In June 2013, Packer was caught on camera urinating on field prior to kick off. Packer then played out the match for the Warriors against the Brisbane Broncos. The incident, dubbed "completely unacceptable" by the NRL, resulted in a $15,000 fine. After the game he tweeted "Good win when u gotta go u gotta go lol". On 2 October 2013, Packer signed a 4-year contract with the Newcastle Knights starting in 2014. In January 2014, Packer's contract was terminated before he could play for the Knights due to a serious assault committed by Packer at the end of November 2013 and impending criminal proceedings. On 29 November 2013, Packer appeared before court in Sydney, New South Wales, charged with assaulting a 22-year-old man, fracturing his eye socket. Packer punched the man in the face, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground. Packer then punched the man several times as he lay on the ground and stomped on his head, leaving the victim with two fractured facial bones. On 6 January 2014, Packer was sentenced to two years in jail after pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Magistrate Greg Grogan labeled Packer's actions as "cowardly and deplorable". In April 2014 the non-parole period of Packer's two-year sentence was reduced on appeal from two years to one. Having had a criminal conviction, there had been fears that he would be deported back to New Zealand, but on 16 December he was granted permission to remain in Australia, thus clearing the way for him to resume his first grade career with the St. George Illawarra Dragons. In May 2015, Packer returned to rugby league with the Dragons' second-tier team the Illawarra Cutters in the New South Wales Cup. On 27 September 2015, he was named at prop in the 2015 New South Wales Cup Team of the Year. The Dragons had been assisting Packer's rehabilitation within the rugby league community throughout 2015 and in October of that year, after the NRL gave formal approval for him to play in the NRL once more, he was able to sign a 2-year contract with them, starting in 2016. Packer played 41 games during his two-year stay at Dragons, scoring 1 try, almost always as starting prop. At the end of 2016, Packer said, "I would love to represent my country again. I have done it a couple of times back in 2011 but I was pretty young then and I took a lot of the experiences for granted.