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Hit the road, Jack: Federal Court finds in favour of NRL

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17th May, 2019
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Jack De Belin will remain suspended from playing in the NRL for the forseeable future after the Federal Court today found in favour of the NRL’s no-fault stand-out policy which has seen him suspended from the game since he was charged with aggravated sexual assault.

The policy was put in place by the NRL earlier this year in response to a spate of prominent offseason incidences and has also seen both Manly’s Dylan Walker and Penrith’s Tyrone May stood down while facing criminal offences.

Walker, having last week been found not guilty, is set to return to the NRL this weekend.

The ruling means De Belin will not feature in the NRL at all this season, after his lawyers were advised that the case is not likely to be resolved or perhaps even begin in earnest before 2020.

De Belin has also been ordered to pay costs.

“The court accepted that nothing short of a rule precluding Mr de Belin and others charged in the future with serious offences of a similar nature from taking the field was likely to address the clear and present danger established by the evidence,” said Judge Melissa Perry.

“The court also accepted that where criminal proceedings were not finalised there would be a real danger of contempt of court if the NRL were to investigate whether the code of conduct had been breached.”

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