Wife of Raiders star faces possible ban after allegedly sparking brawl from the crowd

It is understood Raiders prop Josh Papali'i's wife, Sepa, is the spectator who allegedly confronted a player on the sideline of a Katrina Fanning Shield game, sparking a brawl between teams before the game was abandoned two weeks ago.

She has been issued with a show-cause notice and has until Friday to either accept the punishment imposed by the Canberra Region Rugby League or appeal the decision.

CRRL officials say they cannot comment until the appeal process is complete, but there has been suggestion Sepa is facing a ban of up to 10 years for her role in the incident as rugby league competitions clamp down on crowd behaviour.

The Raiders have declined to comment given it is a matter for CRRL officials.

A CRRL panel considered the incident in the West Belconnen Warriors v Bungendore Kangaroos game under the NRL and NSW Rugby League code of conduct. Any ban could also extend to NRL matches.

The NRL code of conduct says spectators who breach the rules could be "banned, prohibited, or disqualified from purchasing tickets for, or attending any event or other function played, promoted, or conducted under the auspices of the NRL, the Australian Rugby League Commission or any club or state".

It's unclear if that element will be enforced, but the spectator will likely be banned from any matches operated under the CRRL banner. Crystal Papali'i - who played for the Raiders' NRLW side earlier this month and is the younger sister of Josh - was playing for West Belconnen in the game. She is believed to be facing potentially a lengthy suspension as well.

The Warriors were leading 48-0 before the game was abandoned at Raiders Belconnen on July 14.

Footage of the match streamed on BarTV shows a brawl breaking out between the two sides and a member of the crowd, but the circumstances leading up to the incident are unclear.

The game footage was removed from all BarTV platforms and the result of the game was not mentioned in the Canberra Raiders Cup and Katrina Fanning Shield reviews on the competition's website.

But footage of the incidents has been circulating on social media. In the snippets that are available, it can be seen that on-field tensions simmered during the game and a penalty to Bungendore in the 46^th minute was the flashpoint for a major incident.

In the aftermath of the ruck-infringement penalty, a melee erupted between players from both teams and led to a Warriors player and a Kangaroos player to be sent to the sin bin.

The referee ordered the opposing captains to shake hands and restart the game in a bid to put an end to the drama. But as the sin-binned players were leaving the field, it is alleged Sepa - a spectator - confronted a Kangaroos player on the sideline and then the scuffle spilled onto the field of play.

A ground official can be heard yelling "go back up there right now" as he attempted to usher the spectator off the field.

After the pair were separated, the female spectator walked back toward the sidelines as another Kangaroos player approached.

A Warriors player then burst back onto the field from the sideline and appeared to attack a different Kangaroos player, sparking more people to rush in to intervene.

That Warriors player was thrown to the ground, while the female spectator from earlier was involved in another scuffle on the sideline.

The referee can be heard saying: "Crystal, come here." The match was abandoned not long after and the CRRL is yet to determine how it will officially be recorded in terms of ladder points.

The CRRL has taken a hard stance on crowd behaviour in the past, with a spectator at a Canberra Raiders Cup game at Yass given a five-and-a-half-year ban for homophobic abuse of a referee in 2022.

The incident comes with Josh Papali'i poised to become the third Raider to reach 300 games for the club in the coming weeks.

The 32-year-old prop is set to play his 299^th game when the Raiders host South Sydney at Canberra Stadium on Sunday night.

Papali'i could reach his 300^th game against the Canterbury Bulldogs at Belmore in round 22, unless he is rested and allowed to bring up the milestone at Canberra Stadium the following week.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart rested Jarrod Croker during an away game last year, allowing him to play his 300^th game in front of a bumper crowd at Canberra Stadium.

Canberra officials say Stuart could wait until full-time of a clash with South Sydney this weekend to make a call on Papali'i as he edges towards his milestone game.