New Zealand coach Michael Maguire says it would be unfair to condemn Nelson Asofa-Solomona for his part in a Bali street brawl without knowing the full facts.
The Kiwis enforcer is being investigated by the NRL Integrity Unit after footage was released showing him involved in a brawl outside a nightclub while on a Melbourne Storm end-of-season trip.
Asofa-Solomona was expected to play for New Zealand in Tests against Australia and Great Britain in October and November.
Maguire refrained from weighing in on whether the front rower would be cleared to represent his country.
"No doubt we will have conversations but the game will look after that in due time," Maguire said in Parramatta as the Kiwis squad gathered ahead of the Downer World Cup Nines.
"I'm not going to assume anything. I think at the end of the day, you've got to make sure they're thorough in what they go through and I'm sure the Integrity Unit will do that.
"I don't really want to make comment there because unless you actually know what's happened, I don't think it's fair to make comment."
The Wests Tigers mentor confirmed he had watched the video of the alleged fight but reiterated that what sparked the altercation was unclear.
"Obviously, yes, the footage – everyone's seen it. No doubt I'm sure that when everything's calmed down, there [will be] a bit of disappointment there," Maguire said.
"But at the end of the day, you've got to understand the circumstances. I won't be making any more comment around that."
The Storm put out an updated statement on Monday afternoon saying they had met with the front rower and provided an update to the Integrity Unit, but would reserve its position on possible penalties until a full investigation had been completed.
The most pressing matter for Maguire is the World Cup Nines, which will be held at Bankwest Stadium across Friday and Saturday.
With a crop of new players elevated to the New Zealand set-up for the tournament including Dylan Brown, Bailey Simonsson, Jeremy Marshall-King and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Maguire hopes to build the Kiwis' depth in preparation for the 2021 World Cup.
"All these younger guys that have come in, I've picked them because I really believe they're going to play a big part in the Kiwi jersey moving forward," he said.
"I'm trying to grow some levels below the international level – you can probably see what Australia's doing at the moment in the under-23s.
"Creating a space to bring these younger guys through is actually a really important piece for us."
Having won the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines title coaching the Rabbitohs, Maguire is confident New Zealand can go all the way this weekend.
"I won't give away too many secrets but I've looked at what we've done in the previous years, especially the time I was at Souths, so I'll use a bit of that knowledge," he said.
"I'll sit down with the boys tomorrow morning and go through our game-plan … It's open on the playing field but it's also still rugby league, so you've got the same principles."
For ticket and travel packages for the Downer Rugby League World Cup 9s Sydney 2019, head to nrl.com/tickets.
