Ex-NRL player Trent Merrin charged with breaching AVO

Trent Merrin has been charged with breaching an apprehended domestic violence order after driving past his house, but the former NRL star says he had a good reason for doing so.

Former NRL star Trent Merrin celebrates a Dragons win in 2020. Picture: AAP Image

Former NRL star Trent Merrin has been charged with breaching an apprehended domestic violence order after driving past his own house to allegedly check whether a “For Sale” sign had been taken down.

Merrin told The Sunday Telegraph he would vigorously defend the charge after he drove down the Illawarra street on Friday.

The former St George Illawarra Dragons player said he believed he was allowed in the street for matters relating to the sale of the property — even though his AVO conditions included not going within 50m of the property.

Merrin said he was disappointed to be arrested and charged, and would fight the alleged breach, which he said was “another chapter in this long saga that has been my life for the past 12 months”.

He was served with an AVO in May, with conditions including that he not go within 50m of the house.

Former NRL player Trent Merrin in action for the Dragons in 2021. Picture: Getty Images

Police will allege Merrin was seen driving past the home on Friday and was reported to police soon after. He was later arrested and taken to Lake Illawarra Police Station where he was interviewed.

He gave the reason for being in the street as being to check whether the sign had been removed by his real estate agent as he had directed.

Merrin was charged with breaching the AVO and bailed with strict conditions to appear in court in June.

It was the second AVO taken out against Merrin over alleged verbal altercations with his former partner — the first one was later dismissed.

In November last year, Merrin told The Sunday Telegraph he had used his “very public” personal issues to fuel his passion to help other high-profile sportspeople manage their private lives and build a future outside of their sport.

He launched Azure Partners with other footy players and professionals to “fill the gap” in support.

Merrin said his experiences made him realise the way the NRL prepared its young stars for public scrutiny was broken — and he wanted to fix it.

He has since launched a podcast with another former Dragons player, Jake Marketo, called The Lost Boys.

They talk about men’s suicide, domestic violence at a “wholistic level”, relationships, mental health and personal growth through lived experiences.

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