St George Illawarra prop Russell Packer has finally been given the all-clear to resume his NRL career, after the Australian Federal Immigration Department notified his legal team yesterday that he would not be deported over his jail term for assault.
The 26-year-old was sentenced to two years in prison in January 2014, after being found guilty of occasioning actual bodily harm in a Sydney CBD brawl on November 2013. A 22-year-old victim suffered numerous facial injuries and two fractured facial bones.
Packer's club, the St. George Illawarra Dragons, has always stood by Packer since news broke of his potential deportation, following the toughening up of immigration and deportation policies in Australia.
Packer's father, Russell Packer Sr, confirmed to Te Kāea reporter Raniera Harrison that the NZ Warriors were willing to take him back if he was deported.