Jack DeBelin interview

[BLM01]

Regardless of the verdict I’ll never cheer or support him again, he’s a stain on the club and the game imo.

I can’t imagine not supporting the Dragons after over 50 years, but if he plays for us again I honestly don’t know.

Don’t care what people like to do in the bedroom but I do care about player behaviour from the club and game I proudly support and literally wear on my sleeve.

I’m not blaming the club or game for his behaviour but I don’t think I can support either if he beats the charges (or is proven completely innocent - with vexatious or false allegations) and plays for us again.

His behaviour was completely unacceptable for a high profile professional and role model.

If he beats the charges good luck to him in the future, hope he gets his shit together but he’s done for me as someone I will support and I hope the club and game piss him off.

There’s been almost nothing on young Sailor but FMD.

Dragons - please be a club I can continue to support because I’ll be devastated if I can’t support you but I’m close now.

Piss him off now.

If he is not guilty of all charges..why all that rage and toys thrown out of the cot
And not support the club...cmon ...but your loss not the clubs.
Alledgedly the crimes he is defending likely as reported to have happened behind closed doors you supposedly dont care about.
But all these divided opinions have been going around in circles for 2 years now, some take the moral highground or PC stance..some dont :
As I said for those not involved, will get over it in time whatever the decision comes out. The last 2 years regardless has already had a marked affect on his and others lives close to him or parties involved in the incident and for the non-guilty party or party(s) that is punishment enough..but it wont end there for them mentally

Yet people still want to crucify and want more if found not-guilty...why?
Could he have made better decisions even without the benefit of foresight as a high profile public figure. Yeh..maybe. He is not alone.

 

[Forbes Creek Dragons]

If he is not guilty of all charges..why all that rage and toys thrown out of the cot
And not support the club...cmon ...but your loss not the clubs.
Alledgedly the crimes he is defending likely as reported to have happened behind closed doors you supposedly dont care about.
But all these divided opinions have been going around in circles for 2 years now, some take the moral highground or PC stance..some dont :
As I said for those not involved, will get over it in time whatever the decision comes out. The last 2 years regardless has already had a marked affect on his and others lives close to him or parties involved in the incident and for the non-guilty party or party(s) that is punishment enough..but it wont end there for them mentally

Yet people still want to crucify and want more if found not-guilty...why?
Could he have made better decisions even without the benefit of foresight as a high profile public figure. Yeh..maybe. He is not alone.

If all he actually did was be unfaithful to his wife then he’s more than paid for it in fees, social isolation, jeers and missing out on 2 years of the prime of his life. If that doesn’t teach him a lesson I don’t know what will. His daughter will read about all this when she grows up and the memories will get dragged out again. If he’s deemed guilty he will be locked up for many years and deservedly so. If not I welcome him back no questions asked.

 

[randomdragon]

Regardless of the verdict I’ll never cheer or support him again, he’s a stain on the club and the game imo.

I can’t imagine not supporting the Dragons after over 50 years, but if he plays for us again I honestly don’t know.

Don’t care what people like to do in the bedroom but I do care about player behaviour from the club and game I proudly support and literally wear on my sleeve.

I’m not blaming the club or game for his behaviour but I don’t think I can support either if he beats the charges (or is proven completely innocent - with vexatious or false allegations) and plays for us again.

His behaviour was completely unacceptable for a high profile professional and role model.

If he beats the charges good luck to him in the future, hope he gets his shit together but he’s done for me as someone I will support and I hope the club and game piss him off.

There’s been almost nothing on young Sailor but FMD.

Dragons - please be a club I can continue to support because I’ll be devastated if I can’t support you but I’m close now.

Piss him off now.

So you’re saying if he’s found not guilty you will struggle to support the club you supposedly supported for ‘50 years’ because he’s had sex with someone else? Maybe his wife allows him to have sex with other women? There are relationships that exist like that. You should like either a) plastic fan b) extremely judgemental

 

[possm]

This makes absolutely no sense.

He has been paid in full for the past two seasons and has employment afterwards if he clears the charges.

The NRL should have been the one paying him and the Dragons should have had him off their books until he was eligible to play again.

