After leading the charge to stand down players charged with serious criminal offences Australia coach Mal Meninga has confirmed he will consider Greg Inglis for Kangaroos selection in 2019.
Inglis pled guilty to a drink driving charge in court last November after he recorded a blood-alcohol reading of 0.085 while driving home from the Koori Knockout tournament in Dubbo on October 1.
The South Sydney skipper escaped conviction and was placed on an 18-month good-behaviour bond in one of many black eyes delivered to the NRL’s reputation this off-season.
Meninga last week added his well-respected voice to calls for St George Illawarra and NSW forward Jack de Belin – who is facing a charge of aggravated sexual assault – and any other player charged with sexual assault or domestic violence to be stood down.
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"Anything around domestic violence or sexual abuse, is a no-no in society," Meninga told The Daily Telegraph last week.
"The game has to say no too. Everyone is sick of it. Their time's up.
"If you bugger up and get charged, you've got to be suspended until your case is determined. You can't be around the game or the team. It's got to be definitive.”
The Australian Rugby League Commission is widely tipped to reverse the code’s longstanding policy of allowing the legal process to play out before taking action against players in a highly-anticipated meeting on Thursday.
But Meninga told The Courier Mail Inglis, who was stripped of the Kangaroos captaincy and banned from the two-Test tour against New Zealand and Tonga in October-November, has ‘paid his dues’.
“The game has to have a redemptive feature and Greg will get that with me,” Meninga told News Limited.
The Kangaroos boss added Inglis is a ‘fantastic role model’ and a ‘great ambassador for our game’ but stopped short of declaring the veteran will reclaim the Test captaincy from Boyd Cordner.
Inglis escaped punishment from both the NRL and the Rabbitohs over his drink-driving incident.
Meanwhile, the Queensland Rugby League this month came out in support of Inglis and all-but confirmed the 32-year-old will captain the Maroons in the 2019 State of Origin series.
