Former rugby player Aaron Leigh Barba in court for breaking door

A former local rugby league player found himself in trouble with the law again after breaking down a door in a home he shouldn’t have been in — but he was quick to make amends.

Aaron Leigh Barba, 43.

A former rugby league player with a history of violent behaviour has broken the law, but tried to quickly make amends.

Aaron Leigh Barba, 43, was living with the victim on January 24 in South Mackay when they got into an argument over an invitation to a birthday party.

The court heard Barba left when asked by the victim, but later broke the door frame trying to get back in.

His ex asked him to fix it before she left and called the police.

They arrived to find him “hammering the front door frame” and he told police he was fixing it.

Police arrested him and took him to the Mackay watch-house.

Barba previously had contracts signed with the Penrith Panthers, Sydney Roosters and Brisbane Broncos before he returned to play for clubs in Mackay and previously held the Queensland Cup try-scoring record of 33 in one season.

Aaron Leigh Barba, 43, pleaded guilty to wilful damage after he was previously convicted of assault occasioning bodily harm in 2024 and also in 2018.

He was previously convicted of assault occasioning bodily harm and wilful damage, both domestic violence offences, in April, 2024 and sentenced to nine months of imprisonment with an immediate parole release after spending 67 days in presentence custody.

He faced court in 2018 after assaulting someone at BB Print Stadium while playing for the Mackay City Redmen.

Barba pleaded guilty to wilful damage and defence solicitor Geoff Govey said his client’s actions were serious.

“This was a repetition of offending,” Mr Govey said.

Mr Govey told the court Barba was living with his former partner for two weeks prior to the offending and the two had a 15-month-old child together.

Magistrate Bronwyn Hartigan said Barba’s “damaging the door, once he’s been asked to leave, to get back in was quite serious”.

“She asked him to leave and he did leave,” Mr Govey said.

Magistrate Bronwyn Hartigan said Barba’s offending was not out of character and he had a bad history of domestic violence offending.

Mr Govey said the victim then went to slam the door on Barba and he “moved back” causing the door to break.

“She asked him to fix the door … that’s what he was doing when police showed up,” he said.

The court heard Barba, after his retirement from rugby, went to work on the railways before working at the Mackay PCYC as a sports and recreation officer.

Magistrate Bronwyn Hartigan said Barba made no threat to harm the victim if he got back into the house and his fixing the door demonstrated “a level of remorse”.

“You do have a very bad history for domestic violence offending,” Ms Hartigan said.

“This is not out of character.

“You’ve received every order except for a suspended sentence, so many attempts have been made to rehabilitate you and at face value that has failed.”

Barba was sentenced to serve a six months suspended sentence of imprisonment with an operational period of 18 months and convictions were recorded.

Originally published as Former rugby player Aaron Leigh Barba in court for breaking door