As it was, the Dragons had to pay him and keep him on our books, restricting our ability to replace De Belin.

 

[jeffdragon]

I don't support him or what he's supposedly done
Guilty or not.
I support the club.
If he comes back to play I will still support the club.

 

[muzby]

The NRL should have been the one paying him and the Dragons should have had him off their books until he was eligible to play again.

As it was, the Dragons had to pay him and keep him on our books, restricting our ability to replace De Belin.

Regardless of who paid him, he still got paid, therefore he’s not at a disadvantage.

 

[Drakon]

Regardless of who paid him, he still got paid, therefore he’s not at a disadvantage.

Except for his probable SOO money.

 

[BennyV]

Judging by your recent posts on this matter you want Jack hung drawn and quartered no matter what the outcome of this case is, but I would just like to point out a few things to you, although I'm sure you are aware of these things, but choose to overlook them nonetheless...

You do realize that , at this point in time, the only thing that Jack is guilty of, is cheating on his pregnant partner.

You do realize that this is Australia and that everyone is afforded the right to a presumption of innocence under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

You do realize that Jack has pled "NOT GUILTY" to all charges and that he, and his defence team, are alleging that all sexual activity was consensual between the two parties.

Considering all these things, i find it hard to believe that you are advocating that the club should have torn up his contract, kicked him out of the club and thrown him on the trash heap to fend for himself. And you want all those things to have been done to someone who SAYS HE DID NOTHING WRONG and that he is innocent of what he is being accused of.

It sounds like you would have fitted in nicely back in the days when women were accused of being witches and that was enough to burn them at the stake even though they were often accused by people who had personal grievances against them and nothing more.

I don't know what type of life you have led, but people make mistakes ,like being unfaithful to their partners. This happens every day in the real world and i don't think many employers would treat situations like that as a sackable offence. Human beings are flawed, and to my knowledge their has only ever been one perfect person, and he was around a long time ago, and i don't think their has been one since.

I just hope you don't ever have a close family member or close friend accused of something that they say they didn't do, although, if this did happen, it would probably give you a perspective that may change your attitude towards how the club has treated Jack through all of this.

For what it is worth, in my view, it is simple, if he's found guilty let the court deal with him and if he's found not guilty then let him get on with his life. That's how our judicial system works. The last time i checked this was Australia we are living in and not North Korea and thank God for that..

I’ll be honest, I didn’t read past the first paragraph mate. Seemed like a wall of condescending fluff and and generic bullshit.

In response to the first paragraph though, no i don’t want him drawn and quartered. I want the legal system to play out and if he’s found not guilty, he’s welcome to go back to his career and live out his life.

I also don’t want him playing footy at the club I support. I want my club to have decent standards and represent quality humans because I believe this is the best way to build a good culture and win. And a senior player putting himself in that position and then the club effectively saying ‘nah all good’ erodes that.

Of course, that culture has been out the window pretty much since Bennett left. But I’d like to think that one day it’d start to make a comeback. Seems that today is not that day!!

 

[BennyV]

Paragraph 1..agree. Even before then
Paragraph 2. Disagree. (except the declines in leadership but not on this issue alone
It will be about about innocence or guilt and people only move in one direction based on that now. Perception is your thing. different across everyone. Yours is different to mine etc. and no one should cast aside on perception alone.
All clubs stand by their players until their day in court..not just the Dragons
We have all forgotten about Tristan who has left the club..club is still supporting him.
I disagree our club is mud to people because of this..majority understand why the club stand by him I reckon. Again that is yours and this is my perception. Means nothing.
I am OK with the club supporting him. If it turns out bad for him the cord will be cut forever.

Fair enough, to each their own. For mine, I’d have preferred they stood him down with pay, offered him whatever mental health support was needed behind the scenes and allowed him to move on once his contract was done. The fact that they kept him around the playing group, continuously pushed for him to play and insisted on associated such negativity with the dragons was silly.

 

[Drakon]

It just always seemed to me that the club new something that Jack had shared with them and they believed him. Same with the sponsors. I know ages ago there was talk that the sponsors had been told the story and chose to remain sponsors.

