Junior Gold Coast rugby league player cops 16 week ban after being allegedly bashed by five people in a carpark

A Gold Coast junior rugby league player was allegedly bashed by five teenagers in front of his mum in the club carpark - now he’s been slapped with a 16-week suspension for bringing the game into disrepute. READ THE SHOCKING DETAILS HERE

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A GOLD Coast junior rugby league player will serve a 16-week suspension for bringing the game into disrepute after he was allegedly bashed by five teenagers in front of his mum in a footy club carpark.

Shannon Donaldson, 17, was stunned when the Rugby League Gold Coast judiciary ruled he and his older brother would share equal punishment with three Mudgeeraba players after a violent incident at Nerang Junior Rugby League club on June 19.

Donaldson was saying goodbye to a friend from inside his car after playing in an Under-18s match at the club when he was allegedly set upon by a former schoolmate who attended the match as a spectator.

Nerang and Coombabah rugby league player Shannon Donaldson was allegedly bashed by a group of people in a car park. Picture: Richard Gosling

Three Mudgeeraba players ran to join the fight, dragging Donaldson from his car and sparking an all-in brawl as Nerang players, including Donaldson’s brother, rushed to his defence.

The former classmate and another spectator involved in the fight were given formal warnings from Rugby League Gold Coast but could not be suspended because they were not registered players.

Donaldson’s mother Belinda was standing metres away when the violence erupted.

“Shannon was getting in the car, shaking hands with a friend, when next minute a boy’s hand went over the top of the car and started punching my son,” she said.

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“My son and his friend were in shock, they were both trapped in the car.

“From there another boy came running over and they pulled him out of the car and from there it was all on.

“My other son came over and bear-hugged one and has thrown him trying to get him off my son.

“I ran over screaming ‘Stop it, what is going on’ in a big mad panic, then three other Mudgee boys ran over and jumped in on the fight.

“From there a few of our boys jumped in trying to stop it. It was crazy. Other parents ran to try stop it. It all happened so quickly.”

Donaldson was harassed by others on social media who sent threatening messages, seen by the Bulletin, for hours after the incident, warning the 17-year-old was a “dead man walking” and would be attacked on sight.

A spokesman for Rugby League Gold Coast declined to comment on the specifics of the incident but said an experienced panel had reviewed all evidence over two weeks and distributed appropriate punishments to the parties accordingly.

Mudgeeraba officials declined to comment.

Ms Donaldson said the lengthy suspensions handed to her sons for defending themselves “didn’t seem right.”

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“At no point during the whole judiciary hearing did they ever seem concerned about my boys,” she said.

“All they said was imagine if a sponsor saw – that’s all they seemed worried about.

“The ‘brought game into disrepute’ charge, they care more about their image than protecting my boys.”

Donaldson’s suspension could rule him out of the remainder of Coombabah State High School’s Langer Trophy campaign if the school elects to uphold the QRL suspension in the privately-run competition.

The suspension comes days after a Rugby League Gold Coast A Grade player was suspended four weeks for an on-field king hit that left a rival with a broken cheekbone.

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