Queensland greats call for Ben Te'o to be stood down from Origin MAROONS great Steve Renouf has urged Ben Te'o to "tell the truth" as former stars last night called on Queensland hierarchy to stand down the Souths forward for Origin I. The NRL's integrity unit has begun a probe into allegations Te'o assaulted Brisbane woman Katie Lewis, although the case is unlikely to be settled before Queensland's team is named on Monday night. That leaves the Queensland Rugby League facing the risk of selecting a player who may yet be charged with bringing the game into disrepute if the allegations are upheld by the NRL's investigative team. Lewis alleges she was left lying in a pool of blood with a broken eye socket after being punched by the Maroons utility at the home of Brisbane fullback Corey Norman last month. While Te'o released a statement on Tuesday refuting "any suggestion" that he acted "improperly," he did not specifically answer whether he punched the 22-year-old female. Cops involved again Broncos and Maroons great Steve Renouf. Picture: Annette Dew Renouf says the Te'o saga is a distraction the Maroons can do without in their Origin build-up and has challenged the Rabbitohs backrower to publicly detail whether he attacked Lewis. "Apparently there were a couple of other lads there (Norman and Darius Boyd), but if there is enough evidence to say he has done something physically to this woman, then Queensland must look at standing Ben Te'o down," said Renouf, who played 11 Origin matches between 1991-98. That's not saying he is guilty. But if he is innocent, why doesn't he come out and say, 'I didn't hit her.' Sometimes I wonder what advice these guys are given. If I was in his situation and I had nothing to hide, I wouldn't care what the club or my minders were telling me, I would come out and set the record straight. I'm totally against violence towards women. It doesn't matter if you are a league star or not, the QRL has to look at this and to be honest, Ben Te'o should come forward and tell the truth. No one knows the full story. At the moment, there is a question mark over Ben. If he didn't do it, he should come out and say so. Maroons coach Mal Meninga told The Courier-Mail yesterday Te'o is "innocent until proven guilty." Meninga pledged to hold talks with Te'o, but former Maroons prop Greg Dowling says the 26-year-old cannot take part in the game's showpiece event. "Queensland have to stand him down," Dowling said. You can't pick him. If there are allegations like this, the league has to stand him down. Rabbitohs forward Ben Te'o in action. I rate Ben Te'o highly as a player, but it's not a good look for the club or the game. Former Queensland skipper Gorden Tallis believes Te'o should not be blacklisted while the NRL investigation continues. He should play Origin. In our country you are innocent until proven guilty," Tallis said. Until the matter is resolved why shouldn't you pick him? If he is guilty then he faces the charges, but he shouldn't be tried by media. He should face the same justice system as everybody else. Renouf said Te'o's participation could take the gloss off the Origin series. It is the showpiece but footy aside, it's violence against women and that is the big issue there. He has been implicated and it needs to be sorted out," he said. This takes the shine off Origin and it's probably something Queensland don't need to worry about, but hopefully it gets sorted soon and we can move on.