NRL star George Burgess escapes conviction for damaging phone in roadside altercation

NRL player George Burgess has admitted to doing one thing to a truck driver during a road rage incident in Wollongong.

NRL forward George Burgess has escaped conviction for a damaging property charge stemming from a roadside incident where he threw another man’s phone earlier this year.

Burgess, part of a family of rugby league stars, was charged by police in August following an altercation with a man in Wollongong.

Police alleged the recent St George Illawarra Dragons recruit had damaged a man’s mobile phone by throwing it on the road on August 23.

George Burgess (left) and Sam Burgess (right) playing for the Rabbitohs in 2019. Picture: AP Image/Dean Lewins

He had only signed for the Dragons on August 8 after returning to Australia from a stint playing back home in the UK.

The 29-year-old on Tuesday pleaded guilty to destroy or damage property at Wollongong Local Court before a magistrate decided to deal with the charge without proceeding to conviction.

The court was told Burgess had felt provoked by the other driver who had been filming him, prompting the footballer to get out of his car and confront the stranger.

He has since made reparations to the man’s phone and accepted he should not have reacted in that way.

Magistrate Christopher McRobert handed the English international a 12-month conditional release order requiring him to be of good behaviour for the next year.

A 149-game veteran of the NRL, Burgess is the twin brother of South Sydney Rabbitohs player Tom Burgess and the younger brother of the now-retired Sam and Luke Burgess.

George Burgess, once of South Sydney, will play for the Dragons from next year. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett

All four brothers played together at the Rabbitohs, where Sam captained a side containing George and Tom to the 2014 premiership.

George Burgess was represented in court by high-profile lawyer Bryan Wrench, who has also acted for Sam Burgess in recent times.

Police said in a statement officers began investigating George Burgess after a man, 32, reported an altercation on Denison St, Wollongong.

Police allege a verbal argument broke out between the men before Burgess grabbed the other man’s phone and threw it on the roadway.

The court was told this week that Burgess, who had been suffering debilitating pain from a hip injury, was driving to the pharmacist at the time of the incident.

The hulking 193cm prop forward felt his privacy had been invaded by the man’s filming, the court was told.

Originally published as NRL star George Burgess escapes conviction for damaging phone in roadside altercation