Footy great Wendell Sailor to fight assault charges from bar incident

Brisbane Broncos and Wallabies great Wendell Sailor will fight allegations he assaulted two men, a court has been told.

Dual international and rugby league great Wendell Sailor will battle allegations he assaulted two men during an incident at a Sydney bar.

The former Brisbane Broncos and Wallabies winger entered not guilty pleas to a string of charges in the Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday.

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It’s been alleged Sailor remained in the vicinity of a Sydney CBD bar on November 6 last year after being asked to leave.

The 50-year-old has been charged with two counts of common assault, behaving in an offensive manner, excluded person remaining in vicinity of licensed premises and stalk/intimidate.

He will battle the charges at a hearing at a later date.

Wendell Sailor entered not guilty pleas to a string of charges. Picture: NewsWire/Jeremy Piper.

At the time of the incident, a NSW Police spokesperson said officers were called to the bar on Erskine Street around 11pm.

It followed reports of the alleged assault, when no injuries were reported.

Sailor, who represented the Broncos and Dragons during his 222-game NRL career, was taken to Day Street Police Station and reportedly hit with a string of charges.

Sailor was one of the NRL’s most damaging wingers early in his career, tallying 17 games for Queensland, 22 matches for the Kangaroos and 189 games for the Brisbane Broncos.

No stranger to controversy, he then crossed codes, playing 37 Tests for the Wallabies, before a drug ban for testing positive to cocaine ended his time in rugby union.

After a two-year ban, Sailor returned to rugby league, ending his career with the Dragons.

Wendell Sailor (left) shakes Eddie Jones’ hand after the 2023 Rugby World Cup final. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

However, he was critical of the club in April as he opened up about the “disgusting” treatment of son Tristan, who was unceremoniously dumped by the club at the end of the 2020 season after just five games for the team.

A fortnight later, Sailor was charged with sexual assault, but was found not guilty in 2022.

It saw Sailor attempt to rebuild his life and rugby league career, making a move to Brisbane.

Having forged a career in the media, Sailor announced his retirement from Triple M “effective immediately” in July last year.

He had been a popular commentator and broadcaster on the Sydney drive show The Rush Hour with Gus, Jude & Wendell, alongside Gus Worland and Swans legend Jude Bolton.

Sailor had been a key member of the network’s commentary team since 2015.

Sailor will next appear in court in March.

Originally published as Footy great Wendell Sailor to fight assault charges from bar incident