The NRL have issued North Queensland a 'please explain' over a controversial tweet sent from Robert Lui's account during Saturday's NRL clash against Canberra in Townsville.
As Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston line up a penalty goal attempt late in the match with the hosts leading 22-12 victory, Lui, who was not selected in the 17-man squad and was watching from the sideline, allegedly tweeted: "Don't go for 2. I need 13+".
North Queensland eventually won the game 30-12.
NRL players are prohibited from betting on any match.
In a statement released by the Cowboys on Monday morning, the club claimed Lui's Brisbane-based cousin was responsible for the Tweet.
"The club has investigated the circumstances surrounding a tweet sent during Saturday night's match against Canberra," the statement read.
"The account in Robert's name was set up by a Brisbane-based cousin who has confirmed this to Cowboys officials this morning.
"Robert's cousin revealed he had inadvertently tweeted on the player's account during the match instead of his own account which he was also using on Saturday night.
"A check of his cousin's account found that he did tweet about betting on a 13-plus margin in the Cowboys v Raiders match.
"Robert is adamant he did not tweet on Saturday night and does not bet on football.
"The Cowboys have now deleted Robert-s Twitter account and cautioned his cousin regarding the incident."