Lawyers for Illawarra footballers Jack de Belin and Callan Sinclair say the pair continue to fight rape charges against them and are frustrated the matters won't be resolved this year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
De Belin, who has been banned from playing for the St George Illawarra Dragons, and Sinclair, who's still taking to the field for Group Seven club Shellharbour, had their cases mentioned briefly in Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday.
The pair have each pleaded not guilty to a charge of aggravated sexual assault in company.
Police say de Belin is accused of repeatedly raping a woman inside his cousin's Wollongong apartment in the early hours of December 9 last year while Sinclair watched on.
At one stage, de Belin is alleged to have invited Sinclair to participate, saying "come on, have a go", as the alleged victim lay on the bed, crying.
De Belin was excused from attending court on Wednesday. Instead, he was in the Federal Court in Sydney, where his case against the Australian Rugby League Commission continued.
In what is a separate matter, de Belin is challenging the validity of the NRL's contentious "no-fault" policy, brought in to have players charged with serious crimes stood down.
Sinclair showed up as per his bail conditions.
The pair's lawyers told Magistrate Michael Stoddart that police had served the entire brief of evidence and both cases were adjourned to May 29.
Outside court, de Belin's lawyer Robert Foster said Wednesday's mention was "a short step on a very long road".
"Mr de Belin maintains he's not guilty of the charges and unfortunately this matter's not likely to be listed for trial until mid-next year," Mr Foster said.
"It's going to be quite a long road indeed.
"It's quite frustrating for him but I can't comment beyond that."
Mr Foster also couldn't comment when asked how de Belin was doing, or whether the court process was taking a toll on him.
Sinclair's lawyer, Graeme Morrison, also cited the lengthy amount of time before the cases were finalised.
"It will take a long while before this is resolved, it won't be this year," Mr Morrison said.
"[It is] extremely frustrating. You've got to go through this procedure, whereas my clients want to plead not guilty and they want it resolved as quickly as possible."
Asked how Sinclair was handling the situation, Mr Morrison said he was "a young man, he's intelligent and he's handling it very well".
As for whether it was taking a toll on Sinclair, he said "of course it does".
"It takes a toll for everyone; it's expensive, it's time-consuming, there's restrictions on his ability to play, there's restrictions on his travelling arrangements, it's very difficult," Mr Morrison said.
Sinclair remained silent as he left the court, flanked by his parents.
Sign up for our newsletters
Shannon Tonkin
Andrew Pearson
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
