NZ Warriors youngster Reece Walsh was in possession of cocaine, after his arrest at a Queensland nightclub precinct.
The 19-year-old has been charged with one count of possession of a prohibited substance and will appear in court in October. Walsh will also undertake drug and alcohol counselling.
Fronting an impromptu media conference, alongside club chief executive Cameron George, a visibly upset Walsh owned up to what had happened at the Surfer's Paradise nightclub in the early hours of Sunday morning.
"Last night, I got myself into a bit of trouble," Walsh says. "I was told by some officers to move on and I didn't move on.
"That led to me getting arrested and taken back to the police station. Once we got back to the police station, I got searched and I was in possession of a small bag of cocaine.
"I had some during the night. No-one else is involved in this - this is solely on me.
"I'm putting my hand up, I should never have done it. I just want to say sorry to the sponsors, the fans, the Warriors."
Sitting alongside Walsh and manager Nash Dawson, George assures that the teenager is being supported through the necessary processes.
"Reece now is very focussed on moving through this with his family," George says.
"He's starting drug and alcohol counselling tomorrow. It's been a tough period this morning to get through this.
"He's got our support wrapped around him. This hurts the kid, he's learning, he's been exposed to a very big arena that carries a lot of pressure and responsibility.
"However, none of that is an excuse for Reece, which he established this morning. We don't condone this behaviour either.
"We'll continue to work through this situation with the NRL integrity unit and also our club, around sanctioning and processes."
Walsh was named as the Rugby League Players Association's Rookie of the Year earlier this month and is a frontrunner to take the NRL's Dally M Rookie of the Year title on Monday.
