Two young thugs have been jailed for nine months over a drunken, late-night brawl that left a man lying unconscious in the middle of Wollongong's busiest intersection.
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Tristan Denis Hudson and Brendan Garrie McCalla each pleaded guilty to a charge of affray after a night out with friends in February last year turned ugly following a dispute involving a large group of people in the CBD.
Documents tendered to Wollongong Local Court on Friday said McCalla, Hudson, a third-co-offender Keegan John Thistleton, and the victim, Trent Rigby, were among the large group of young men and women milling around the intersection of Keira and Crown streets just before midnight.
An exchange between several members of the group turned hostile, with CCTV footage of the incident capturing McCalla bouncing on the balls of his feet moments before punching one of the men in the face.
The footage shows Hudson also star throwing punches into the group and the scuffle soon spills onto the street, at which time Mr Rigby can be seen grabbing Hudson around the waist in an attempt to pull him away from the fight.
Both men fall to the ground and Mr Rigby tries to pin Hudson down, however Hudson punches Mr Rigby in the face.
McCalla then rejoins the fray, punching Mr Rigby twice in the back of the head as Thistleton also joins in the assault.
Mr Rigby is seen to lose consciousness and become "ragdoll-like", falling face-first to the roadway.
McCalla then kicks Mr Rigby twice in the head while he lays motionless on the ground, before the group disperses.
Witnesses identified all three accused to police when they arrived. Mr Rigby was taken to hospital for treatment but has since made a full recovery.
A solicitor representing McCalla and Hudson on Friday asked the court to extend leniency to both men and spare them full-time jail.
The lawyer initially sought a community corrections order for the pair, then - when told such a sentence was inappropriate given the serious nature of the offence - suggested a community-based intensive corrections order would meet the needs of sentencing.
However, Magistrate Susan McGowan said the community was sick of alcohol-fuelled violence and described the CCTV footage as "alarming".
"This cannot and will not be tolerated," she said, in sentencing the pair to 12 months' jail, with a non-parole period of nine months.
Appeals were lodged on behalf of both men and their lawyer sought to have them released on bail, however Magistrate Michael Love refused to release either man.
"In my view there are no reasonable prospects of success on appeal," he said.
The pair will face the District Court in six weeks time for their appeal.
Thistleton was previously sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order for his role in the brawl.