SYDNEY (AP) — Australian rugby league international Greg Bird is set to resume playing after a conviction for recklessly wounding his girlfriend was quashed on appeal Wednesday.
Bird played the last English Super League season with French club Catalan Dragons after being sacked by Australian National Rugby League club Cronulla in January.
Bird's American girlfriend Katie Milligan suffered a broken eye socket and cuts to her eye during an altercation at the player's Sydney home in August 2008.
In April, the former Australia and New South Wales five-eighth/lock was convicted of recklessly wounding Milligan and in June was sentenced to at least eight months in jail, with a maximum of 16 months.
Both gave evidence at Bird's appeal hearing this week, blaming Milligan's drug use and aggression for the fight which she started.
She told the court that during the fight she "lunged" at Bird with a water glass as he took a "defensive position" and tried to grab her wrists.
Neither could explain how the glass broke, just saying that Milligan fell to the floor clutching her eye.
Bird has completed his contract with Catalan. The North Queensland Cowboys and Gold Coast Titans, both from Queensland state, have already expressed interest in signing him for the 2010 NRL season.
NRL boss David Gallop said a club wanting to sign Bird, who has a history of off-field misdemeanors, would need to explain how it would aim to prevent further incidents.
"We fully respect the decision in the court," Gallop said Wednesday. "If a club looks to sign Greg then clearly we need to look at the issue of registration of a contract. There'd be a range of factors that we would want some information about."
