Bailey Kingsford Weyer pleads guilty to grievous bodily harm

A talented Sunshine Coast rugby league player punched a man so brutally in a nightclub he has been left with a ‘severe deformity’. Read what sparked the attack.

A Sunshine Coast rugby league player punched a man so savagely in a Maroochydore nightclub it has left him with a serious nose disfigurement, a court has heard.

Bailey Kingsford Weyer, 22, was sentenced to a suspended jail term after pleading guilty to grievous bodily harm in Maroochydore District Court on Thursday, June 2, 2022.

The court heard about the dramatic moments leading up to the brutal attack on June 25, 2021 at the Duporth Tavern near Ocean St.

Crown prosecutor Alex Stark told the court there had been an interaction between the complainant and a friend of the Currimundi man about 11.30pm that night when he was not there.

Mr Stark said the complainant had allegedly struck Weyer’s friend who was later evicted.

The court heard Weyer had arrived at the Duporth Tavern after this incident with his partner and mates after they had been drinking beforehand.

Mr Stark said closer to midnight Weyer’s partner approached the complainant and abused him about what had transpired earlier.

She later rushed off and grabbed Weyer and led him straight to the complainant in the nightclub.

Weyer said nothing as he approached the complainant and threw a punch which didn’t connect before immediately slugging another at him.

Mr Stark said the second attack connected with the left side of the complainant’s nose, pushing it sideways, before they both fell to the ground and the fight was broken up.

The complainant suffered a displaced fracture of his nose, resulting in a “serious disfigurement” and “severe deformity”, the court heard.

Maroochydore Courthouse. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Breathing issues, further surgery, emotional harm and financial impact were retold in the complainant’s victim impact statement about the crushing blow.

Mr Stark said the complainant had to attend Greenslopes Hospital in Brisbane for corrective surgery to his nose.

The court was told Weyer, a talented rugby league player and tradie, had expressed remorse, wrote an apology letter to the complainant and had done everything to show he would not be back before the court again.

Judge Michael Byrne told Weyer the community was “sick and tired” of people getting full of alcohol and getting into fights.

“You heard what I said to your barrister about the old saying of nothing good happening after midnight, you brought it forward by three minutes,” he said.

Weyer was sentenced to 18 months’ jail, suspended for two years and was ordered to pay $3000 compensation.

A conviction was recorded.