A young Aussie Rules player has put his AFL dream on hold after pleading guilty to assaulting another player by punching him in a “totally unwarranted, unjustifiable and angry outburst” during a football match.
“Talented athlete” Caleb Hunter was 19-years-old and playing in the southern Old Scholars competition on 15 July, 2023, when he attacked his 40-year-old opponent Patrick Carroll, leaving him with significant facial injuries.
During sentencing in the Supreme Court, Acting Justice David Porter said the incident unfolded in the third quarter of the match when Hunter tripped Carroll, resulting in a free kick and “some ill feeling” between the pair.
Later in the match, after a tackle from Carroll brought them both to the ground, Hunter punched Carroll once in the face with a closed fist as he attempted to stand up.
Carroll fell onto his hands and knees in immediate pain with a bloodied nose, with his young son witnessing the entire attack and becoming upset.
The assault left Carroll with numerous fractured nasal bones, requiring surgery and potentially causing permanent scarring, as well as extensive bleeding, headaches and breathing problems.
“He could not work for a week. He could not exercise for about six weeks due to pain and breathing difficulties, which he found very challenging,” Justice Porter said.
“It has had a significant emotional effect on him, giving rise to general feelings of anger and frustration. He did not return to playing football for the remainder of the season and has in fact not played since, after a 20 year football career.”
Hunter sustained a chin cut during the retaliation by Carroll’s teammates, in which he was punched six or seven times to the face and upper body.
Justice Porter said Hunter had stopped his prescribed medication for depression before the game due to a clash with over the counter flu medication he was taking.
“He feels that if he had been on his medication then he would not have responded in the way that he did,” Porter said.
“His counsel said he was immediately ashamed and “mortified”. He was embarrassed as his grandfather, father and uncle were all present. I was told his remorse and regret is profound and prolonged and he is ashamed that he may be labelled as a “dirty player”.”
Justice Porter sentenced Hunter to 105 hours of community service, deeming him a low re-offending risk.
“Irrespective of the context, time or place, any form of violence is unacceptable. People who participate in physical contact sports impliedly consent to the application of force provided it is within the rules,” Porter said.
“There is an inevitable risk that players might suffer injury, sometimes even serious injury, in the normal course of the game. However players do not consent to being unlawfully assaulted, that is, being the victim of criminal acts.”
