PARRAMATTA halfback Brad Murray is yet to meet with police for an interview, more than a week after being identified as the person shown in CCTV footage placing a bet on the controversial game between North Queensland and Canterbury late last season.
The Herald has learnt that police from the Racing and Casino Investigation Unit have been negotiating with Murray's solicitor to try to arrange a meeting with the player, but have so far been unsuccessful .
There has been no suggestion by police that Murray has been involved in any criminal activity, and he has the option of not talking to them, but they believe he could help with their investigation into what they suspect was an attempted fraud.
Police are looking into suspicious betting activity on the game, played on August 21 in Townsville. The first scoring play is normally treated as a novelty betting option by punters, but on this occasion there was a highly unusual plunge on a Cowboys penalty goal to open the scoring.
There was an opportunity for the plunge to come off when Bulldogs prop Ryan Tandy was penalised near the posts in the second minute of the game, but the Cowboys elected to take a quick tap instead and opened the scoring through a try. Tandy and Murray are both managed by Sam Ayoub, and Tandy and Ayoub have denied any wrongdoing. Neither Murray nor Ayoub returned the Herald's phone calls yesterday.
On Thursday, December 2, police circulated CCTV footage and photographs to the media of Murray placing a bet on a Cowboys penalty goal at a TAB outlet inside a Flemington hotel, two days before the game was played. Murray, who played for Sydney Roosters in the Toyota Cup competition last season and has since joined the Eels, was identified the same day.
Parramatta have encouraged Murray to make himself available to for interview. He was excused from training last week, after being identified as the person in the footage, but was due back this week.
The Herald understands police regard the next few weeks of their investigation as crucial. They have received important information from some people who have been interviewed, and are seeking to add to that through further interviews.
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