Jack de Belin

Jack de Belin (born 17 March 1991) is a Papua New Guinea and Australian Professional rugby league Footballer who Plays as a Lock and Prop for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL).[2] He has played for Papua New Guinea at international level.

Jack de Belin
Personal information
Full nameJack de Belin
Born (1991-03-17) 17 March 1991
Cootamundra, New South Wales, Australia
Height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight106 kg (16 st 10 lb)
Playing information
PositionLock, Prop
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2011– St. George Illawarra 205 15 0 0 60
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2016–17 Country NSW 2 1 0 0 4
2018 New South Wales 3 0 0 0 0
2023– Papua New Guinea 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]
As of 2 September 2023

De Belin also played for Country NSW, and New South Wales in the 2018 State of Origin series.

Personal life

De Belin was born in Cootamundra, New South Wales, Australia.

De Belin's grandfather Fred de Belin, was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and RAAF Flying Officer.[3] De Belin's uncle Alan de Belin was a state and national representative lightweight rower from the Haberfield Rowing Club in Sydney who, in 1977, won a bronze medal at the 1977 World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam.[4]

In late 2020, de Belin underwent surgery for testicular cancer after being diagnosed earlier that year.[5]

Football career

Early career

De Belin played part of his junior football career with St Gregory's College, Campbelltown and the Cootamundra Bulldogs in Group 9. He was then signed by St George Illawarra and competed in the 2011 National Youth Competition where he made it into the team of the year squad.[6]

First grade career (up to 2018)

De Belin made his first grade debut for St George Illawarra on 27 June 2011 against Manly and played three first grade matches that year.[7] In 2014, de Belin signed a year extension deal with St George Illawarra which would see him play with the club until the end of 2017. He went on to make 21 appearances for St George Illawarra in the 2014 season.[8]

In 2015, de Belin was in the St George Illawarra side which made the finals but were eliminated by Canterbury-Bankstown in the first week. He made twenty two appearances for the season and was a regular in the lineup.[9] 2016 saw de Belin make his representative debut when chosen to represent New South Wales Country in the annual City vs Country game.[10] That year he again featured regularly in the Dragons' first grade line-up and made twenty-one appearances for the season.

In 2017, de Belin was again chosen to represent New South Wales Country in what would be the final City vs Country match.[11] In May 2017, de Belin was named in an extended New South Wales side to take on Queensland in Game 1 of the 2017 State of Origin series.[12] Also in 2017, de Belin signed another three-year extension deal to stay at St George Illawarra until 2020.[13]

De Belin was selected to play for New South Wales in the 2018 State of Origin series. He played in all games of the series and was credited for being a key part of New South Wales' 2–1 series victory over Queensland.[14]

Sexual assault allegation

On 13 December 2018, de Belin was charged by police with aggravated sexual assault following an encounter with a woman in Wollongong, New South Wales. The incident reportedly happened after the woman had left a nightclub with a group of men including de Belin. The woman claimed in her statement that she was under the impression the group would head to another nightclub but instead ended up at an apartment block where de Belin and de Belin's friend stripped naked and sexually assaulted her. Both men denied the claims.[15]

On 28 February 2019, de Belin was stood down by the NRL under the NRL's new 'no fault stand down policy', which allows players to train but not play until the completion of investigations in which players are charged with any serious criminal offence that has a maximum jail term of 11 years or more.[16][17] On 17 May 2019, de Belin lost his federal court bid to be reinstated by the NRL.[18]

De Belin pre game in 2021

On 28 May 2019, de Belin was charged with two further counts of sexual assault.[19] On 24 July 2019, De Belin was committed to stand trial over allegations of sexual assault, having been charged with five counts of rape.[20] On 13 February 2020, it was announced that De Belin's trial would be delayed until 8 April 2020 after a significant witness in the case became ill and was unable to attend court.[21] During the November 2020 trial, NSW Police Detective Senior Constable Shawn Adams, who was tasked with leading the investigation into the de Belin rape allegations, admitted to willfully lying to the court while under oath and failing to disclose inconsistencies in the alleged victim's statement.[22] Adams was later criticised for not separating the woman who had accompanied the alleged victim to the police station, even though he knew she would later become a key witness in the trial.[23] On 30 November 2020, De Belin's trial was delayed further after the jury failed to reach a verdict and were subsequently discharged.[24]

On 3 May 2021, the jury in de Belin's retrial retired to consider its verdicts. The jury had previously heard 13 days of both pre-recorded and live evidence.[25] After lengthy deliberations, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on five of the charges, and returned a not guilty verdict on the sixth charge. He remained stood down by the NRL pending the outcome of a third trial option.[26] On 27 May 2021, all remaining charges against de Belin were dropped.[27]

In February 2020, de Belin sued Newspaper, The Daily Telegraph for defamation over a front-page story published in 2019 that referenced the allegations.[28] In September 2021, the claim was settled after the Telegraph's parent company issued a withdrawal, stating that the story "did not intend to convey he was guilty of sexual assault and withdraws any suggestion to that effect".[29]

Return to football

With all remaining charges being dropped, de Belin signed a new four-year deal with St. George Illawarra.[30] On 28 May the NRL confirmed it had registered de Belin's playing contract.[31]

After nearly 1000 days since his last competitive match, de Belin played for St. George Illawarra's NSW Cup side against Western Suburbs on 29 May 2021.[32]

De Belin was named on 1 June 2021 to play his returning first grade match on 3 June 2021, which was a 52–24 victory over Brisbane at Kogarah Oval.[33][34]

