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Jack de Belin's St George Illawarra teammates have thrown their arms around the suspended back-rower and their support behind a potential players' union challenge of the NRL's no-fault stand down rules.
- Jack de Belin may have lost his Federal Court challenge to the NRL's no-fault stand down policy, but his teammates are still in his corner
- The Rugby League Players Association may challenge the rules under their collective bargaining agreement with the league
- De Belin has been stood down pending the outcome of his aggravated sexual assault case, and he could be out for up to two seasons
The representative star forward's future is dangling precariously after the Federal Court last week dismissed his case against the governing body in a bitter blow to his bid to be reinstated.
His lawyers are weighing up an appeal and all the while he is battling an aggravated sexual assault charge in Wollongong Local Court.
He has pleaded not guilty, but has been sidelined under the NRL's hardline stand-down rules, under which any player charged with a serious crime which carries a jail term of 11 years or more can be stood down.
He does have another avenue of recourse in a Rugby League Players' Association (RLPA) challenge of the stand down rules under the collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
The RLPA has flagged a potential challenge and Dragons forward Jeremy Latimore, who sits on the organisation's board, said he was supportive of the union's stance.
"A hundred per cent. We're very disappointed with what happened with Jack," Latimore said.
"We feel like the NRL has acted outside the realms of the CBA which we agreed upon as players and clubs and the NRL.
"They were reactive to a lot of stuff that wasn't good enough by players.
"I want to see something done because you don't want to see your teammate found guilty until proven innocent."
Dragons prop James Graham also said he was firmly behind de Belin and the RLPA's challenge.
De Belin will continue training with the side while his criminal case runs its course — which could extend into late next year — and he looked positive as he ran with teammates in Wollongong on Tuesday.
However Latimore said de Belin was "struggling" with the prospect of sitting out the game for two seasons, and his Dragons teammates were supporting him as best they could.
"I understand [the NRL's] position, they've got to act in the best interests of the game," Latimore said.
"But there's two sides to every story.
"He's been put on the sideline and he's struggling. He's around training but he can't play. We're really missing him as a playing group.
"It would be good to get the RLPA and NRL together to work on this. They've made a decision but hopefully the RLPA can dispute that."
AAP
Topics: nrl, sport, rugby-league, sydney-2000, nsw, wollongong-2500, australia