Ex-NRL star’s fresh loss after hammer attack

Ex-NRL playmaker Junior Amone has lost his bid to overturn his conviction for a rooftop hammer attack after a judge lashed his explanation for running from the scene as “absurd”, once again leaving his playing career in limbo.

Amone, 22, appeared in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on Friday, hoping to quash his conviction relating to a heated incident outside his family’s Warrawong home in November 2022 and ultimately resurrect his chances of returning to the field.

However Judge William Fitzsimmons dismissed his appeal and confirmed his convictions, delivering a blow to Amone’s chances of overturning his NRL ban in the near future.

Junior Amone and his father, Talatau Amone, were in October last year both found guilty of a string of charges including assault occasioning bodily harm.

Magistrate Gabriel Fleming found the pair guilty of all charges after the court was told tradesmen Jai King and Dean West were working on a house opposite the Amone home when they became embroiled in an argument with a group of men over a Nissan Navara parked on a nature strip which descended into a violent incident.

The magistrate found that Junior Amone then jumped on the top of the vehicle, while his father abused and threatened the tradesmen.

Ms Fleming found Junior Amone then climbed onto the roof of the property, where the men were working, while wielding a claw hammer above his head.

Mr King jumped to a neighbouring roof to escape, falling and hitting an airconditioning unit on the way down, suffering serious injuries, including a broken hand.

The magistrate found evidence tied Junior Amone to the scene - including fingerprints on the windshield - and she was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that he was the man who chased Mr King from the rooftop.

He was found guilty of damaging property, intimidation and assault occasioning actual bodily harm and sentenced to a two year Intensive Corrections Order.

During an appeal hearing earlier this week, Amone’s barrister, John Korn, attacked the credibility of key witnesses, Mr King and Mr West, contending there were inconsistencies between their statements to police and their later evidence to the local court.

However Judge Fitzsimmons found they were “credible and truthful”.

“Both witnesses were providing a verbatim account of what could only have been a terrifying and traumatic sequence,” Judge Fitzsimmons said.

As well, Mr Korn argued that they colluded to identify Junior Amone after viewing an online news story about Talatau Amone and a picture of the father and son together.

The court heard Mr King described viewing the picture as like seeing “a ghost”.

But Judge Fitzsimmons found their evidence was “not poisoned” or infected by doing the “innocent but misguided” internet search.

Junior Amone was also seen on CCTV in a nearby street running from the scene in the aftermath of the violent incident.

That same day, he was also captured on CCTV at Sydney Airport - having returned from the Rugby League World Cup in England - and at Service NSW wearing similar clothes.

Earlier this week Mr Korn told the court that the vision may have captured Amone innocently going for a run, as part of his training as a high-level athlete.

However Judge Fitzsimmons said: “The submission that a reasonable inference that he was running as part of his exercise regime ... is bordering on absurd and utterly lacks credibility.”

In the wake of his conviction last year, Amone’s $500,000-a-year contract with the Dragons was torn up after he was deregistered by the NRL.

At the time he had amassed 54 NRL appearances for the Dragons, was considered a rising young playmaker and had made three Test appearances for Tonga.

Talatau Amone was found guilty of damaging property, intimidation, and entering a building or land with the intention to commit an indictable offence and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years behind bars with a non-parole period of 12 months, before he was released on bail pending his appeal.

His appeal against his convictions was also on Friday morning dismissed by the District Court.

After their conviction appeals were dismissed, both Junior and Talatau Amone appealed against the severity of their sentences.

Mr Korn asked that Junior Amone be sentenced to a community supervision order, rather than an intensive corrections order, which is a jail term to be served in the community.

The court heard that he hoped that a lesser sentence would improve his chances of reviving his career.

“He would like to return at some stage to get back and earn a contract again, it’s his life,” Mr Korn said.

However Judge Fitzsimmons pointed out that it was a serious violent incident and that the victim leapt from one roof to another to escape.

“It was a fundamentally unprovoked attack involving the use of a weapon, in this case a hammer … The victim and his colleague were working on a roof which was at a considerable height,” he said.

“The victim was, quite understandably, so concerned for his own life that he took the step of leaping from one roof to another.”

He noted Mr King’s injuries could have been a lot worse, as he said he was satisfied the “section five threshold” had been crossed in Junior Amone’s case.

The section five threshold is used by the courts to determine whether any penalty other than imprisonment is appropriate.

His legal team asked for the severity appeal to be adjourned to call evidence about his chances of returning to the NRL if his sentence was reduced.

In his efforts to reduce Talatau Amone’s sentence, Mr Korn told the court that after serving three months in custody he had undergone counselling for anger management.

His severity appeal was also adjourned to June 26, with the court ordering another sentencing assessment report to determine if Talatau Amone was suitable for home detention.