costly.
Vaughan was already on the nose with the Dragons, according to The Mole, with a club insider saying that his attitude had been disappointing. He pointed out that the 30-year-old had not been part of St George Illawarra's leadership group, despite his considerable experience. An unnamed player also told The Mole that players who had not attended the party were furious with their errant teammates.
Vaughan said that he was desperate to resume his career with another club.
"I would love to continue playing NRL, whether that be the case … I have a burning desire to not only show I can continue on playing but to prove myself and to people that I'm a good person and to repay the faith," he said on NRL 360.
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