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St George Illawarra prop George Burgess won't play in Thursday's derby with Cronulla after he was charged with sexually touching a person without consent.
- George Burgess was named in St George Illawarra's 24-man squad for their match against Cronulla on Thursday but will not play
- Burgess was charged with sexual touching without consent earlier this week
- The NRL is yet to decide whether to enact their no-fault stand down policy on the Burgess matter
The 29-year-old Englishman was arrested on Monday after a woman claimed she had been sexually touched by a man known to her on March 8.
Burgess, who was named on the Dragons' extended bench, has not been stood down by the NRL under its no-fault stand-down policy.
The policy automatically suspends players if they are charged with a crime that carries a prison sentence of 11 years or longer.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo still has the power to stand down Burgess. The league has previously committed itself to a tough stance on crimes involving women and children.
Dragons coach Anthony Griffin confirmed that Burgess would not play as they await a determination from the NRL on the England international's availability.
"We haven't got any information from the NRL if he'll be stood down because it's in that grey area as far as the stand-down policy (is concerned)," Griffin said on Wednesday.
"From a football point of view, until we got more information about it we left him in the squad but I understand it's going to take a bit longer.
"He'll come out (of the squad) today and someone else will come in."
Griffin said the club has not taken the decision out of the NRL's hands and chosen to stand Burgess down because they have not received relevant information from the prop's legal team.
"We don't know enough about it," Griffin said.
"We are awaiting information from the NRL, we are in the dark as to the information. That's with his lawyers and the NRL.
"We'll wait until we are educated as to what the charge is and (then) that's a matter for the board and the chief executive."
As of Wednesday, the NRL are undecided as to whether they will enact the no-fault stand down for Burgess.
"The National Rugby League (NRL) notes that St George Illawarra Dragons player George Burgess has not been selected for tomorrow night's NRL Premiership Game." the league said in a statement.
"Following Burgess being charged with a criminal offence, the NRL is continuing to consider all available information and will offer the player or his representatives the opportunity to speak with the NRL.
"Once the NRL has considered all available information, a decision will be made in the coming days concerning the application of the game's No Fault Stand Down Policy."
AAP