The former National Rugby League player Ryan Tandy, who was found guilty of fixing a match in 2010, has been found dead from an apparent drug overdose.
The 32-year-old former Canterbury prop was found at his parents' home in Saratoga in the New South Wales Central Coast region.
Australian-born Tandy, who represented Ireland at the 2008 rugby league World Cup, was banned for life by the NRL and convicted by a Sydney court of trying to obtain financial advantage by fixing a match against North Queensland.
A problem gambler, he gave away a penalty in front of the posts in the opening minutes which was subsequently linked to a betting plunge on the first points scored in the match.
A former Melbourne Storm teammate Steve Turner described Tandy as the "life of the party".
He'd been due in court next month after for allegedly kidnapping a man on the Central Coast over a drug debt.
