Manly Sea Eagles star Dylan Walker will not have to return to court on domestic violence charges after the Director of Public Prosecutions elected not to appeal his acquittal, according to a report by The Sydney Morning Herald.
In May, Walker was found not-guilty in Manly Local Court of assaulting his partner Alexandra Ivkovic after an alleged disagreement last December.
Walker was alleged to have pulled his fiancee to the ground by her ponytail, however in court Ivkovic backed away from her earlier statement to police.
In an interview with Channel Nine in May, both Walker and Ivkovic said they wanted to move on from the incident.
"I just want to be the best person I can be," said Walker, "I’m so lucky to have that loving partner and baby. It’s tough, it doesn’t reflect me as a person, what I do on the field."
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that police prosecutors had referred the case to the DPP to consider possible appeals against the decision. However, the DPP chose to not pursue the matter, which is now considered closed.
The decision allows Walker and the Sea Eagles to enter into contract negotiations after Manly decided to wait until Walker's legal case was settled.
The former South Sydney premiership player is out of contract at the end of the season, along with Manly stars Tom and Jake Trbojevic.
For Manly to resign Walker, he may need to take a significant pay cut on his $600,000 per season salary for the Sea Eagles to afford both Trbojevic brothers.
After becoming the first player to be stood down under the NRL's 'no-fault' policy, Walker's comeback will continue against the West Tigers tonight as the Sea Eagles look to push for a top-four spot.
How’s DeBellin going, Priscilla????
Ahahahahahahahahahahaha. She didn’t believe us when we told her Walker was innocent. 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