The Sydney Roosters and Kiwis rugby league player Shaun Kenny-Dowall has been charged with drug possession after he was allegedly caught with just under half a gram of cocaine at a Sydney nightclub.
Kenny-Dowall failed to make the Kiwis side for tonight's one off test against Australia in Canberra.
He was last year acquitted of domestic violence after he was accused of headbutting, pushing and putting his former girlfriend Jessica Peris in a headlock.
A magistrate found Ms Peris, who is the daughter of former senator Nova Peris, was an unreliable witness.
The 29-year-old always maintained his innocence and said he was a stronger person for having been through the ordeal.
Shaun Kenny-Dowall Photo: Photosport
"You don't know how good you've got it until it's that close to being taken away from you," he said at the time.
After the acquittal, Roosters coach Trent Robinson said Kenny-Dowall was in "a better place" than the previous year and needed his rugby league routine to continue.
"He just wants to play footy and he wants to get back to things the way they were before," Robinson had said.
Keny-Dowall has played 20 tests for New Zealand and over 200 games for the Roosters.
