BREAKING: Chris Dawson Has Been Granted Bail

Chris Dawson has been granted bail in a Sydney courtroom today. 

The former rugby league player was charged last week with murdering his wife Lynette in 1989. He intends to plead not guilty.

Dawson's wife was 33 when she disappeared from Sydney's northern beaches in 1982, and her body has never been found.

Prosecutor Craig Everson on Friday said the case against Dawson "was based upon a number of strong circumstances" and the conclusion that his wife died in January 1982 was "irresistible" based on the evidence.

He told the court that Dawson, now 70, allegedly asked a man with criminal connections about how he might get rid of his wife, and told her at a counselling session that "If this doesn't work, I'm getting rid of you".

But Dawson's lawyer Greg Walsh said the Crown's "entirely circumstantial" case was far from strong and there was evidence Ms Dawson had been seen alive following her alleged murder.

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