A former playmaker for the St George Illawarra Dragons, Talatau Amone, has pleaded guilty to common assault following an altercation with a woman last year.

Last playing in the NRL in 2023, Amone was touted as the Dragons' next big superstar, which saw him on a contract worth $500,000 a season before he was de-registered by the NRL.

In the latest off-field incident, Amone has pleaded guilty to assault after spitting on a woman during a heated argument in a pub that took place in August of last year, per AAP.

He will be sentenced next week on February 25.

"When he went out that night there was no plan whatsoever to make contact with the victim, the meeting was spontaneous," Amone's defence lawyer Angela Cook said at Wollongong Local Court, via the publication.

"The victim approaches him (and) what occurs is a brief, short, impulsive, spontaneous and unplanned act.

"It was sensitive at the time and remains sensitive.

"There was a significant crumbling and impact on a career that he had pursued and pursued and pursued and it had fallen apart."

Dolphins setting sights on Dragons playmaker
TOOWOOMBA, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 22: Talatau Amone of the Dragons looks dejected after a Roosters try during the round 23 NRL match between the St George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters at Clive Berghofer Stadium, on August 22, 2021, in Toowoomba, Australia. (Photo by Jono Searle/Getty Images)

Featuring in 54 matches for the St George Illawarra Dragons between 2021 and 2023, he became a Tongan international after three games for the international side in 2022.

โ€œIt was tough at the start, getting the news that I won't be able to play this year. When I first got the news it rocked me a bit, I just didn't know what to do,โ€ the 22-year-old told The Sydney Morning Herald in January 2024 of his deregistration.

โ€œFooty is all I've done my whole life. So getting that news, knowing that I'm not allowed to play the sport I love and the thing that I love to do, it rocked me a bit and it took me a while to get over it.

โ€œI'll take it as a little blessing in disguise and now I can just work on myself mentally and physically, be able to train every day and just focus on my mental well-being. I'm still young, I haven't scratched the surface yet in my rugby league career.

โ€œI'm ready to come back from this and show everyone what I've really got. I haven't really reached my potential yet and I just can't wait to go out there and show everyone my best.

"I have the right support system around, I've got my family, I've got close friends. They got me through it and there's always a light at the end of the tunnel.

โ€œI realised that and I know when I come back, it will make me a better player. I'll come back stronger mentally and physically.โ€