 

[ALSGI]

So you’re saying if he’s found not guilty you will struggle to support the club you supposedly supported for ‘50 years’ because he’s had sex with someone else? Maybe his wife allows him to have sex with other women? There are relationships that exist like that. You should like either a) plastic fan b) extremely judgemental

Hey mate,

Not “supposedly a fan” for over 50 yrs but actual. Plastic fan? f**k off.

Extremely judgmental ? Nope, will not ever support him even he runs 90m and beats 13 defenders to score a match winning try. Don’t care what his wife reckons, he’s a grub that I will never support as a Dragon. Hope he can fix his life up and becomes a better man but he’s no more a Dragon to me.

Just my opinion.

 

[muzby]

Except for his probable SOO money.

See even that isn’t a given.

Injury or form can see that disappear pretty quickly.

Case in point, we don’t have a single origin rep for game 3.


He’s having the terms of his contract met. And earning more money in the last two years than the average Australia would earn in 15 years.

 

[TruSaint]

Hey mate,

Not “supposedly a fan” for over 50 yrs but actual. Plastic fan? f**k off.

Extremely judgmental ? Nope, will not ever support him even he runs 90m and beats 13 defenders to score a match winning try. Don’t care what his wife reckons, he’s a grub that I will never support as a Dragon. Hope he can fix his life up and becomes a better man but he’s no more a Dragon to me.

Just my opinion.

You are no plastic fan mate.

Irrespective of the outcome, I will struggle to see him in the same light.

When this case first started the blame was on the NRL for their " no fault - stand down rule ", then we blamed the club for not doing more, members on this very forum said it wont go to trial.

He should have been paid as per his contract, provided all the mental health support needed, and left to the courts.

Let justice take its course.

I won't stop supporting Saints, as the club is bigger than one individual, but I hope if found not guilty he moves on.

Unpopular opinion on a footy thread I know.

 

[Drakon]

Just pointing out he lost that money due the stand down policy. I did say probable SOO money.

It was revealed awhile back that SOO players were on $30,000 per game. Not sure how much it was reduced during COVID-19 and low crowds.

'Case in point, we don’t have a single origin rep for game 3.'

That's because Jack isn't playing.

'He’s having the terms of his contract met. And earning more money in the last two years than the average Australia would earn in 15 years.'

You better seek a pay rise.

 

[TruSaint]

Just pointing out he lost that money due the stand down policy. I did say probable SOO money.

It was revealed awhile back that SOO players were on $30,000 per game. Not sure how much it was reduced during COVID-19 and low crowds.

'Case in point, we don’t have a single origin rep for game 3.'

That's because Jack isn't playing.

'He’s having the terms of his contract met. And earning more money in the last two years than the average Australia would earn in 15 years.'

You better seek a pay rise.

He had no contract with the NSWRL/ NRL re SOO.
He may have been chosen, probably? Yes.

The only ironclad obligation in terms of pay, was his contract with Saints. Which was honoured.

 

[be55]

I’ll be honest, I didn’t read past the first paragraph mate. Seemed like a wall of condescending fluff and and generic bullshit.

In response to the first paragraph though, no i don’t want him drawn and quartered. I want the legal system to play out and if he’s found not guilty, he’s welcome to go back to his career and live out his life.

I also don’t want him playing footy at the club I support. I want my club to have decent standards and represent quality humans because I believe this is the best way to build a good culture and win. And a senior player putting himself in that position and then the club effectively saying ‘nah all good’ erodes that.

Of course, that culture has been out the window pretty much since Bennett left. But I’d like to think that one day it’d start to make a comeback. Seems that today is not that day!!

Mate have you ever even considered the fact that he might be telling the truth and that everything was consensual...and if HYPOTHETICALLY that was the case, you'd still like to see him shown the door because he cheated on his pregnant girlfriend.

I'm not condoning what he did...he should have been at home looking after his partner, not out on the town playing up. But , in effect , what you are saying is that the cheating on his girlfriend alone, is enough for you to expect the club to show him the door and is enough for you to want to see him gone.

