Former Gold Coast Titans star Michael Gordon has pleaded guilty to cocaine possession but will fight charges of supplying the drug.
The 37-year-old didn't appear for a brief hearing at Tweed Heads Local Court on Monday following his arrest last month.
He was busted along with six others as part of a NSW police investigation into cocaine and MDMA supply in the state's north and southeast Queensland.
Gordon, who played 261 NRL matches before retiring at the end of 2019, was charged with two counts of supplying a prohibited drug and two counts of possessing a prohibited drug.
He lawyer Michael McCallum says he will only plead guilty to possessing cocaine but will fight charges of supplying it.
"I don't think he has any involvement in a syndicate," he told reporters.
"I think at its highest the police can demonstrate that he was someone on the periphery of, unwittingly on the periphery of, some sort of a drug group."
Mr McCallum said Gordon was seeking more information from prosecutors about why they decided to charge him with supply.
He insisted his client was "truly a man of character" who had done something wrong and put his hand up and admitted it.
"I think it's just a really a sporadic one-off type activity, just unlucky to be caught up in the net at the time," he said.
"A little fish caught up and I was seeking to find bigger ones, really, that's all it seems like to me."
Mr McCallum said his client was seeking rehabilitation for the issues that had pushed him to possess drugs in the first place.
Within hours of his arrest on November 21, the Titans released a brief statement confirming Gordon would no longer be working with them as a specialist coach.
Mr McCallum said Gordon would soon be given a clean bill of health and was ready to work towards returning to working in rugby league.
"That's always been his love and as we all know; that's where he really should be and I think the community and he will be very indebted to the courts if he's allowed to go back there," he added.
Gordon's next court appearance is set for February 15
A goal-kicking fullback, he made one State of Origin appearance for NSW in his long career, which included stints at Penrith, Cronulla, Parramatta and the Sydney Roosters.
A Tweed Coast junior player, Gordon joined the Titans before the 2018 season and played 36 matches for them before retiring.
He moved into an off-field role, under coach Justin Holbrook in the lead-up to the 2020 season, which included mentoring young gun AJ Brimson.
