Storm's Finucane says accused players innocent until proven guilty
Melbourne Storm's Dale Finucane knows the NRL is facing a quandary on how to handle players charged with serious offences.
The Storm lock and leadership group member was asked on Tuesday about the issue which is being argued across the league as multiple NRL players have been charged during the off-season with serious offences but are yet to be found guilty or innocent.
The NRL commission is under pressure from a number of areas to stand down players who are charged with serious offences as currently Dragons forward Jack de Belin is facing a charge of aggravated sexual assault, to which he pleaded not guilty, and Manly's Dylan Walker is facing court on domestic violence charges, to which he also pleaded not guilty.
De Belin and Walker are still playing and training with their clubs while these matters move through the courts, with Walker playing on the weekend for the Sea Eagles then appearing in court on Tuesday.
Some NRL clubs are reticent to stand down their players until they receive a verdict as they fear legal action from players if found not guilty, but some clubs want the NRL to take action to protect the image of the sport.
Finucane made it clear he wasn't talking about individual cases but he would want players treated the same as other members of the public.
"It's hard to answer when you have those sort of criminal matters and obviously the system we have in Australia with the courts is innocent until proven guilty," Finucane said.
"If we are going under that assumption then I guess that is what we go with.
"It's not for me to comment [on individual matters] but if that's what we do in society so I might make the same assumption that that's what we probably do with the NRL commission and whoever is driving that."
But Finucane also said anyone found guilty would face penalties from their clubs as well.
"The assumption of innocent until proven guilty should prevail in most cases and if found guilty then whatever the circumstances the individuals should pay the price for that," Finucane said.
"But it would be hard to have players missing football if they are [eventually] found innocent."
The Storm play their last trial game on Saturday against North Queensland in Mackay and the team plans to treat the game a dress rehearsal for round one on March 14 with the majority of their senior side expected to play including skipper Cameron Smith.
But several positions are still being fought out including full-back with one contender, Jahrome Hughes, to miss this match after taking a knock at training and centre Will Chambers also injured.
"It's healthy to have competition for spots and that will only make our team better in the long run," Finucane said.
The Storm play the Cowboys in Mackay on Saturday at 8pm.