Sacked Canberra Raiders NRL player Curtis Scott will fight charges of domestic violence against his former girlfriend.
The 24-year-old appeared in Sutherland Local Court on Wednesday where his lawyer Sam Macedone said he was instructed to enter pleas of not guilty on eight charges.
These include reckless choking, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and stalking/intimidation alleged to have occurred on multiple occasions in 2018.
Up to 10 witnesses will likely be called at a later hearing that is expected to run between two and three days, the court was told.
Scott is seeking an AVO variation that currently stipulates he cannot go within 50 metres of the complainant's home.
Her family recently purchased a house in the same street where his new girlfriend lives, the court was told.
"In that same street my client, to get to the park where he trains, usually walks on the opposite side of the road," Mr Macedone said.
He asked for a reduction of about 10-20 metres to allow Scott to walk to training from his partner's home where he spends "a lot of time".
The prosecution said they opposed this and the matter was stood down for later in the day.
The football player was arrested at a golf course in Sydney's south at Barden Ridge one week ago, following an investigation that began in November, police say.
Scott had two years remaining on his contract with the Raiders when he was released in August last year, having played 23 games for the club after joining from the Melbourne Storm in 2020.
In the months prior to his release he had been stood down by the club and fined $30,000 by the NRL: $15,000 for an off-field incident and the other $15,000 for bringing the game into disrepute.
Following Canberra's decision to rip up his contract, Scott accused the club of not supporting him after he revealed mental health issues.
