Ex-NRL player Arana Taumata arrested after alleged foot chase in Sydney

Troubled one-time rugby league prodigy Arana Taumata is behind bars on remand after being arrested during an alleged foot chase with police outside a Sydney eastern suburbs pub on Saturday night.

Taumata, 35, was arrested outside the Coogee Pavilion about 10.30pm on Saturday after he was approached by officers because of a number of outstanding warrants.

Police have alleged Taumata ran from officers but was arrested after a short chase.

Police said a 29-year-old officer suffered a laceration to his head during Taumata’s arrest and was taken to hospital in a stable condition.

Taumata was charged with four counts of outstanding domestic violence warrant as well as hindering/resisting a police officer in the execution of their duty.

He was denied bail and appeared before Parramatta Court on Sunday where he was once again refused bail.

Ex-NRL player Arana Taumata is in jail on remand after he was arrested outside a popular Sydney eastern suburbs pub on Saturday night.

He will remain in jail on remand and is due to appear in Gosford Local Court on Tuesday and Waverley Local Court on Wednesday.

A warrant was issued for his arrest in June after Taumata failed to appear at Gosford Local Court and was convicted of seven offences in his absence.

He had pleaded not guilty to fraud, dealing with the proceeds of crime, common assault and intimidation.

When he failed to appear in court, he was convicted in his absence and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Following his arrest on Saturday, he will now reappear in court on those charges later this week.

During a troubled playing career, he played a combined 14 NRL games for Canterbury, North Queensland and Penrith from 2008 to 2012.

He was sacked by the Broncos, Roosters, Bulldogs, Melbourne and in 2013 he was let go by the Panthers because of off-field issues.

Kiwi-born player was NRL’s ‘next big thing’

At one point the New Zealand-born playmaker was considered the NRL’s next big thing, having signed with the Broncos as a 15-year-old.

However, he wasted a litany of opportunities and churned through clubs because of off-field issues.

Taumata has in recent years attempted to reinvent himself as a running influencer on social media.

In June, he made headlines after coming to the aid of a woman who had been allegedly attacked by another person on a running track at Mt Coot-tha in Brisbane.

In a social media post Taumata said he was going for a run when he found a woman lying on the ground “in a daze”.