Martin Bella tells of being run down in neighbourhood dispute

Origin great Marty Bella has emotionally revealed how he thought he would die when he was run down in an alleged neighbourhood dispute.

Rugby league legend and former Origin great Marty Bella has revealed he thought he would die when he was run down in what police will allege was an extraordinary neighbourhood dispute turned violent.

Bella – who serves on Mackay Regional Council – tearfully told The Sunday Mail he was knocked unconscious and feared he had suffered irreparable brain damage.

The former star prop was exploring a new property he had bought, next door to his home, when he found a neighbour leaving a shed.

Police will allege Mr Bella and a 54-year-old man had a verbal altercation about 4.30pm on July 15, before the man got in his ute and drove it directly at the 57-year-old, who was on a quad bike.

“I walked back to the bike … and as I got on to the bike … I heard a roar,” Mr Bella told The Sunday Mail.

“(I) shot over the front of the bike … I landed on my back and my head hit the ground and I lost consciousness.”

Bella said he remembered pushing himself back on to the bike.

Martin Bella on his property near Mackay

“It was just roaring, and I remember thinking, I’m dead. I’m dead. And you don’t feel fear,” he said.

“You just go real cold. It seems to last forever. There’s nothing you can do.”

Police will allege the 4WD impact forced Mr Bella and the quad bike into a drain. “I tried to stand. I was flat out standing, because I was still buggered,” he said.

Bella said the man got out of the 4WD and walked towards him carrying something.

“I thought, I’m in no state to run away,” he said.

“All I can do is walk forward. I staggered forward. I’m still not right.”

Police will allege the 54-year-old man sprayed a substance in Mr Bella’s eyes several times, before further assaulting him. The Queensland Police Service confirmed officers were called to the property at Koumala, 60km south of Mackay, after a report of a “two-vehicle traffic incident”.

“It is alleged two men, aged 54 and 57, who are known to each other, became involved in a verbal altercation around 4.30pm on a road outside the property,” police said in a statement.

“It is further alleged that following the altercation, the 54-year-old man got in his ute and drove it directly at the 57-year-old man, who had returned to his quad bike.

“The ute then crashed into the quad bike and forced it down into a drain, causing the 57-year-old man to be thrown from the vehicle.

Martin Bella on the charge for the Maroons in State of Origin Game Two 1991

“The 54-year-old man then allegedly exited his vehicle, approached the man and sprayed him in the eyes with an unknown substance before further assaulting him.

“He then allegedly continued to spray the 57-year-old man in the eyes with the substance as he made his way back to the quad bike.

“The 57-year-old man managed to drive away on the bike as he was again approached by the man in the ute.”

The 54-year-old has been charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and assault occasioning bodily harm.

Bella said his biggest fear was that he would not recover from the symptoms he continued to suffer after allegedly being knocked unconscious twice in a matter of seconds.

He said given the head injuries he suffered during his football career, he feared this was one incident too many.

“It’s been four weeks,” he said. “Physically I’ve come right – my wrists, my neck, my back and everything. But I’ve got continual headaches. I’ve had them ever since. I was knocked out twice in a couple of seconds. I’ve had headaches – they’re even while I’m asleep. I’ve got tinnitus (ringing in the ears). I’ve got periodic vertigo. My voice has changed.

Martin Bella was convinced he was going to die in the incident.

“I can’t sequence tasks. I’ve got to concentrate. I can’t have the radio on in the car – I’ve got to focus. I fatigue. I have two or three sleeps a day while I’m trying to work out at the farm.”

He said watching his mother decline with dementia had made him even more fearful of what lies ahead.

“Mum’s got dementia. I’ve seen what’s happened to some other footballers,” he said. “I’m worried this is the best I’m going to be. The hard thing for me ... in the first day or so, this was the same as every other time I was knocked out in the past, but it’s not following that path. It’s not coming right.

“I’m just worried as hell, I’ve got to be honest.”

Bella said that all his life he had been regarded as just “big and ugly”.

“But I’ve always been pretty intelligent and quite articulate. And I’m worried I’ll make a bad decision or say the wrong thing or not say what I should say and that I can’t keep up intellectually with what’s going on,” he said.

Bella said he had not sought specialist medical help because he believed there was nothing to be done if the damage was permanent.

The 54-year-old man is due to appear in a Sarina court on September 13.

Martin Bella (right) with fellow Maroons legend Gary Coyne