A former Under 20s State of Origin rep and his NRL-aspiring brother have avoided jail sentences over a wild brawl at Fever Nightclub in which a bouncer was bashed and pelted with bar stools.
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Tevita Cottrell, a once promising rugby league player who represented Fiji internationally and was selected in the Australian Schoolboys team, and his younger brother Ame Cottrell, who is currently a member of the Rabbitohs Under 18s squad, were out with friends celebrating Ame's 18th birthday on March 7 this year when they became involved in the violent melee in the early hours of the morning.
CCTV footage of the incident, shown in court and seen above, shows both brothers, along with several others, repeatedly kicking and punching the security guard after he allegedly made a racial slur.
Police spoke with the brothers that night but both were allowed to leave at the time, pending further investigation.
Tevita, 25, was subsequently arrested in April and Ame in May. Both were charged with a single count of affray, to which they pleaded guilty.
The duo apologised for their actions during a sentencing hearing in Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday and urged the court to show leniency.
Magistrate Gabriel Fleming labelled the pair's conduct "absolutely disgraceful", noting the high level of violence involved.
"You'd have to be living under a rock if you didn't understand the community's concern about violence in licensed premises," she said.
However, she agreed to spare Tevita full-time jail, instead sentencing him to an 18-month community-based intensive correction order.' Ame was handed a 12-month community correction order.
Both brothers must perform unpaid community service work and pay a fine - $1,500 and $750 respectively - as part of their sentence.
Documents tendered to the court reveal the brothers and their friends arrived at the club around 2am, Ame dressed in a black, long-sleeved shirt, black shirt and white shoes and Tevita wearing a white t-shirt with the word 'Gucci' across the front and dark knee length shorts.
Police said the footage shows Tevita approach one of the bouncers about 90 minutes later and the pair having a conversation. Tevita can be seen walking away from the guard for a moment before turning around and punching him, sparking an all-in brawl involving other members of the group.
Meanwhile, Ame runs to his brother's defence and begins punching the same bouncer. The footage shows the victim being hit with a flurry of punches from all directions.
At one stage during the fight, Tevita can be seen picking up multiple metal bar stools in quick succession and throwing them towards the security officer, before punching him up to 20 times in the head and body.
The group eventually ends the fight and are seen leaving the club.
In court on Tuesday, barrister Peter Kondich said excessive drinking was the cause of Tevita's behaviour that night, but he had since undergone extensive treatment for alcohol abuse and anger management.
"We completely appreciate this is an alcohol fuelled episode," he said, noting the married father-of-two had not planned the attack.
"Mr Cottrell has engaged in various treatment programs that are ongoing."
Tevita expressed his remorse in an affidavit tendered to the court, saying he felt "sick" when he watched the footage.
"It's very embarrassing that I let myself, my younger brother and my mates get to this point," he said.
"I wish to say sorry first to the security guards at Fever, especially the one who I fought.
"No one deserves to be put in that position when they are doing their job, and even though I was angry about what he said, he doesn't deserve what I did to him."
Andrew Sant, representing Ame, said his client had also drunk too much that night and joined in the fight to help his brother.
"His actions are reactive and impulsive, he runs in when he sees his brother involved in the melee," Mr Sant said.
The court heard Ame was a recent graduate from Illawarra Sports High School and had begun an apprenticeship as a barber in Shellharbour while continuing to play representative rugby league.
Read more court and crime stories here.
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