(Warning: article contains images of simulated sex with animals) It’s the NRL off-season which can mean just one thing – players utterly humiliating themselves in public.

And by now you’ve no doubt seen the appalling antics of Roosters and NSW half-back Mitchell Pearce when he was caught on video simulating sex with a dog after a rather boozy Harbour Cruise with team mates on Australia Day.

The Roosters have currently suspended Pearce following an investigation and reportedly fined him $50,000. However, it’s not the first time the 27-year old has fallen foul of officials and some in the game are calling for him to be sacked for good.

However, this morning’s edition of News’ The Daily Telegraph appeared to see some sort of black humour in it all after publishing stills of the dog humping episode on its front cover but with the dog’s face strangely blacked out.

Was it a some sort of twisted humour by the league-loving Tele or was it really an attempt to protect the identity of what appears to be a deeply embarrassed white Scottish terrier?

The Telegraph’s editor Christopher Dore attempted to allay social media concerns about the dog’s blackened face with this rather vague tweet.

Meanwhile, The Tele’s Brisbane bother The Courier Mail has not lost any of its sense of humour with early contender for headline of the year- “A cock a poodle do”! Genius stuff!

While The Tele’s resident cartoonist Warren Brown as also added his sophisticated take on the incident.

It’s not the first time that a league player has fallen foul of a dog sex incident. In 2010, Canberra Raiders Joel Monaghan single-handedly destroyed his NRL career when he was photographed at a Mad Monday event apparently inviting fellatio from an unwilling labrador. The dog later resisting calls for interviews from the media.