Curtis Scott is free to start the NRL season with Canberra after the league declared he would not fall under the code’s no-fault stand-down policy.
Scott is defending six charges from his Australia Day incident, including two of assaulting police after his night out ended in Moore Park.
Under the NRL’s rules brought in after last year’s summer of hell, players facing a charge of 11 years or more are automatically stood down by head office.
Scott’s charges only carry a maximum of five years, and the league has used their discretion to opt against a ban that would have lasted the length of his court proceedings.
“Having considered the charges against Scott, the NRL has determined that he should not be prevented from playing whilst he responds to them,” the NRL said in a statement.
“The NRL regards the charges as extremely serious and the Raiders have been advised Scott will face a significant penalty if found guilty of the charges.”
The decision comes as a massive boost for the Raiders.
Scott was only brought to the club from Melbourne over the off-season and fills the void left by Joey Leilua.
The ex-Storm centre has scored 18 tries in 48 NRL games, but is considered one of the most exciting your prospects in the competition.