Wednesday wrap: trial teams, Pritchard leave, Walker hearing

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A whip around the traps of rugby league news from the NRL and abroad for Wednesday 27 February 2019.

Pritchard takes a break

This morning Parramatta released a statement confirming they were granting hooker Kaysa Pritchard time away from the game to assess his immediate playing future. The granted leave follows from a serious injury Pritchard suffered in 2018 and its residual impacts.

Big names back

While quite a few big name players made their return to the field in last weekend's NRL Trial Matches, this week sees the cream of the crop take the field. Melbourne's Cameron Smith, Dragons duo James Graham & Tyson Frizell and Cowboys new faces Kahu & McGuire have all earned call-ups ahead of this weekend's action. There are still several lineups to be named, but you can check out our full guide to the trials - including teamlists, match and broadcast information - by clicking here.

Testimony back-flip in Walker hearing

Manly Local Court yesterday heard that the fiance of Manly NRL player Dylan Walker - charged with domestic violence offences - changed her testimony. Alex Ivkovic claimed her original statements against her fiance were an overreaction.

Walker's fiance had given evidence last year after the incident in December that he had yanked her hair in front of neighbours while she carried an infant after an argument. This was supported by the audio of the 000 call made by Ivkovic on that night. Other facts tendered included that the accused reacted after having a video game interrupted.

She claimed in court yesterday her recollection of events had changed, telling the court she "realised he did not pull my hair, that's what I believed at the time, but he reached out to grab my shoulder, not my hair, and that got in the way". The case is due back in court on May 10 - read more via ABC News.

De Belin left out

With the ARL Commission set to meet for its AGM on Thursday, the Dragons have opted to leave Jack de Belin out of their lineup for Saturday's Charity Shield in Mudgee. It's the second week in a row the Red V have opted to omit the Origin representative, who is currently facing a charge of aggravated sexual assault in company in a Wollongong court, although this week the club was less forthcoming about the reasons after last week claiming he was suffering a virus.

It's expected the ARLC will hand down its verdict on next steps for de Belin's immediate future, including whether he'll be stood down from playing while his case is being heard. Similarly, the ARLC may make a decision on Dylan Walker's future as well while that case is playing out.

ARLC fallout imminent

Tomorrow isn't just a watershed day for the de Belin saga, but a range of issues around the league. Among the highest priorities are the outcomes of investigations and breach notice responses, the former referring to the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks' salary cap investigations. Fairfax reports overnight suggestion the Shire-based outfit is in for a world of hurt with a potentially large cap penalty to be applied, also suggesting the breaches were more significant than those CEO Barry Russell self-reported on the clubs behalf last year. Also considered will be the responses from the club and former coach Shane Flanagan to the breach notices served prior to Christmas last year.

Meanwhile the Wests Tigers will be sweating on their response to the breach notice served to them regarding the conduct of former CEO Justin Pascoe in relation to an ambassadorial role offered to Robbie Farah.

The overarching issue of player sanctions including those of de Belin and Walker, as well as others on less serious charges, will no doubt take up plenty of oxygen, with Canterbury in particular awaiting a decision on how the NRL react to the Dylan Napa leaked videos.

The fallout from all of the above could impact the entire competition, with various player movements potentially arising from the events of Thursday's meeting.

Junior rep teamlists & officials

We continue to be proud of our record as one of the few outlets to consistently cover more than just the NRL week-to-week. Coming up this Saturday is Round 4 of the NSWRL Junior Representative seasons - head to our team list page for the lineups ahead of the Harold Matthews, SG Ball and Tarsha Gale Cup games being played this weekend.