Why Eels legend Paul Mares launched a foul-mouthed tirade at a country cop

The reason why an Eels player launched a tirade at a country cop in 2021 in wild footage has been heard in court.

Footy great Paul Mares was suffering from “football head” when he launched an expletive-laden rant at a country police officer, a court has heard.

The 60-year-old former Parramatta Eels star, who played in the Eels’ 1983 premiership win, had a heated interaction with a country cop in 2021.

The 17-minute interaction was recorded on body-worn camera and played in the courtroom. At one point, Mr Mares accuses the officer of having a sexual relationship with his ex-partner.

Mr Mares had his charges dismissed on grounds of mental health. Picture: NSW Police

He faced Sydney Downing Centre District Court on Thursday, where he had a string of charges dismissed on mental health grounds following

Mr Mares’ lawyer Patrick Duffy told the court his client was suffering “major depression” at the time and had longstanding cognitive issues due to his career as a footballer.

“Mr Mares considers himself to be luckily when compared to some of his peers … but it would not be an inaccurate assumption that there would be issues there,” Mr Duffy told the court.

“He calls it football head … as in when he is trying to remember something.”

The confrontation occurred after Mr Mares was pulled over by the officer while driving a black ute on Bushrangers Hill Road in Adaminaby.

The pair were familiar to one another, with Mr Mares throwing a drug test at the officer at one point.

The pair were previously known to each other. Picture: NSW Police

“You wanna play f*****g games Graham, you pull me up every time you see me,” Mr Mares can be heard saying in the footage.

Mr Duffy said Mr Mares was volatile at the time as his relationship with his partner had just ended.

“There was a relationship with a woman at that time … it was like a country and western song, it went south very quickly and the relationship ended,” Mr Duffy told the court.

“He had a belief that this policeman had been in relationship [with the woman] who had a previous relationship with Mr Mares. That is clearly underlying in the situation.”

Mr Duffy argued that neither his client nor the officer had “covered themselves in glory” during the situation.

He argued the charges needed to be dismissed as they would result in Mr Mares having his license suspended for 12 months.

Mr Mares now lives in Mooney Mooney and is unable to walk to the bus stop, about a kilometre away from his home, due to “serious, serious physical problems” suffered during his football career.

Former Parramatta Eels great Paul Mares arrives at the Downing Centre in Sydney on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Christian Gilles

He told the court Mr Mares had almost 20 screws and plates in his right leg and knee, had undergone a shoulder reconstruction and was also likely to have a left knee construction in the “near future”.

Crown prosecutor Daryl Gunter argued that Mr Mares did not “help himself” when he chose to act “outrageously and improperly” to the police officer after being pulled over.

“Whether there is some personal greviance in the background we don’t know but when a police officer commands to check his sobriety … which he is entitled to do … he must comply, and he didn’t,” he told the court.

Judge John North dismissed the two charges on grounds of mental health, saying there was “great distance” between Mr Mares’ former life and his new life in Mooney Mooney.

Outside court, Mr Duffy said Mr Mares was eager to put the incident behind him.

“Mr Mares is humbled by and grateful for the skillful discretion exercised by the court today,” he said.

“He’s looking forward to putting a difficult episode, or period in his life, behind him and moving on into the future, as he has in the recent past.”