Ratu Nanovo granted bail over Parramatta rugby league stabbing
Former Fiji rugby league representative Ratu Nanovo has been granted bail over the alleged triple stabbing at a western Sydney rugby league game, despite a prosecutor arguing he “brought a knife to a fist fight”.
Police & Courts
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Former Fiji rugby league representative Ratu Nanovo has been granted bail over the alleged triple stabbing at a western Sydney rugby league game, despite a prosecutor arguing he “brought a knife to a fist fight”.
Sporting a heavily bandaged left hand Nanovo appeared on the screen at Parramatta Local Court where his mother waved at him and watched his application for freedom.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Gradden told the court the alleged “frenzied attack” happened at “community sport which we’re lucky to have back in the current circumstances”.
“This is a consensual game, a community game, where people expect to be able to arrive safely and leave safely,” Sgt Gradden said.
“Some type of incident has occurred on the field, the co-accused has been sent from the field.”
Police yesterday revealed Nanovo’s co-accused Bradley Middlebrook – charged with affray and assault but not with stabbing anyone – had been sent off during the game they had just played in for the Penrith Brothers against Wentworthville Magpies.
The court heard Nanovo allegedly got a kitchen knife from his car and concealed it in his pants before allegedly stabbing a 19-year-old Magpies opponent and two spectators.
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“He brings a knife to a fist fight essentially and that is the concern here,” Sgt Gradden said.
“It’s not one stabbing … it’s multiple, it’s a frenzied attack.”
She argued he was “staring down the barrel of a custodial sentence” if convicted on the three charges of wound with intent to cause grievous bodily harm he has been charged with.
However Nanovo’s lawyer Ihab Jamal argued strict bail conditions could alleviate any risks his client posed to the community and Magistrate Robyn Denes agreed.
She said “bail is not a punitive measure” and was intended to assure the accused attended future court dates, mitigate the risk of reoffending and protect witnesses. Nanovo also faced a potential lengthy wait to have the matter resolved, she said.
“There is at least an eight-week delay for the brief to be served,” Ms Denes said.
Nanovo was granted conditional bail and is expected to be released from Amber Laurel Correctional Centre in Emu Plains later today.
The 19-year-old was chosen to represent Fiji, alongside a host of NRL players, against Lebanon last year and in 2018 made the Australian Schoolboys team.