Wollongong CBD brawl: Brendan McCalla, Tristan Hudson jailed after violent booze-fuelled brawl

WATCH: Shocking video of a violent brawl has been played to a Wollongong court, after a man was left unconscious in the middle of a busy intersection.

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Two young men will spend at least nine months behind bars, after an alcohol-fuelled brawl in Wollongong CBD left one man unconscious in the middle of the street and several others with facial injuries.

Tristan Hudson, 23, of Tahmoor, and Brendan McCalla, 20, of Picton, were charged with affray last February after a violent brawl left four men with chipped teeth, black eyes and facial lacerations.

The pair faced Wollongong Local Court on Friday, where Magistrate Susan McGowan slammed their “appalling” behaviour, and sentenced them both to 12 months jail with a non-parole period of nine months.

The footage shows one of the victims’ laying unconscious in the street.

CCTV footage of the incident was played to the court during the sentencing, which Magistrate McGowan labelled both “alarming” and horrifying”.

The brawl, which took place at the intersection of Keira and Crown streets in tWollongong CBD, occurred just before midnight on February 23, 2019.

Hudson can be seen standing with a group of four other men, which court documents said were not known to him, before he’s joined by McCalla and another man, Keegen Thistleton.

In court documents, police say things quickly “turned hostile”, with McCalla captured bouncing on the balls of his feet, before Hudson starts throwing punches at the group of men.

An all-in brawl breaks out almost immediately after, spilling into the middle of the intersection.

The footage showed one of the men fall to his hands and knees, as Hudson tried to punch him. McCalla joins in, and punches the man in the back of the head twice, before kicking him in the same spot.

The man tries to protect his head and get to his feet, but loses consciousness and falls face first into the ground.

McCalla continues to kick the man, at one stage hitting the top of the man’s head with his left foot.

Cars and buses drove around the unconscious man, as witnesses rushed to his aid. 

Thistleton and Hudson then pull McCalla off the man, leaving him unconscious in the middle of the road.

The trio were found nearby a short time later and arrested by police.

According to court documents, the main victim suffered a laceration above his left eyebrow that required gluing. The three other male victims also suffered significant injuries, including black eyes, facial swelling and chipped teeth.

After watching the CCTV footage on Friday, Magistrate McGowan said she had no other option than sending McCalla and Hudson to jail.

“This needs to send a clear message,” she said.

“The community is sick and tired of alcohol fuelled violence … people walking down the street that night would have been horrified.”

After sentencing the men to jail, their defence lawyer lodged an appeal, and applied for bail on his clients’ behalf.

Magistrate Michael Love denied the applications for release, noting it was lucky no one died as a result of the brawl.

“In my view there are no reasonable prospects of success on appeal,” he said.

The pair will face the District Court in six weeks time for their appeal.

Thistleton, who was also involved in the brawl, was sentenced for his role in the brawl late last year, receiving a 12-month community corrections order.