sport news Puzzling detail in Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton's statement on 3.45am ... trends now

Remorseful NRL stars Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton have apologised for their late night fight and consequent arrest, but it is the way they went about it that will surprise fans.

The South Sydney fullback was in Canberra to celebrate his good friend Wighton's 30th birthday but it all went horribly wrong when they were seen wrestling outside a club on Bunda Street in the CBD around 3.45am.

They were consequently arrested and charged with fighting, and will face a Canberra court on February 22, a week before the NRL season starts.

The incident also occurred just one week before the NRL All Stars match with both players selected for the Indigenous All Stars side.

Mitchell and Wighton issued the following statement: 

'We wanted to express our remorse for putting ourselves in the position to embarrass our clubs and the NRL over the weekend,' they said.

'We were there to celebrate Jack's 30th with family and friends. While everyone enjoyed a great night, we understand that our wrestle, as harmless as we believed it to be, was a poor decision and may have looked bad.

'We are sorry for this and know that we need to be better when in public. We remain great friends, and are looking forward to proudly representing our community at the All-Stars this weekend.'

However, the way the apology was delivered also attracted attention, because it didn't come through the NRL, South Sydney or Canberra Raiders media units.

Instead, it was issued through No Limits Boxing- even though neither star has ever climbed into the ring before.

Mitchell and Wighton are both signed by manager Matt Rose, who founded No Limits and also represents Souths star Cody Walker, emerging UFC star Tai Tuivasa and boxing star Tim Tszyu.