Former NRL prop George Burgess is launching a shock return to football with a surprise club after being found not guilty of sexually touching a woman without her consent earlier this year.
The 32-year-old played 149 games for South Sydney and won a premiership with the Rabbitohs in 2014 alongside his brothers Sam and Tom, as well as earning 15 England caps.
He stepped away from the game in 2022 amid a combination of injuries and personal issues, including a charge of sexual contact without consent and a stint in rehab to deal with gambling problems and depression.
In 2023, he returned with the Cairns Brothers team in Far North Queensland and has now received approval from the South Sydney Junior Rugby League board of directors to play the remainder of the remaining matches of the 2024 season with the South Eastern Seagulls, They are based in Malabar, in the south east of Sydney.
The former South Sydney star was charged in March 2022 after a woman claimed Burgess “touched her butt” without her consent.
Former NRL prop George Burgess (pictured playing for Souths) is launching a stunning return to football with Sydney side South Eastern Seagulls.
Burgess (pictured outside court in March) was acquitted of groping a woman he knew earlier this year.
In May of this year he was acquitted of the accusations when a magistrate determined that Burgess went to the woman’s home with the intention of being intimate with her while she was dropping off a T-shirt for a charity event, but did not grope her.
Burgess pleaded not guilty to a single charge of sexually touching another person without consent while at the woman’s pet home.
The former football star admitted going to the home of the woman, whom he had known for around a decade, after agreeing to donate a signed shirt for charity.
As Burgess called the court via audio-visual link, Magistrate Emma Manea told the court the former NRL player had attended the woman’s home for just 11 minutes, from 10.24am to 10.35am.
The magistrate told the court she believed Mr Burgess’ evidence and acquitted the former football player.
Earlier this year, Burgess told the court he was just being “cheeky and friendly” to the woman, but it was “nothing more than that.”
He was married at the time but told the court he intended to be intimate with the woman and admitted to being “flirty”, asking her to “stay and be naughty” with him.
During the first day of the hearing in October 2023, the woman told the court she felt “violated” when Burgess tried to kiss her moments after handing her the shirt.
Burgess (pictured playing for Souths) returned to football in 2023 with the Cairns Brothers after a short spell with the Cairns Brothers team in Far North Queensland.
She offered him a cup of tea to “try to calm the situation.”
“I opened the closet and he turned around (and) grabbed me by the bottom,” the woman told police in a body view played in court.
‘I froze inside and was just looking at the tea. He put a hand on either side of my body and pressed it against me. … I told him, ‘this is not going to happen.’
The court was told Mr Burgess was asked if he was still married and he replied: “Yes, but you know what it’s like.”
Mr Burgess continued: “Come on, just five minutes, stay and be naughty with me.”
He denied kissing the woman or touching her bottom, but said he had put his hand on her back while she made him a cup of tea “to be friendly”.
“She walked over to the kitchen bench and I stood behind her to see what tea she was using because I like Yorkshire tea,” Burgess told the court in March.
The Englishman’s new career move comes just over a year since he separated from his wife Joanna King (pictured together) after seven years of marriage.
The court was told the woman said: “I’m not that kind of girl, I wouldn’t do this to another woman.”
While sitting in the living room, Mr Burgess admitted saying to her: “We have known each other for 10 years, nothing has ever happened between us, but something should happen.”
In his testimony, Burgess admitted that he noticed the woman was “a little uncomfortable,” prompting him to leave.
When asked in court if the woman had been “rejecting” his advances from the moment he arrived, Burgess said “yes.”
The 32-year-old returns to the field after last playing in the NRL with the St George Illawarra Dragons in 2022 (pictured).
The court was told Burgess sent the woman a “horny devil emoji” after leaving his house, which she ignored, but then sent her a message saying she was “really uncomfortable” with what happened.
“He said you put a big cloud over something so nice you did regarding the shirt and the fact that you had known each other for 10 years, he thought he could trust you in your own home,” police prosecutor Adrian said. Walsh. to Mr. Burgess during his testimony.
Mr Burgess told the court he was “gutted and shocked” by the message and responded by saying he was “very sorry” as he wanted to “calm down” the situation.
The prosecutor asked: “You were trying to soften him up so that he would protect your family and your career.”
“Yes,” replied Mr. Burgess.
