ldogs rugby league player Reni Maitua has pleaded not guilty to assaulting a taxi driver in Sydney's south-east and has asked for the case to be dealt with under mental health legislation.
Maitua, 31, is accused of striking the driver, Abdelhamid Bensaidi, at Daceyville at 4.41am on November 25 last year, after a night out in Kings Cross.
Matua, from Kingsford, is the second high-profile rugby league player to face court in as many days for late-night assaults.
On Monday, Newcastle Knight Russell Packer was sentenced to two years' jail for an assault that occurred in Sydney's CBD in November 2013.