Dragons player Francis Molo has pleaded guilty to a charge of stalking/intimidating a woman in a domestic setting the week before Christmas.
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Court papers show the 28-year-old was charged on December 17 over a pre-dawn incident at a Shell Cove address.
He did not appear at Port Kembla Local Court as the matter was briefly mentioned on Wednesday.
His legal representative told the court there would be some dispute over the details of the incident as it had been described by police, but that Molo pleaded guilty to the offence.
Under the conditions of an interim apprehended violence order taken out by police, Molo must not approach the woman for at least 12 hours after drinking alcohol or taking illicit drugs.
The guilty plea may see him stood down under the NRL' no-fault stand-down policy. The policy, which Dragons teammate Talatau Amone is currently subject to, is automatically imposed if a player faces a charge carrying 11 years or more in prison.
While Molo's matter does not meet that threshold, the policy can be imposed at the discretion of NRL CEO Andrew Abdo when it comes to charges involving women or children.
In a statement released on Wednesday night, the Dragons said that the NRL was aware of the matter.
"Dragons player Francis Molo today pleaded guilty to an intimidation charge relating to an incident at his home on December 17," the statement read.
"The NRL Integrity Unit was made aware of the matter at the time. The Dragons will continue to provide Francis and his partner with any support they require. The club will make no further comment on the matter."
With a bye in round one, the Dragons' season does not begin until round two.
Molo shifted to the Dragons ahead of last season after four seasons with North Queensland, with the Maroons Origin representative playing 21 games for the club in his first year in Wollongong.
His 2021 Origin debut came six years after his involvement in one of league's most tragic chapters.
James Ackerman, a father-of-two, died after he and Molo collided early in a match between the Sunshine Coast Falcons and Norths Devils in the Intrust Super Cup on June 20, 2015.
An inquest later found that Molo did not make contact with Ackerman's head or neck, but the force of his shoulder was enough to rupture an artery, resulting in death from a traumatic haemorrhage.
Molo fought back tears as he gave evidence at the inquest, telling the court he did not intend to shoulder charge Ackerman, but did not quite understand the shoulder charge rules.
"I didn't deliberately shoulder charge him. I was there to do my job: to play hard and tackle hard," he said.
"I didn't think that what I'd done was a shoulder charge.
"It was a pretty big impact tackle ... I was a bit scared myself."
He said he never wanted to see a recording of the fatal incident and the coroner spared him from doing so during the proceedings.
Shoulder charges were by then already outlawed from the game; Molo was suspended for nine weeks for the illegal tackle.
The latest charge will further place the microscope on the culture at the Dragons in the wake of a scuffle between teammates Zane Musgrove and Mikaele Ravalawa in the carpark of a Mudgee Hotel following Saturday's heavy Charity Shield loss to the Rabbitohs.
It continued a tumultuous off-season for the club, with young five-eighth Talatau Amone currently subject to the NRL's no-fault stand-down policy after being charged over an alleged hammer attack on a tradie near his Warrawong home in November.
Francis' brother Michael was one of just three first-grade players who attended the club's presentation evening at the end of last season, with coach Anthony Griffin heading into 2023 under a mountain of pressure to retain his job amid talk of a rift in the playing group.
The matter returns to court next month.
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Angela Thompson
Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2008; these days covering crime and justice issues. UOW alum. Thrilled by the chase and sobered by some of the things I see and hear when I stand still - sometimes in the same day. ang.thompson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2008; these days covering crime and justice issues. UOW alum. Thrilled by the chase and sobered by some of the things I see and hear when I stand still - sometimes in the same day. ang.thompson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
