GWS Giants player Toby Greene fined over pub brawl
GREATER Western Sydney midfielder Toby Greene has been fined over an ugly pub brawl, with his victim telling the court: “I could have been dead”.
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GREATER Western Sydney midfielder Toby Greene has been fined $2500 after pleading guilty over an ugly pub brawl.
It brings to $7500 the total monetary penalty for the assault following a club imposed $5000 fine issued earlier this year.
Despite letting him off without a conviction, Magistrate Franz Holzer told Greene, 21, the stigma of the assault would stick with him.
Referencing the one-punch death of David Cassai he said the consequences of the assault could have been far worse.
“Alcohol, young people, the combination often leads to tragic results,” he said.
“Fortunately that’s not on this level on this occasion, but it could of been.
“Whether you like it or not ... this sort of behaviour is intolerable,” he said.
Greene sat flanked by his mum as the Melbourne Magistrates Court heard how he attacked a crown controller at Caulfield hotel Zagames.
He was schoolfriend and co-offender Charles Haley, 20, when they were refused service for being too drunk on a night out in May.
A fracas erupted after Haley was caught urinating on a carpark wall about 11.30pm.
It left crowd controller Terrence Payne with lacerations to his hands, a broken finger and soreness to his head and neck.
In a statement to the court he said he still suffered nightmares and underwent counselling following the assault.
“Maybe one more punch, or one more kick to the head, I could have been dead,” he said.
Greene was originally charged with nine offences but today pleaded guilty to single counts of assault and drunk.
His lawyer Bernie Balmer told the court Greene had gone to Haley’s aid when he became involved in the incident.
He said his client had already been substantially punished with GWS fining him and banning him for five matches.
He said that ban potentially cost him a $50,000 bonus because he had been in the running for the club’s best and fairest.
Chris McLennan, for Haley, said his client had had too much to drink, and wasn’t thinking straight.
But he said the amateur sportsman, who pleaded guilt to assault, drunk and offensive manner in public, knew he was out of line.
Prosecutors called on the court to impose convictions, citing the recent Court of Appeal decision in the matter of Tyrone Russell.
Russell, 23, attacked the friends of 22-year-old David Cassai on the night he was killed with a fatal punch at Rye on December 31, 2012.
The Court of Appeal re-sentenced Russell to three years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of one year and nine months, after finding his original sentence of 15 months, with a minimum term of eight months, was manifestly inadequate.
“Random street violence is a scourge on our society,” President Chris Maxwell and Justices Mark Weinberg and Joseph Santamaria said in a joint judgment.
“Typically, the violence is brief and unpremeditated but it has profound and enduring consequences.
“Innocent people are killed or seriously injured; their families are devastated; their communities disrupted.
“And the outburst of violence is ruinous for the offender, too.”
But Magistrate Holzer said while general deterrence was a significant factor, he had to consider the context of the offending.
He said it was significantly distinguishable from Russell’s and decided against imposing convictions.
Both men were fined $2500, plus court costs, and given six months to pay.
shannon.deery@news.com.au