Sam Burgess has stood down from his South Sydney Rabbitohs coaching assistant and Fox Sports commentator roles amid a firestorm of serious allegations.

Unproven allegations in The Australian claim the Rabbitohs covered up alleged drug use, domestic violence and harassment to protect Sam Burgess.

The accusations come on the eve of the finals, but NRL CEO Andrew Abdo told Jim Wilson he “can’t begrudge timing”.

“I can promise everyone this: we will … be very thorough, we will be fair, we’ll be transparent, and we will get to the bottom of this.

“These are very, very serious allegations, and so we’ll put all of our resources into … the investigation.”

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Image: Nine News

Peter V’landys reacts to allegations against NRL star Sam Burgess