'A stitch-up': Ex-Dragons star, dad fight hammer attack convictions

Junior Amone and his father Talatau Amone faced Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Tuesday, in a bid to clear their names over an assault against a tradie near their Warrawong home in November 2022.

The father-son duo pleaded not guilty to a raft of charges, including intimidation and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company, following a hearing in October 2023.

However, Magistrate Gabriel Fleming found them guilty on all counts after hearing evidence from tradesmen Jai King and Dean West, who were working on a rooftop across from the Amone household when they got into a heated dispute about a Nissan Navara parked on a nature strip.

Mr King said Senior approached the ute, elbowed the rearview mirror, and snapped off an indicator.

He said Junior jumped on the vehicle before he climbed onto the roof and swung a hammer at him.

Mr King said he jumped on a neighbouring rooftop to escape Junior, before he fell and sustained serious injuries, including two broken hands and broken ribs.

Defence barrister John Korn argued Junior wasn't present and that it was a case of "mistaken identity", however, the magistrate found descriptions provided by witnesses sufficiently applied to Junior.

Junior narrowly escaped time behind bars after being sentenced to a two-year intensive correction order, while Senior received two years and six months' jail.

Senior was bailed the following day after the appeal was lodged.

After the finding of guilt, Junior was deregistered by the NRL with his $500,000 contract torn up.

Mr Korn argued on Tuesday that the tradesmen colluded in their evidence to "stitch up" Junior by identifying him through googling his father's name and reading a news article about him.

"He (Mr King) argued they all jumped on the car ... then after doing the Google search, he focused on one person," Mr Korn said.

"These two witnesses ... came to that court and gave unreliable and deliberately false evidence."

Judge William Fitzsimmons suggested there were other features that applied to the former NRL player, including that Mr King said Junior was wearing a blue hat, was tall, and had a moustache.

"That fairly describes Junior, does it not?," Judge Fitzsimmons asked.

Junior's fingerprints were also found on the vehicle, however Mr Korn said this was not enough evidence to prove he jumped on the car and chased the tradie.

Mr Korn also disputed CCTV footage depicting Junior and an unidentified shirtless man running away was evidence that he was fleeing.

"That doesn't mean they're fleeing from the scene ... Why can't they just be out for a run?," Mr Korn said, adding that this wouldn't be unusual for Junior due to him being an athlete.

"Junior Amone is just out for a jog with a friend after being involved in a fracas around the corner?," Judge Fitzsimmons quizzed.

The prosecutor argued there wasn't "anything sinister" about the tradesmen googling Junior.

"There's no other evidence that either Jai King or Dean West had any sort of vendetta against Junior Amone, there's no evidence they even knew Junior Amone," he said.

The judge will hand down his decision on Friday.