Jack Wighton and Latrell Mitchell have issued a joint statement in the wake of their Sunday morning wrestle which resulted in charges being laid by police.
The close friends were celebrating the Raiders gun’s 30th birthday before Mitchell was arrested outside a Canberra nightclub and charged with resisting arrest.
The pair will front the ACT Magistrates Court on February 22 and have apologised for their actions which garnered headlines across the country.
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Maori All Stars get shaken up | 00:30
“For legal reasons we cannot comment on the charges that are before the Court at the moment,” the pair said in a statement.
“However we wanted to express remorse for putting ourselves in the position to embarrass our Clubs and the NRL over the weekend.
“We were there to celebrate Jack’s 30th with family and friends. While everyone enjoyed a great night, we understand that our wrestle, as harmless as we believed it to be, was a poor decision and may have looked bad.
“We are sorry for this, and know that we need to be better when in public.
“We remain great friends, and are looking forward to proudly representing our community at All Stars this weekend.”
Both players are set to feature in the upcoming All Stars match and are two of the highest profile members of the Indigenous squad.
Wighton and Mitchell were spotted together on Monday morning, preparing to board a plane to New Zealand from Sydney Airport.
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There was clearly no bad blood between the close mates, and The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield revealed there is a friendly rivalry between the pair that often sees the duo wrestle to prove who is stronger.
“To give you an idea of how close their relationship is, Latrell was concerned about going on the Kangaroo tour, the World Cup tour of England, he does get homesick, he loves his farm at Taree,” Rothfield said on the Big Sports Breakfast.
“It was only that Jack Wighton was going and he basically had one of his brothers you could say in the side that convinced him to go to England.
“Matt Rose explained it to me yesterday, there’s a little bit of rivalry between them, they both think they are stronger than each other.
“Whenever they get together and have a few beers they will have a wrestle to prove it, this time they’ve had too much to drink, it got a little bit out of hand.”
Indigenous All Stars coach Ronnie Griffiths also explained how the duo were welcomed into the team camp ahead of Saturday’s clash against the Maori All Stars.
“They’re both good, they walked in last night together, and the love they felt in the room was exactly what they needed to fill their cup up again,” Indigenous All Stars coach Ronnie Griffiths told the SMH.
Latrell Mitchell & Jack Wighton arrested | 00:45
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“One of our elders, Edward Monaei, who is from the Torres Strait, when the two boys came in and all the staff were there, he stood up in front of everyone and said, ‘Our circle is now complete’.
“[Latrell’s] all good, he saw the Souths doctor on Sunday. All the players needed to have a medical before they came into camp.
“Both boys are on this trip to build up the other boys culturally and spiritually, but the end goal is they are also over there to play.
“I know there would be no prouder moment for Latrell and his brother Shaquai to play over there together.
“Latrell is a world-class player. Everyone is looking forward to going over to New Zealand to develop the game, and he’s certainly a drawcard.”
