Drug row deepens at Gold Coast Titans rugby league club

Greg Bird - as well as Dave Taylor - is an Australian international rugby league player

A drug scandal is deepening at Australia's rugby league team Gold Coast Titans, with the club suspending three more players.

Greg Bird, Dave Taylor and Kalifa Faifai Loa were served court notices, after a Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) investigation.

Teammates Beau Falloon and Jamie Dowling were suspended earlier and will also face court.

They are suspected of either possessing or supplying cocaine.

The CCC said they were "identified contacting the [drug] syndicate and arranging for the supply of cocaine to friends and colleagues between August 2014 and December 2014".

Karmichael Hunt is now due to appear in court on 5 March

All five will now appear in court in March.

Titans chief executive Graham Annesley said he decided to suspend the athletes "from playing and training duties".

He added that "to the best of my knowledge" no other club player would be served court notices.

Two days ago, rugby union star Karmichael Hunt, who plays for the Queensland Reds, was also charged with supplying cocaine, as part of the same investigation by the CCC.