Accused Dragon Jack de Belin has a right to defend himself

Mounting an argument on behalf of a rugby league player at the moment is a thankless task.

St George Illawarra player Jack de Belin, left, leaves Wollongong Local Court yesterday. Picture: AAP

Mounting an argument on behalf of a rugby league player at the moment is a thankless task. Day after day, week after week of damaging headlines means sympathy is in short supply.

Even shorter when you hear the sort of claims that came out in court yesterday as St George Illawarra and NSW forward Jack de Belin fronted amid allegations of sexual assault.

They were as disturbing as it gets and that says something given the off-season rugby league has endured, lurching from one public relations crisis to the next.

When will it end? No time soon it appears. The heinous claims against de Belin will linger in the air as the latest act plays out today involving similar allegations against former Gold Coast, Parramatta, NSW and Australian star Jarryd Hayne.

Hayne doesn’t have a deal yet rugby league continues to be dragged through the mud by a player who has become persona non grata in the code. He has no contract and no hope of receiving one any time soon. De Belin is a different story altogether.

He is one of the most important players at a club many believe capable of winning a premiership this season.

This journalist asked a coach at a rival club last year about their tactics against the Dragons. “It started with de Belin,” he said.

Stop the Dragons backrower and you go a long way towards beating St George Illawarra. That says something given the club’s forward pack is littered with State of Origin players.

The Dragons are a better side with him in their 17. As such, they are understandably reluctant to stand him down.

The club reacted to yesterday’s revelations in court by issuing a press release in which they chose their words carefully, wary of inflaming a situation that has already polarised the rugby league public.

The indication was they had no plans to rub him out for the start of the season. The NRL did the same while the players union was quick to point out that rugby league players are entitled to the presumption of innocence, no matter how damaging the allegations may be.

They want the process to run its course, allow de Belin to argue his case and survey the landscape at the end of a process that could go deep into next season.

I bumped into a former police prosecutor yesterday who suggested it could take two years for de Belin to learnt his fate.

Are we to suggest that he should be deprived of his livelihood for that time over allegations that may yet prove unfounded?

Rather than sack him, some have been quick to argue de Belin at the very least should be stood down pending the outcome of the court process.

Yet rugby league players have finite careers and depriving a player of two years, while in his prime, would seem unconscionable given he could yet be proved innocent.

The NRL is in the midst of a public relations crisis. Club chief executives will meet in Melbourne on Friday with player behaviour at the top of their agenda. AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan will be the guest speaker, many in his code no doubt privately enjoying rugby league’s woes.

Everyone agrees the game has to do something to stem the tide of negativity that has enveloped the code. Sponsors are edgy. Broadcasters realise that unless public sentiment turns, ratings may fall.

Long-term, the game’s finances will suffer and the players will be hit in the hip pocket.

There has been a stampede of people calling for rugby league to wield a big stick given the current climate. Sack them first and ask questions later.

The NRL needs to be careful that human rights aren’t trampled in the process. As it stands, de Belin is guilty of nothing.

As vile as some may find the allegations he has the right to defend himself. He should be able to defend the Dragons’ tryline in the meantime.