O’Neill was appointed to the role in March and was reportedly a noticeable omission from the club’s awards night last week.

“The board has instructed an independent investigation to be carried out,” chairperson Marina Go said.

O’Neill debuted for Balmain in 1994 and went on to represent the club on 102 occasions before it merged with Wests in 2000.

His final game was 2005’s NRL Grand Final victory over the Cowboys which capped 121 games for the merged club.  

The NRL also confirmed to News Corp that it was aware of the incident.

“The club has made the NRL aware of some allegations,” an NRL spokesman said.

“It is a matter for the club to resolve.”