Senior constable Steven Lockwood Brown and sergeant Evan Huw Prowse to defend allegations of assaulting NRL star Tom Starling

Two police officers who have denied assaulting NRL star Tom Starling in a violent brawl at a birthday party will defend the allegations in a hearing next year.

Tom Starling posted this image to social media after the alleged brawl outside the Shady Palms.

Two police officers who have denied assaulting NRL star Tom Starling in a violent brawl at a birthday party will defend the allegations in a hearing next year.

Senior constable Steven Lockwood Brown, 49, and sergeant Evan Huw Prowse, 37, did not appear at Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday after previously pleading not guilty to their respective charges.

Senior constable Brown is facing one count of assault while sergeant Prowse is facing two counts.

It comes after several police officers, including senior constable Brown and sergeant Prowse, were called to the Shady Palms Hotel on the NSW Central Coast on December 5, 2020.

Mr Starling and his brothers, Jackson and Josh, were attending a 21st birthday party when a fight broke out with the ensuing brawl captured on CCTV, showing the Canberra Raiders hooker being repeatedly punched in the face.

Two police officers will defend allegations of assaulting Tom Starling in a hearing next year.

The Canberra Raiders hooker posted images of his injuries after the brawl.

Photographs of Mr Starling, which surfaced in the following days, revealed his face was bloody and cut after the brawl.

He and his brothers were subsequently charged with resisting police, which they always denied.

Following an 11-day hearing, Mr Starling and his brother Jackson were cleared of all charges.

Josh was found not guilty of two counts of assaulting a police officer while performing their duties but guilty of resisting police and assaulting a security guard although he avoided convictions.

The court was told at the time of the decision that police were investigating the conduct of the officers involved in the bar brawl, with senior constable Brown and sergeant Prowse charged in January this year with assaulting Mr Starling.

Exterior photos of Shady Palms at Avoca on the Central Coast.

Sergeant Prowse was also charged with assaulting Jackson. The pair entered not guilty pleas in March.

The court heard from the crown prosecutor on Tuesday that the matter was being transferred from Gosford Local Court to set down a 10-day hearing.

Judge Michael Allen questioned why three charges of common assault required such a lengthy hearing.

The prosecutor outlined the original hearing for the Starling brothers was of similar length and the transcript was approximately 830 pages with two-and-a-half hours of CCTV.

Judge Allen was also concerned about the matter “not being dealt with” in the Gosford community, however the hearing was ultimately set down for March next year.