A few minutes later they left with $37,000.

The bar in question was the Steelworks Hotel at Port Kembla, and the three men – Mark Humphries, Wade Ponfiled and Jhy Wilson – were in the mood for a robbery.

Two of the men were armed, Humphries with a pistol and Ponfield with a knife, when the trio pushed open the doors of the hotel and made their way to the main bar, demanding cash.

A woman working behind the bar had the gun pointed at her and was ordered to empty the till.

The trio also demanded access to the pub’s safe and were subsequently taken to a back office by another worker where they obtained tins containing the pub’s takings.

They then fled the scene.

Documents tendered during court proceedings for the trio said the incident was captured on CCTV cameras.

Humphries was arrested on June 14, while Ponfield and Wilson were apprehended five days later.

They each pleaded not guilty to a charge of robbery armed with a dangerous weapon, however were all found guilty after a jury trial.

Ponfield was sentenced to a minimum jail term of three years and seven months; Humphries to a minimum of five years; and Wilson to a minimum of three years and six months.

Wilson accepted his sentence, however Ponfield and Humphries challenged theirs in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal.

In a decision handed down this month, judges Clifton Hoeben, Robert Beech-Jones and David Davies dismissed Ponfield’s application, finding his sentence had been appropriate, however agreed to reduce Humphries’ jail term after finding the original sentence had been too severe.

Humphries was re-sentenced to a non-parole period of three years and nine months, making him first eligible for parole in October 2018.

Ponfield will be eligible for release to parole in June 2019, while Wilson is due for release later this year.

Each man will be required to serve a lengthy period on parole.