Titans star Jarryd Hayne has broken his silence over a video appearing to show him give a $5000 wad of cash to an alleged Hells Angels bikie.
Hayne yesterday denied being friends with a notorious bikie after being caught on camera appearing to give him $5000 in cash - saying he had been stitched up.
The Gold Coast Titan said he was the victim of a "prank" and denied having any relationship with Chris Bloomfield. The accused Hells Angel standover man's lawyer said he believed the pair were good friends.
Hayne is set to be grilled by the NRL Integrity Unit and ordered to explain the incident.
It comes as NRL sources confirmed Bloomfield's relationship with "prominent" players was already under investigation before the video was leaked to The Daily Telegraph.
Investigators found additional posts of the bikie with players on social media that have since been deleted.
The video shows Bloomfield holding a huge wad of banknotes and saying: "Haynsey just gave me five grand!"
The former NSW Origin star then shrugs and says: "Cash money, fam! Cash money!"
Yesterday Hayne said he had never met Bloomfield before Saturday when he was on a boozy night out with "a group of players and friends" and crossed paths with the bikie.
"As any human would do, I said hello to those I came into contact with and was friendly as normal," he said. "I understand Bloomfield filmed a few short Snapchat videos of me rapping to an Eminem song. At the time, I was not aware of this person's history with the law and alleged bikie affiliations."
Hayne also said that at no point did he hand over any money. "I also want to make it very clear that a comment in the video which suggested I supplied Chris with a large sum of money is not true. This money was not mine," he said.
"This was a prank initiated by Bloomfield and was not intended to be taken seriously. It was also not my voice shouting for a cigarette and I was not involved with any of the offensive comments subsequently added to this video."
Bloomfield's lawyer Adam McGill maintained his client had told him he was close friends with Hayne. "(Bloomfield) just said, 'He's just a mate who I caught up and got on the drink with and then all this stuff come out and he's obviously still trying to come to terms with I guess that his mate is in strife," he said.
Asked what Bloomfield had to say about the $5000, Mr Magill said: "They were just being dickheads. (Bloomfield said), 'All we were doing was mucking around'."
The Daily Telegraph can also confirm Bloomfield was unlicensed while driving and filming selfies of Hayne. He was already set to front court for unlicensed driving when he posted the videos and Queensland Police are investigating.
JARRYD HAYNE'S FULL STATEMENT
"Over the weekend I was out with a group of players and friends for some end of footy season drinks. There were some people there that I knew and some people there I didn't know, including Chris Bloomfield who I met for the first time.
"As any human would do, I said hello to those I came into contact with and was friendly as normal. I understand Bloomfield filmed a few short Snapchat videos of me rapping to an Eminem song. At the time, I was not aware of this person's history with the law and alleged bikie affiliations.
"I also want to make it very clear that a comment in the video which suggested I supplied Chris with a large sum of money is not true. This money was not mine.
"This was a prank initiated by Bloomfield and was not intended to be taken seriously. It was also not my voice shouting for a cigarette and I was not involved with any of the offensive comments subsequently added to this video."
- The Daily Telegraph