How did left hook taste?: Ex-NBL star ‘taunted’ during brother’s game

Harry Froling’s skull was fractured in a 2023 one-punch attack that left him brain damaged. Police are investigating an incident in which he was taunted about the assault as he watched an NBL playoff.

Former Bullets NBL Player Harry Froling, Zillmere. Picture: Liam Kidston

NSW Police are investigating an incident involving an ex-NBL star allegedly taunted about a previous one-punch attack that left him brain damaged.

Harry Froling was watching his brother in the semi-final game against the Illawarra Hawks and South East Melbourne Phoenix in Wollongong on Wednesday night when he was targeted.

Froling, who was punched in the head outside a Wollongong nightclub in 2023 and suffered a fractured skull and multiple haematomas, was in the crowd watching the playoff game behind the players’ bench when he received an Instagram message saying” how did that left hook taste”.

Froling, whose brother Sam Froling plays for Illawarra, took a screenshot of the messages then blocked the sender.

Once the game had finished Froling was standing near the Hawks bench when he heard someone in the crowd yell out his name from the railing above.

Former Bullets player Harry Froling who was in Wollongong watching his brother’s NBL game. Picture: Liam Kidston

Harry Frolling bears the scars of surgery to repair his fractured skull and alleviate bleeding on the brain after he was attacked in Wollongong in 2023. Picture: Shane Froling/Twitter

He told police he heard people yelling out “how’s the head, how did that left hook taste” and other things relating to the assault on him for which a man was jailed.

Police were told two men gestured for Froling to go up into the stands, gesturing they wanted to fight him.

Froling waited for up to an hour for his brother to finish with a physiotherapist post game so he could drive home with him, fearing the people targeting him might have been waiting for him outside.

Sources say detectives are now reviewing CCTV footage of the incident and the Illawarra Hawks management has been informed.

In January 2023 Froling, then a Brisbane Bullets player, was found unconscious on the footpath of Crown St after being punched in the head.

The 26-year-old underwent brain surgery for his injuries the next day, but the strike had a lasting impact on his health and sporting career.

Sam Froling will was on the court on Wednesday night when his brother was in the crowd. Police are investigating. Photo: Mark Nolan

His attacker, 22-year-old carpentry apprentice Nathan Mesinez, was jailed in August last year after pleading guilty to one count of reckless grievous bodily harm.

He was sentenced to a prison term of two years and seven months with a non-parole period of one year and four months.

Froling’s victim impact statement said the former professional player now felt like “nothing”.

He detailed a series of mental and physical consequences from the night, including PTSD that left him nervous when out at night.

Froling said at the time that the jail sentence “sends a message to the public” about night-life violence.

“It is important we have to deter this sort of thing because it changes and ruins lives for victims and the offenders,” he said.

The Brisbane Bullets declined to take up the second-year option on Froling’s contract.

He claimed he has missed out on more than $250,000 worth of sports contracts, on top of his rehabilitation costs.

Originally published as How did left hook taste?: Ex-NBL star ‘taunted’ during brother’s game