The NRL is investigating a possible biosecurity breach involving NZ Warriors advisor Brett Finch after their loss to the Penrith Panthers on Friday night.
Finch, who played over 250 NRL games between 1999-2013, was brought into the Warriors' bubble by Payten earlier this month in an advisory role to help with player welfare as the team has been based in Australia since early May.
The 38-year-old was in the Warriors' coaching box alongside Payten during the loss to Penrith.
But Finch has been asked to isolate from the Warriors bubble indefinitely after he appeared on a YouTube podcast with YKTRSports.
Images of Finch showed him kissing one of the YKTR panellists on the cheek and another with an unlit cigarette in his mouth.
Finch was in the Warriors' coaching box alongside Payten during the loss to Penrith.
"[Finch] has been isolated from the Warriors group until we get advice from our biosecurity experts," an NRL spokesman said.
Under NRL rules players and staff must stay in their club's bubble, and can only leave in the case of emergency.
Finch's incident is the latest of many in the last fortnight with players and coaches caught breaching the NRL's biosecurity protocols.
Last week South Sydney Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett and St George Illawarra Dragons prop Paul Vaughan were fined and ordered to self-isolate for 14 days after dining at restaurants which are against the current guidelines.
Broncos forward Tevita Pangai Junior was this week fined $30,000 and suspended indefinitely for attending a barbershop launch in Brisbane.
Earlier this season, Kiwis captain Benji Marshall was forced to quarantine for two days after he kissed a reporter on the cheek.
Canterbury Bulldogs forward Aiden Tolman was also stood down for two weeks, because a teacher at his child's school tested positive for the virus, while Newcastle Knights star Bradman Best missed a week, after visiting his parents.
Payten said after the loss to Penrith that Finch has been a welcomed addition to the team.
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