An online petition directly mentioning Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is asking the government to let reformed St. George Illawarra prop Russell Packer stay in the country after it was reported the bad boy was going to be deported to New Zealand.

Over 1660 have already signed the petition which states “nrl player russell packer has done his time .why should he be deported because of 1 mistake he has turned his life around and is a productive member of society..”.

The 26-year-old spent time in prison after being convicted of assault on a Sydney street in the early hours of the morning. He was released early this year and spent the season playing for the Illawarra Cutters in the NSW Cup but impressed more at the club with his work in their community programme. He was also named NSW Cup Player of the Year for the Cutters club and made the NSW Cup Team of the Year. He graduated from Wollongong TAFE in the last two weeks.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton’s office said last week that the decision on Packer was still to be made.

Many have come to Packer’s defence including former NRL star Krisnan Inu who tweeted, “Malcolm Turnbull MP: LET RUSSELL PACKER STAY IN AUSTRALIA – Sign the Petition!”.

One supporter on the petition said, “Russ and his family deserve to stay. Every deserves second chances and if Malcolm really took the time to see all the changes russ has made he would see its a no brainer that he deserves to stay.”