Canberra have sacked Todd Carney, Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson for serious behavioural breaches, only to see them sign with other clubs, with Carney subsequently re-offending and banished to France. Rather than dwell on the possibility of former Raiders returning to score tries against them, chairman Allan Hawke is determined to fix the problem at the source: develop a club culture that abhors anti-social behaviour.

Hawke says the "canary in the mineshaft" is an appropriate analogy for his club, considering its record of producing serial offenders and his determination to correct it. "Until we get our culture right, we will be spinning our wheels and rugby league will be left back with the also-ran sports," he said.

A former top Canberra bureaucrat who was secretary of Defence before becoming high commissioner to New Zealand, Hawke has led three sessions in the off season with key personnel, addressing the issue of club culture. "The coaching staff are into this – what sort of culture we want at the club," he said.

"We've cut players from the Raiders and seen them turn up elsewhere and still not take personal responsibility for their actions. I'm pleased that (NRL chief executive) Dave Smith is following incidents with actions, rather than just words. Our first board meeting for 2015 is January 22 and the NRL Integrity Unit is coming. I think that is terrific."

Hawke said there are signs the canary is breathing clearing air. One of the players attending Tuesday's session was Josh Hodgson, Canberra's recruit from Hull Kingston Rovers who damaged a door while with the English team in Dunedin last year. "The first thing he did when we met was apologise for the incident, even though it happened before he joined us," Hawke said.

Hawke emailed Fairfax Media his view of a prevailing attitude, typical of the one displayed by players who have been cut from the Raiders: "In this age of the celebrity cult, it's common for elite sports people to refer to themselves in the third person and to their name as their brand. This narcissistic form of self-aggrandisement is designed to promote an exaggerated view of how great they are, indicate that the topic is not open for debate, and to avoid personal accountability. When they do misbehave, they try to deflect the blame elsewhere, complaining about how unfair it is that they have been caught out, while typically saying nothing about the behaviour itself. If forced to defend what they have done, they offer what is now the classic non-apology '... if I have offended anybody I'm sorry ...' or claim to have been betrayed by their club. Repeat offenders revel in the latter defence avoiding any sense of personal responsibility for their actions."