Jack's back, but will it ever be the same again?
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With rape charges dropped, it's been a long and deeply emotional road for all parties involved since the Wollongong Santa Claus Pub Crawl of 2018, a night which changed lives forever.
"No one had any idea how long a road it would be," de Belin's solicitor Robert Foster told reporters outside court in Sydney on Friday.
"The indictment is now marked dispensed and proceedings are now at an end.
"Jack de Belin is very relieved and is now looking forward to getting back to football."
As much as Dragons fans wanted de Belin back on the field, rugby league was a secondary consideration.
As much as the club railed against NRL's "no fault" stand-down policy, for which he became the test case, the naivety in expecting the decision to be overturned in the Federal Court, while preparing to play Newcastle in Mudgee in 2019, was extraordinary.
De Belin and co-accused Callan Sinclair, who previously played with the Shellharbour Sharks in Group Seven, have always maintained their innocence, saying they had a consensual threesome.
The woman alleged she was attacked by de Belin then cried as the men took turns assaulting her.
Eventually, after two hung juries, the matter came to rest without resolution.
De Belin gets a second chance with the Red V.
All going well, half a game against Wests in the NSW Cup on Saturday could turn into time off the bench in the NRL, perhaps against the Bulldogs in a couple of weeks.
A long-time fan favourite, de Belin always spoke to the media with warmth and passion as he rose to lift the State of Origin shield with NSW in 2018.
Will the club shield him now he's been through such a prolonged court process?
Or will he move to clear the air and rebuild his career with the same personality?
How will fans of rival teams react to his inevitable return to the NRL this season?
At 30 - and given he hasn't played a game since Adam Reynolds' field goals sunk the Dragons in a semi-final three seasons ago - does he still have the same work rate and ability to cut opponents in half?
There has been an unshakable confidence in the Dragons camp about de Belin to quickly rediscover his best, if and when reinstated.
For so long the court case cast a shadow over the club while Paul McGregor was coach, as players were roughly divided into those who fiercely defended de Belin and those who wondered why he was out in that situation in the first place.
But St George Illawarra have steadfastly supported him, once leader of spirit and team song, with a new four-year deal, waiting for this day to come. After the turmoil, de Belin's chance to repay the faith has arrived.
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