He played a total of 11 matches for St. George Illawarra in the 2021 NRL season.[35] De Belin played 24 games for St. George Illawarra in the 2022 NRL season as the club finished 10th on the table and missed the finals.[36] In round 17 of the 2023 NRL season, de Belin made his 200th first grade appearance in St. George Illawarra's 48-18 loss against the New Zealand Warriors.[37] He would play a total of 16 games for the club in the 2023 NRL season as they finished 16th on the table.[38]

Statistics
SeasonTeamPldTGFGP
2011 St. George Illawarra Dragons3---0
201219---0
2013201--4
2014211--4
2015221--4
2016211--4
2017232--8
2018253--12
202111---0
2022245--20
2023*151--4
Totals204150060

Controversy

On 5 July 2021, de Belin was fined $42,000 by the NRL and suspended for one game after breaching the game's COVID-19 biosecurity protocols when he attended a party along with 12 other St. George Illawarra players at Paul Vaughan's home.[39] It was also alleged that de Belin hid under one of the beds at the home to avoid being seen by NSW Police.[40]

References
  1. "Jack de Belin – Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  2. "Official NRL profile of Jack de Belin". St George Illawarra Dragons. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  3. Middleton, David (3 July 2011). "Bennett's Midas touch on show again". National Rugby League. Archived from the original on 26 August 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  4. "1977 Amsterdam World Championships – Amsterdam Netherlands". History of Australian Rowing. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  5. "Jack De Belin's testicular cancer surgery revealed". Australia: Fox Sports. 5 December 2020. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  6. Proszenko, Adrian (19 July 2014). "Alex McKinnon's faith in schoolmate Jack De Belin now being repaid". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  7. "Custom Match List – Jack de Belin". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  8. "Dragons re-sign bold de Belin". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. 5 February 2014. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  9. Brock, Dominic (14 September 2015). "Dragons 2015 season review". National Rugby League. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  10. Otto, Tyson (2 May 2016). "City-Country teams announced for representative round 2016". News.com.au. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  11. "Jack De Belin". New South Wales Rugby League. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  12. "NSW announce State of Origin I side". News.com.au. 23 May 2017. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  13. Walsh, Dan (14 March 2017). "NRL 2017: St George Illawarra Dragons re-sign Jack Delin until end of 2020". Australia: Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  14. Walter, Brad (10 July 2018). "The role of Alex McKinnon in Jack de Belin's State of Origin rise". National Rugby League. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  15. Dean, John (14 December 2018). "Dragons star Jack de Belin charged by police with aggravated sexual assault over Wollongong incident". Australia: Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 13 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  16. "De Belin proclaims innocence after being stood down". National Rugby League. 28 February 2019. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  17. "ARL Commission announces 'no-fault stand down policy' for players facing serious charges". National Rugby League. 28 February 2019. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  18. "Jack de Belin loses federal court bid to be reinstated by NRL". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 17 May 2019. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019.
  19. "NRL star Jack de Belin facing further sexual assault charges". News.com.au. Australian Associated Press. 29 May 2019. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019.
  20. "NRL player Jack de Belin committed for rape trial". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 24 July 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  21. "Jack De Belins rape trial delayed". Australia: Fox Sports. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  22. Thompson, Angus (18 November 2020). "Detective investigating Jack de Belin rape case admits lying to court". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  23. "Detective investigating Jack de Belin 'willfully lied' in first trial, court hears". 7NEWS.com.au. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  24. "Jack de Belin to challenge NRL's 'flawed' stand-down policy as Dragons star faces third year out". Australia: Fox Sports. 1 December 2020. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020.
  25. "De Belin jury retires to consider verdicts". The West Australian. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  26. O'Loughlin, Liam (10 May 2021). "Jack de Belin found not guilty on one of six charges; jury dismissed after failing to reach verdict in other five". Sporting News. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  27. Zemek, Steve (27 May 2021). "Jack de Belin's sex assault charges dropped". News.com.au. Archived from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  28. Whitbourn, Michaela (20 February 2020). "Jack de Belin sues Telegraph for defamation over 'rapist' allegations". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 17 March 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  29. "NRL forward Jack de Belin and Daily Telegraph settle defamation case". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 15 September 2021. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  30. "BREAKING: Jack De Belin free to play as sex assault charges dropped". Australia: Fox Sports. 27 May 2021. Archived from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  31. Newton, Alicia (28 May 2021). "De Belin cleared to play NRL again after charges formally withdrawn". National Rugby League. Archived from the original on 31 May 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  32. Graham, Brett (29 May 2021). "Jack de Belin returns to rugby league for the first time since 2018". Wide World of Sports. Archived from the original on 1 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  33. "NRL team announcement: Round 13 v Broncos". St. George Illawarra Dragons. 1 June 2021. Archived from the original on 1 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  34. Kennedy, Chris (3 June 2021). "Off-contract Dufty brilliant as Broncos put to the sword". National Rugby League. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  35. Brundsen, Simon (28 August 2021). "Luckless Cowboy ends 14-game losing streak; Dragons find their new No.6: 3 Big Hits". Australia: Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  36. "NRL 2022: St George Illawarra Dragons season review". sportingnews.com.
  37. "Warriors star bags four tries in 'ugly' carve-up of lacklustre Dragons". www.foxsports.com.au.
  38. "Hunt call that could define Flanagan era; glaring hole that must be filled: Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au.
  39. "St George Illawarra Dragons players fined $305,000 and given match suspensions". National Rugby League. 5 July 2021. Archived from the original on 6 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  40. Read, Brent (5 July 2021). "Dragons' Covid party 'risked NRL season'; Jack de Belin hid under bed". The Australian. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
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