Assault charges against two police officers over a bar brawl involving Tom Starling could help fuel the NRL star's compensation claim for his failed prosecution.
The 25-year-old Canberra Raiders hooker was initially charged over the December 2020 incident but was cleared in February after a court found police were not acting within their duty when they punched him multiple times.
CCTV footage of the incident at a Central Coast bar was played during his court hearing, with the vision showing a restrained Starling being repeatedly struck by officers.
A 49-year-old male senior constable was charged with common assault and a 37-year-old male sergeant was charged with two counts of common assault on Tuesday.
The employment of both men is under review.
Starling welcomed the charges as a step in the right direction, but questioned why it had taken so long and why only two officers were charged.
"It's a pretty full-on video and obviously anyone with two eyes can see the police were definitely in the wrong there," he told Sydney radio 2GB on Wednesday.
"It's been shown in court it was more of a street brawl and police not acting in their line of duty.
"I'd hate to see someone go through what me and my family have been put through - the emotional and financial pressure it puts on people."
Starling was first accused of assaulting four officers during the incident at the Shady Palms bar in Kincumber, but those charges were dropped before his court appearance.
He successfully defended one count of hindering or resisting police after a magistrate found the officers were not acting within their duty.
Starling's two brothers, Jackson and Josh, were also among four men charged over the incident.
The group had been celebrating a friend’s 21st birthday that night.
Josh Starling had been arrested at the venue after allegedly pushing security guard Khan Morris for calling his mother a "slut", a court was told previously.
A magistrate accepted the footage showed Josh becoming enraged by something Mr Morris said, but he found the youngest Starling guilty of common assault and resisting police.
He was sentenced to an 18-month conditional release order without conviction.
Starling's lawyer Samar Singh-Panwar on Wednesday said steps were under way to launch civil compensation proceedings and the charges against police would likely be relevant to that action.
"Both Tom Starling and his brother Jackson Starling have requested NSW Police reimburse at least some of their costs of the criminal law proceedings for which they were acquitted and police have now themselves been charged for," he said.
"Police have at this stage declined to pay any of those costs.
"This stance has caused the Starling family significant financial hardship."
Starling played his fifth season with the Raiders in 2023 after moving from the Newcastle Knights, where he earned accolades as one of the club's best under-18s players.
He joined the NRL teams after playing as a junior for the Kincumber Colts.
The officers are due to appear at Gosford Local Court on March 7.
