Kirisome Auva'a handed indefinite ban by NRL, South Sydney after pleading guilty to domestic assault After a first grade debut and a premiership, Rabbitohs emerging star Kirisome Auva'a has been suspended from the NRL for at least nine months after pleading guilt to assaulting his ex-girlfriend. Kirisome Auva'a will not feature on the Rabbitohs US tour to Arizona Pic Brett Costello Source: News Corp Australia SOUTH Sydney centre Kirisome Auva'a has been rubbed out of the NRL for a minimum of nine months, with the Rabbitohs centre slapped with an indefinite ban. The NRL and South Sydney have been locked in crisis talks for the past 48 hours, with Auva'a to be rubbed out until at least round 23 next season after pleading guilty to reckless damage and criminal damage against his ex-girlfriend. The ban will mean the South Sydney grand final centre is suspended from the World Club Challenge, the Auckland Nines and the Rabbitohs pre-season camp to Arizona in the US departing Saturday. South Sydney have been informed Auva'a will be suspended for a minimum of nine months and only allowed to return after completing a series of educational courses. Pic: Andrew Henshaw Source: News Corp Australia "The NRL has now made its determinations on this issue and, as a club, we support the stance it has taken in this case," Rabbitohs CEO Shane Richardson said. We will work closely with Kirisome on his rehabilitation, as we have since the incident occurred back in January. The courses will be about violence against women and anger management. Auva'a, 22, pleaded guilty to an assault on his ex-girlfriend on May 28 before reappearing in court last Friday, where he was hit with a two-year good behaviour bond and a $3000 fine. The Daily Telegraph's Phil Rothfield discusses Kirisome Auva'a's suspension from the NRL. The NRL has come under heavy fire for allowing Auva'a to play the rest of this year's NRL season, including starring in the grand final, despite being made aware of his guilty plea in May. Since Auva'a escaped having a conviction recorded in a Melbourne court last Friday, the Rabbitohs have been lobbying the NRL Integrity Unit about the centre's case. The Rabbitohs had intended to send Auva'a on a pre-season trip to the United States tomorrow but the NRL has put an end to it. Auva'a pleaded guilty to assault, reckless damage and criminal damage, which included throwing his ex-girlfriend into the wall of a garage. Richardson said the Rabbitohs took "a very serious view" on domestic violence. The Rabbitohs celebrate a Kirisome Auva'a try in their grand final win over the Bulldogs. Pic: Gregg Porteous Source: News Corp Australia "Kirisome has now received punishments from three different bodies and we will continue our duties to ensure he is educated and supported so as to never commit an offence like this again," Richardson said. Kirisome is well aware that what happened in January was wrong, and he has shown contrition and a willingness to try and right his wrongs since day one on this matter. We are confident that this will be the only incident in which we see him involved. An NRL statement released at 6.20pm said: "The NRL said today that South Sydney centre Kirisome Auva'a has been suspended from the game indefinitely. Any application to return to the game will not be considered until he has demonstrated behavioural change designed to prevent the recurrence of violent behaviour toward women. Auva'a will be required to complete a secondary prevention counselling program adapted to his particular needs and covering issues including violence against women, alcohol abuse and anger management. The NRL will not consider an application from Auva'a to have his suspension lifted for at least nine months. His suitability to return to the game will be determined by an NRL panel which will rigorously review his progress. The suspension means Auva'a will miss the World Club Series, the Auckland Nines and at least 22 rounds of the 2015 Telstra Premiership. The penalty follows an incident in January which resulted in Auva'a pleading guilty to charges of recklessly causing injury. Kirisome Auva'a had a breakout season for the Rabbitohs in 2014. Pic: Brett Costello Source: News Corp Australia CEO Dave Smith said any type of violence against women was simply wrong. He said that if Auva'a re-offended he would be banned from the game permanently. "Let me make it clear... we abhor violence against women and it will not be tolerated in our game," Mr Smith said. Everyone needs to understand that if you are violent against women there is no place for you in Rugby League. We recognise that we also have a duty to help with rehabilitation where incidents occur and that is why it will be a condition of his return that Kirisome completes appropriate prevention treatment. Mr Smith said the NRL and South Sydney had followed due process in dealing with the case. This meant waiting for the case to be concluded in the courts when all the evidence and submissions could be considered. Those submissions included mitigating factors tendered in the legal proceedings which were taken into account when determining the penalty. Kirisome Auva'a will not play for the Rabbitohs until the dying stages of 2015. Mr Smith said the NRL began discussions with Souths on an appropriate sanction as soon as the matter was settled in the courts. "The NRL puts millions of dollars into welfare programs, which include domestic violence, because there is no more important issue," he said. So when incidents like this occur we have a dual role - to impose strong penalties and provide the necessary assistance to stop it happening again. And that is what we have done in this case.