Eden Rogers-Smith: Sydney Roosters’ NSW Cup player sentenced for assaulting Bondi Beach bouncer

A Sydney Roosters’ NSW Cup player who assaulted a bouncer at Bondi Beach in an attempt to protect his brother has avoided conviction.

Eden Rogers-Smith appeared in Downing Centre Local Court on Monday.

A Sydney Roosters’ NSW Cup player has been told “nothing will save your rugby league career” if he was to return to court, after avoiding a conviction for assaulting a bouncer.

Eden Rogers-Smith, of Randwick, appeared in Downing Centre Local Court on Monday to be sentenced after previously being found guilty of assault.

Court documents state the 24-year-old assaulted Huseyin Keskin at Bondi Beach about 10pm on March 25 last year.

The court heard Rogers-Smith was having a “very pleasant” night watching rugby league with family and friends before everything went downhill, ending in an incident with police making a number of arrests.

Magistrate Alison Viney told the court a drunk friend of Rogers-Smith had “caused the strife in the first place”, saying alcohol is “always somewhere in the roots of these issues”.

Eden Rogers-Smith leaves Downing Centre Local Court on Monday.

The rugby league player understood his brother was in trouble with a security guard, which led to his violent act.

After reading written submissions from Rogers-Smith’s lawyer, Ms Viney said it was “well and good” to be worried about his future in rugby league, but “you weren’t worried about that on the night (of the assault)”.

She did, however, acknowledge the Randwick man’s criminal actions were triggered by his true concern for his brother and “the position he found himself in” but made clear the pair shouldn’t have been anywhere near the incident.

In sentencing, Ms Viney told Rogers-Smith directly: “should your behaviour dip … again, nothing will save your rugby league career”.

“One would have thought the finding of guilt (in a hearing) that the league should be paying some attention to, whether you are convicted or not,” she said.

“I do acknowledge the motivation … was in protection of your brother … I accept it was a situation that got way out of hand.”

The court heard Rogers-Smith had “no prior matters” on his record. He was ultimately placed on a two-year conditional release order without conviction.