North Queensland Cowboys player Alex Elisala has died in Mackay Base Hospital on Monday evening, the NRL club confirmed in a statement.
Earlier on Monday, the Cowboys revealed the 20-year-old Samoan representative was on life support in hospital.
Elisala was promoted to the Cowboy's NRL senior squad for the 2013 season after amassing 69 appearances in the Toyota Cup competition since debuting in 2010.
The New Zealand-born player recently earned his first cap for Samoa in their 36-4 defeat to Tonga in Penrith almost two weeks ago.
Cowboys CEO Peter Jourdain said the club had already begun to provide its players and staff with counselling to help deal with the situation.
"This is an extremely sad time for our club, particularly for our players who trained and played alongside Alex in both our NYC and NRL teams," said Jourdain.
"Alex joined our club four years ago, had a distinguished career in our NYC squad and was already excelling in his first year as a full-time member of the NRL squad.
"He was undoubtedly one of the brightest young talents at the Cowboys.
"Alex was extremely well liked by everyone at the club and his jovial but dedicated presence in and away from football will be deeply missed by all.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Alex's family and his friends.
"Our players and staff have met this morning to support each other and with the help of the NRL, we have begun to provide professional counselling as they try to come to terms with Alex's passing.
"We request everyone to respect the sensitive nature of this situation and the privacy of all concerned."