You mention Wayne Bennett. I wonder if he was coach when all this went down and Jack went to him and told him that he had done nothing wrong, i wonder if Bennett would have turned his back on him. I somehow doubt it.

Just to be clear i have no opinion on whether he is guilty or not. It is however my strongly held belief that, that is for the court to decide and no one else...

 

[BennyV]

Mate have you ever even considered the fact that he might be telling the truth and that everything was consensual...and if HYPOTHETICALLY that was the case, you'd still like to see him shown the door because he cheated on his pregnant girlfriend.

I'm not condoning what he did...he should have been at home looking after his partner, not out on the town playing up. But , in effect , what you are saying is that the cheating on his girlfriend alone, is enough for you to expect the club to show him the door and is enough for you to want to see him gone.

You mention Wayne Bennett. I wonder if he was coach when all this went down and Jack went to him and told him that he had done nothing wrong, i wonder if Bennett would have turned his back on him. I somehow doubt it.

Just to be clear i have no opinion on whether he is guilty or not. It is however my strongly held belief that, that is for the court to decide and no one else...

I don’t have an opinion on it either. But as I’ve said, it’s gone beyond that. Likewise, it’s not about cheating on his partner. There’s a number of reasons I’m not keen on him staying, and I’ve gone through those already so please don’t try to twist those to downplay the issue. It’s the ongoing negative impact his situation has had on our club.

Interestingly, I didn’t see nearly as many people sticking up for Dane Nielsen when we let him go for breach of conduct despite no charges being brought whatsoever. Everyone was happy to show him the door due to allegations alone. So maybe the culture at our club is that we do hold our players to a high standard, unless you’re a SOO rep...

 

[possm]

He had no contract with the NSWRL/ NRL re SOO.
He may have been chosen, probably? Yes.

The only ironclad obligation in terms of pay, was his contract with Saints. Which was honoured.

The NRL did not honour their obligations. If they claim that they can change the rules retrospectively to stand him down, then there is an implication that they have joint ownership of his contract and that it is the NRL's decision to stand him down and so it is the NRL's obligation to fully compensate the Dragons costs retating to this decision.

 

[TruSaint]

The NRL did not honour their obligations. If they claim that they can change the rules retrospectively to stand him down, then there is an implication that they have joint ownership of his contract and that it is the NRL's decision to stand him down and so it is the NRL's obligation to fully compensate the Dragons costs retating to this decision.

JDB challenged the rule and lost.
His legal team then decided to pursue the ruling.
Its over.

A Federal Court judge dismissed Mr de Belin's court challenge in May

Lawyers for the Dragon's player told the Federal Court in Sydney there was "no utility" in proceeding, as a decision would not be made before the end of the NRL season.

Justice Perry said the rule was necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the ARLC and NRL to act.

"The Court accepted that nothing short of a rule precluding Mr de Belin and others charged in the future with serious offences of a similar nature from taking to the field was likely to address the clear and present danger established by the evidence," she said in a written summary of the decision.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08...icy, players charged,to "monitor" his welfare.

 

[possm]

JDB challenged the rule and lost.
His legal team then decided to pursue the ruling.
Its over.

A Federal Court judge dismissed Mr de Belin's court challenge in May

Lawyers for the Dragon's player told the Federal Court in Sydney there was "no utility" in proceeding, as a decision would not be made before the end of the NRL season.

Justice Perry said the rule was necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the ARLC and NRL to act.

"The Court accepted that nothing short of a rule precluding Mr de Belin and others charged in the future with serious offences of a similar nature from taking to the field was likely to address the clear and present danger established by the evidence," she said in a written summary of the decision.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-22/jack-de-belin-withdraws-legal-challenge-against-nrl/11437548#:~:text=Under the policy, players charged,to "monitor" his welfare.

That case dealt with the NRL having the right to bring in the stand down rule. It did not address the NRL's responsibility towards clubs and their players effected by the stand down rule.

It should have always been the Dragons and like minded clubs challenging the NRL regarding the implications of the NRL stand down rule. It should never have been the responsibility of De Belin to fund such a challenge.