Two rugby league players, Hayden Charles Topliss, 37, and Ryan Matthew Hawkshaw, 27, have been found guilty by a jury of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman after forcing her into a threesome in Scone, New South Wales, in April 2023. The pair, who play for the Scone Thoroughbreds, were convicted after a day of deliberation at Newcastle's District Court, with Topliss facing an additional charge over a separate incident.

The court heard the woman had been having consensual sex with Hawkshaw when he invited Topliss to join despite her objection, after which both men allegedly assaulted her while she told them to stop. Both were convicted of four counts of aggravated sexual assault in company, with Topliss also found guilty of sexual intercourse without consent and, separately, of groping another woman at a pub in 2024. The defence had argued the woman was a willing participant who later regretted the encounter, but the jury rejected this. Both men were remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on 25 November.