The NRL has been plunged into a cocaine scandal during its representative round, with a club chairman and three players involved in three separate incidents.

Cronulla chairman Damian Keogh has stood down after his arrest on Friday night for alleged drug possession, while Kiwi captain Jesse Bromwich and teammate Kevin Proctor were also reportedly spotted consuming the substance in Canberra after their Test loss to Australia.

The incident involving Bromwich and Proctor has been reported to the NRL Integrity Unit by the New Zealand Rugby League.

They come after Sydney Roosters centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall was also charged over drug possession in Sydney on Thursday night, also believed to have involved cocaine.

Keogh was arrested in Bourke Street, Woolloomooloo on Friday night.

A small resealable bag containing a quantity of white powder believed to be cocaine was allegedly found during the search.

He is due to face Downing Centre Local Court on June 30, and was in distressed state on Saturday morning, according to Cronulla chief executive Lyall Gorman.

“He expressed great remorse to me that he had let me down personally,” Gorman told reporters.

“He’s very distressed and disappointed about potential outcomes on the game and the club.”

Gorman was also forced to defend allegations of a drug problem at the club after superstar fullback Ben Barba also departed at the end of last season after testing positive for a second time to cocaine.

“I don’t believe it is endemic at all,” Gorman said.

“If something like these allegations or other behavioural issues are endemic, you don’t achieve what our club has achieved over the past two-and-a-half years on and off the field.”

Meanwhile Bromwich and Proctor’s names were reportedly mentioned in a court case in Canberra on Saturday morning, according to the ABC.

Police allege that CCTV footage shows a man preparing a white powder on his phone, before handing it to a pair of men who consumed it outside a Canberra night spot.

No charges have been laid against either player.

The NRL are yet to comment on the New Zealand matter, but chief executive Todd Greenberg said on Saturday they were waiting on further information from the Sharks on Keogh.

“We are aware of an incident which involves the Sharks chairman,” NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg said.

“We are awaiting further details from the Sharks about what has occurred.”

Keogh, a former Australian basketball star who made three Olympic Games teams, took over at the Sharks during the supplements scandal in 2013.

He was voted onto the board after the infamous ASADA press conference and helped rebuild the struggling club from wooden spooners to premiership winners last season.