Rugby league-NRL players passed along insider info, say police

* NRL cleared of match-fixing allegations

* Police say "no doubt" insider information exchanged (Adds NRL CEO comments, details, amends dateline, adds byline)

MELBOURNE, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Australian police have "no doubt" National Rugby League players passed on insider information about games but will not lay any charges after wrapping up a two-year investigation into match-fixing allegations due to a statute of limitations.

New South Wales (NSW) state police set up a special task force last year to conduct the probe, three months after making initial enquiries into allegations surrounding a number of championship matches.

Police said they had no cases to prosecute despite identifying 13 "persons of interest", issuing dozens of search warrants to obtain betting data on numerous NRL games, and speaking to 161 witnesses.

"We've got no doubt there was inside information being exchanged about players who were playing, injuries, who was feeling good, who was feeling bad, that sort of thing -- insider information that related to particular clubs," Detective Superintendent Scott Cook told a media conference.

"We're not in a position to proceed in regards to those matters because there is a statute of limitations on prosecuting those matters."

Cook said their investigation had revealed organised crime figures were "preying" on vulnerable players with gambling or drug problems.

"Players develop friendships with individuals ... and some of those people are just preying on players," he added.

"A lot of players are young, they need good mentors.

"We've seen players who have debts greater than the value of their contracts... now that's scary for them."

'MAKE GOOD CHOICES'

Detectives said they uncovered potential criminal offences, including drug supply and money laundering, unrelated to the NRL, and referred them to the Organised Crime Squad.

Police added that they had made recommendations to the NRL to ensure the integrity of the league's code of conduct would not be compromised by organised crime.

The police warning overshadowed the launch of the Rugby League World Cup, with the tournament opener between hosts Australia and England scheduled for later on Friday in Melbourne.

"This is not my choosing, the timing today, clearly if I had my own choice of timing, I wouldn't be doing it at the start of the World Cup," NRL CEO Todd Greenberg told reporters in Melbourne.

"I know people will want me to look very upset and distressed about how things have played out but we're realists in this environment.

"The game moves on now, it doesn't mean the game won't learn .... but we close the door on this investigation which I think is important."

The Manly Sea Eagles, the Sydney-based NRL side who were at the centre of the match-fixing allegations, welcomed the end of the police probe.

"It’s very positive news to hear that the club has finally been cleared of the unsubstantiated allegations," Sea Eagles Chairman Scott Penn said in a statement.

"I’ve previously said that we were confident that the investigation would not reveal anything untoward.”

Local media have reported a number of instances of NRL players frequenting with criminal figures in recent years, and Greenberg reiterated his warning to players to be careful of the company they kept.

"Make good choices about the people you decide to spend time with," he said.

(Additional reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)