NRL 2024: Dragons star Junior Amone set to be deregistered after being handed a notice

Under fire Dragons player Junior Amone is set to have his NRL contract deregistered, after being found guilty of intimidation and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Junior Amone was on Wednesday found guilty of chasing a tradie off a roof as he wielded a hammer. Picture: NCA Newswire/Steve Zemek.

Rising St George Illawarra star Junior Amone is set to have his NRL contract deregistered after the governing body on Tuesday issued a notice to the young five-eighth.

Amone avoided prison in Wollongong District Court last week after being convicted of charges of intimidation and assault occasioning actual bodily harm when he brandished a hammer and chase a tradesman off a roof in November last year.

The NRL on Tuesday afternoon confirmed it had issued the notice, which is the first step towards deregistering Amone’s contract.

While the governing body will go through the official process under its playing contract and remuneration rules, however it is a mere formality that Amone will be banned from playing.

It will be a stunning blow for the Dragons, who are attempting to rebuild under new coach Shane Flanagan.

And it is a crippling blow for Amone, whose career now remains unclear.

Junior Amone was on Wednesday found guilty of chasing a tradie off a roof as he wielded a hammer. Picture: NCA Newswire/Steve Zemek.

Amone will be permitted to reapply for registration but there is no time frame around when that move would occur.

He was sentenced to a two-year Intensive Corrections Order, equivalent to a term of imprisonment served in the community.

St George Illawarra can now begin moving forward without Amone in their playing roster.

Skipper Ben Hunt and new buy Kyle Flanagan will start the 2023 season in the halves while coach Flanagan can also use utility Jack Bird in the halves.

The Amone revelation came just two hours after this masthead revealed the Dragons had failed in their bid to secure the services of New Zealand Warriors prop Addin Fonua-Blake, who instead chose to sign with bitter rivals Cronulla for the 2025 season.

The NRL integrity unit reviewed the court proceedings and evidence before reaching a decision on Amone, who still had two years remaining on his Dragons contract.

Amone’s father, Talatau, was sentenced to Two-and-a-half years in jail, with a non-parole period of 12 months, following the attack.

Amone now faces an uncertain future in rugby league. Picture: Brendan Radke

Magistrate Gabriel Fleming described Junior Amone’s conduct during the attack as “appalling”.

“You armed yourself with a hammer, the victims were vulnerable, the victim was up on a roof, there was nowhere to go,” she said.

Fleming told the court it was a “tragedy” the conviction would hamper Amone’s playing career and finances, as he supports his family in Australia and overseas.

“I think it is a tragedy, this could jeopardise your entire future in the profession you love,” she said. “It is your tragedy, not mine.”

Amone represented Tonga at last year’s World Cup in England.

Originally published as NRL 2024: Dragons star Junior Amone set to be deregistered after being handed a notice