St George Illawarra Dragons prop George Burgess will have to wait until 2023 to face a court hearing over an alleged charge of "sexual touching."
Burgess, who has been allowed to continue playing in the NRL since the charge was made against him, has pled not guilty.
According to News Corp, Burgess didn't appear in court on Wednesday, however, his lawyer Bryan Wrench pleaded not guilty on his behalf at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court.
The report states that a hearing will now be held in 2023.
Court documents state that NSW Police will allege Burgess "sexually touched a woman's bottom without her consent" on March 8.
Burgess' lawyer Bryan Wrench told the court they are still waiting on DNA results.
“We have the brief of evidence but we still need DNA results … there’s no DNA evidence of him,” he told the court.
He has previously informed the court that there was "significant dispute" over the events of March 8.
Burgess assisted police with their investigation following the complaint being made by the woman.
The charge alleged against Burgess didn't carry a long enough minimum sentence to enforce the NRL's no-fault stand-down rule, and the game's governing body didn't use discretionary powers to enforce the rule.
The NRL's no-fault stand-down has previously been used against teammate Jack de Belin, and is currently applied against Manly Sea Eagles hooker Manase Fainu, who is awaiting trial.
It's understood that the hearing, to be held in 2023, will only take one day, with a date to be set later this month.
