Dragons playmaker Junior Amone has been served a no-fault stand-down notice by the NRL after he was hit with a raft of charges relating to an alleged hammer attack.
The 20-year-old’s court case was adjourned until March 1 on Wednesday — only a day before the NRL season officially begins.
Amone was charged with causing reckless grievous bodily harm in company, damaging property and stalking following an alleged event in November last year.
The Dragons confirmed the no-fault stand-down policy was served on Wednesday afternoon and Amone will now be unable to take the field until his matter is resolved.
The St George Illawarra club will also reportedly seek salary cap relief from the NRL while the playmaker fights the raft of charges.
According to the SMH, the attaining relief could be complicated due to the uncertainty surrounding how many games Amone will miss and the lack of a trial date.
Previously, salary cap relief has been handed to clubs based on the projected number of games the player is set to miss.
“As a club we’ll approach the NRL, have that discussion and explore what’s available to us with regard to salary cap dispensation,” Dragons chief executive Ryan Webb told the Herald.
The policy was activated due to the length of Amone’s potential jail sentence if found guilty — with the reckless grievous bodily harm in company charge carrying a potential penalty of 14 years in jail.
The threshold for the NRL’s policy currently sits at 11 years or more.
Amone will be able to train with his teammates and will still be paid during the period he is stood down, while the Red V club will make “no further comment until the court process is completed”.
Amone hired high-profile lawyer Elias Tabchourie who had contacted the NRL Integrity Unit hoping to avoid his client being stood down.
Charges were laid after an incident which occurred near Amone’s Warrawong home, regarding where a tradesman had parked his ute.
Police allege the young five-eighth, his father and an unnamed man, armed with hammer, followed a 39-year-old man onto a roof before he fell two metres.
