Former NRL Player Blake Ferguson Arrested in Tokyo for Assault and Possessing Cocaine

The professional man-child’s luck has finally run out, and this time, it has serious consequences.

Australian Rugby League player Blake Ferguson was arrested in Tokyo on December 30, 2021, and charged with Assault and Possessing Cocaine, according to The Japan Times.

Ferguson is in Japan to commence a playing stint with the NEC Green Hornets Tonkatsu under former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, and was looking to reignite his career by changing codes to play Rugby Union, after being cut by Sydney’s Parramatta Eels in the NRL. This appears unlikely now, as Japan has some of the strictest recreational drug penalties in the world, enforcing a zero-tolerance policy that includes jail time for minor offenses.

Highs and constant lows

Having won a premiership, and represented his state and country, Ferguson was once rated as one of the best wingers in the world. However, a constant stream of self-inflicted off-field issues have dogged his career. First signed by Cronulla as a teenager in 2009, Ferguson moved to the Canberra Raiders where in late 2012 he was escorted by security from a music festival for spitting on patrons. No charges were laid but he was fined by the NRL and ordered into counseling by the club.

In March 2013, Ferguson ditched a compulsory recovery session to sit on the roof of his house, with his teammate Josh Dugan, and drink alcohol. The pair took pictures of themselves on the roof and posted them on social media. Dugan was sacked immediately by the club while Ferguson was retained and ordered into counseling, as there had been a string of previous alcohol-related incidents involving the pair.

Fast forward to June 2013, and Ferguson was arrested and charged with indecently assaulting a woman in a Cronulla nightclub in Sydney. Ferguson and Dugan had both been chosen to represent New South Wales in the upcoming State of Origin Series and had gone out together to celebrate with the rest of the team. While reports of exactly what happened on the night are conflicting, Ferguson was immediately stood down from the NSW side, and ultimately was cut by the Canberra Raiders in September. In December 2013, Ferguson was found guilty of the indecent assault charge and placed on a two-year good behavior bond (reduced to one year on appeal), and suspended from playing in the NRL for two years. During his time away from the game, Ferguson converted to Islam and swore off alcohol.

Ferguson returned to the NRL after being signed by the Sydney Roosters and quickly established himself as one of the form wingers of the competition in 2016, and was selected to play in the NSW team in 2017, again with his mate Josh Dugan. NSW was beaten by the Queensland team in the third game, after which news emerged that Ferguson and Dugan had prepared for the game by breaking team rules, leaving camp, and having an 8-hour drinking binge at a local hotel 3 days out from the game. While not exactly the most serious of offenses, as a couple of repeat offenders being paid $30,000 AUD per State of Origin match played, many people in NSW called for their heads.

They don’t muck around in Japan

Fast forward to 2022 and Ferguson is potentially facing jail time in a foreign country. The last professional rugby player to be charged with a similar offense spent 23 days in jail awaiting trial.

In March 2020, New Zealand international Joel Everson who was playing for the Hino Red Dolphins in the Top League in Tokyo, was stopped by police in the street a day after a game and taken to the local station for a drug test, where he tested positive for cocaine. The Top League immediately suspended the entire competition and conducted a thorough investigation of all clubs and players. Everson was eventually found guilty and ordered to leave Japan immediately.

In 2019, another Kiwi Steven Yates who played for Toyota Motor Co’s Verblitz Team in the Top League, was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for three years, by a Nagoya court, after being found with 5.7 grams of cocaine and 0.7 gram of marijuana at his home on June 27. Prosecutors had demanded 30 months behind bars.

Throw in the assault charge, and going by these recent events, it’s not looking good for Ferguson.

Game Over

Ferguson’s playing career in Japan is now over, and depending on how the new “Rugby League One” administration reacts to his situation, there could be massive impacts on the competition and players, in particular their international squad members. Playing professional rugby in Japan is seen as a privilege by many players, who go there to accept the excellent wages and experience a different culture while playing a lesser standard of rugby that is found in the major competitions in Europe, South Africa, or the Pacific region.

For Ferguson personally, he’s also in a new place. There will be no one there from his club to sweep this under the carpet, no manager to keep the press quiet, or friendly coppers to sneak him out a back door like there is in Sydney.

Josh Dugan won’t be waiting for him on the roof.

I would suggest that for the first time in a long time, his “player privilege card” has been revoked and this man-child is now going to have to face the full consequences of his actions.

He is in a country that collectively celebrates celebrity and foreigners, but at the same time, it is a culture that will destroy any “gaijin” for the most minor of transgressions, let alone a gaijin bringing public shame to their employers on a national stage via assault and drug charges. And while the drinking culture in Japan is a major issue (and is possibly something that Ferguson should have flagged as a potential problem), the zero-tolerance approach to recreational drug use means that he is on the wrong side of society, in a big way.

He’s damaged his reputation, but also that of his new club, and his new country. You can read the pain in the official response from NEC (above) — they’re apologizing and are embarrassed by HIS actions.

It’s not their fault they bought damaged goods.

Author’s Note: I have spent a lifetime playing and watching both codes of Rugby, and as my wife is Japanese I have a keen interest in Japanese Sport. Feel free to leave a comment or engage on any of the topics mentioned here — while I may seem to be harsh on the player involved, my thoughts are genuine. DC.