Ex-Wallaby Brett Sheehan pleads guilty to domestic violence charge
He made a name for himself on the rugby pitch as a Wallaby. But Brett Sheehan’s next battle will be fought in a courtroom where the 40-year-old will claim “mental health issues” caused him to assault his wife.
NSW
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Ex-Wallaby Brett Sheehan has admitted assaulting and choking his wife but is now set to argue in court that it was a mental health-related episode.
Police charged the 40-year-old former halfback following an incident at his Warriewood home on Sydney’s northern beaches at 9pm on October 24 after his wife, Laura, raised the alarm.
Sheehan, who had an eight-year career in Super Rugby, appeared before Manly Local Court on Tuesday and has pleaded guilty to one count of common assault in relation to his wife and another of intentionally choking her.
However, Sheehan’s lawyer Michael Croke told the court his client would seek to have the matter dealt with under the state’s mental health laws.
This means the former rugby star would be admitted into psychiatric care rather than prison should he be sentenced to a stint behind bars.
Magistrate Miranda Moody ordered Sheehan’s team to have the ex-Wallaby assessed by a mental health expert and file a report to the court within seven days of when the matter goes to hearing in January.
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It is understood post-playing struggles are not a factor in Sheehan’s situation.
Instead, The Sunday Telegraph understands another mental health issue will be raised that Sheehan had been taking medication for and that the dosage had sparked the issue.
The legislation, known as “section 32” of the state’s mental health act, will require Sheehan’s legal team to clear a number of hurdles for the magistrate to deal with him under the act.
This includes evidence that Sheehan had been diagnosed with a mental illness at the time of the offence and that there is a public interest in him receiving treatment rather than court-ordered punishment.
Sheehan was released on bail from Manly Police Station after being charged on the condition he agree to the terms of an apprehended violence order protecting his wife.
This was despite police noting in documents tendered to court that the offence was an “incident of strangulation” and there was a possible further risk to his wife.
However, police also noted Sheehan had no criminal history and was “not likely” to be sentenced to jail over the incident.
A one-time schoolboy rugby star for St Joseph’s College, Sheehan played seven tests for the Wallabies between 2006 and 2013.
He made his first run on start with the Wallabies at age 33 in 2012 when then coach Robbie Deans called him into the team following an injury to Will Genia.
Known as a hard-nosed halfback, Sheehan played 43 games for the NSW Waratahs between 2006 and 2009 before moving to Perth to play three more years for the Western Force.
It was during that time that he met Laura — a Western Australian native — at a Perth bar in 2010.
In a 2016 interview talking about Sheehan’s move to France to finish his rugby career, Laura said being married to a professional footballer was “a complex thing”.
“There are both positives and negatives,” she said. “Athletes and sportsmen are complex human beings to say the least.
“Their lives are dictated by sport and they tend to live an existence of routine and ritual which is often difficult to understand or even accept in a relationship. They require a lot of support which can often mean your aspirations come second.
“I don’t say this in a negative way, more so that the relationship is in a continuously changing shift between supporting one another.”
When called, Mr Croke said neither Sheehan nor his wife would comment.
Sheehan will face court on January 7.