Former Melbourne Storm enforcer Danny Williams convicted of glassing woman at The Oaks Hotel
He played 146 games as an enforcer for the Melbourne Storm, but the former NRL hardman has been convicted of glassing a woman at a popular Sydney pub. See what happened in court
Manly
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A former NRL first grade hardman has been convicted of glassing a woman at a popular Sydney pub.
Danny Williams, 49, who played for the Melbourne Storm and North Sydney Bears, smashed a beer glass on the woman’s head on a Saturday afternoon at the The Oaks Hotel in Neutral Bay.
Williams, an on-field enforcer known for his uncompromising physical style of play, hit the victim after she complained about his loud singing and swearing while she and two other women were watching a basketball game in the pub’s Taffy’s Sports Bar on October 1.
He pleaded guilty in Manly Local Court to assault occasioning actual bodily harm for the attack, which left the woman with a cut to the back of her head. She did not need hospital treatment.
The former league enforcer, who lives at Brighton in Victoria where he runs a cleaning company, became infamous in 2004 when he was suspended for 18 weeks after a “king hit” knocked out West Tigers’ Mark O’Neill.
Williams said at the time he was suffering post traumatic amnesia because he had been hit in a high tackle by O’Neill just prior to him delivering his knockout punch.
Williams barrister Terrance Thorpe told Manly Local Court on Wednesday the injury caused to the victim put the offence at the mid to lower end of the scale in terms of seriousness.
Mr Thorpe said the incident was out of character for Williams who he described as an Australian Schoolboys representative who grew up on the NSW Central Coast and became a professional rugby league player.
As well as the Storm and the Bears, he played in the English Super League with the London Broncos and represented Ireland at the 2000 Rugby League World Cup.
In a facts sheet tendered to court police state Williams and a group of friends entered The Oaks Hotel at 1pm and began drinking in Taffy’s Sports Bar. At 3.45pm the victim entered the bar with two other women and sat at a large booth facing a TV screen to watch a Women’s Basketball World Cup game between China and the USA.
Williams and his mates were standing behind the booth.
“Over the next hour Williams was swearing and singing loudly,” according to the facts sheet.
The victim said to Williams: “Hey mate, you’re singing really loudly and you are right in my ear.”
William continued to sing in the direction of the victim. At 5.25pm she tossed beer from a glass, over her left shoulder, onto the former footy player. He retaliated by throwing beer on the woman.
“Williams then placed the now empty beer glass in his right hand and proceeded to smash it on the back of the victim’s head with such force as to cause the glass to shatter,” the facts sheet stated.
He then fled the bar with his mates. The woman was treated for a small cut by another patron before police and ambulance paramedics arrived.
As she was driven to North Sydney police station to make a statement, the victim saw one of Williams’ mates outside he Union Hotel on the Pacific Hwy at North Sydney.
Police found Williams at that pub and he was arrested.
Magistrate Robyn Denes said although the victim suffered a relatively minor injury, she described the attack by Williams as a “glassing”.
He was convicted and handed an 18-month community correction order to be of good behaviour and fined $1000 dollars.
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