A local Australian rules coach whose motionless body was hauled off the field after his jaw was broken by an alleged “coward punch” has considered pressing criminal charges.
Narrandera’s Tim Sullivan, who has taken a stand against “on-field thuggery”, was hospitalised and bed-ridden for two weeks by a “completely random attack” during Saturday’s game.
The team captain and coach told The Daily Advertiser he has had sleepless nights tossing and turning since his 16-year-old proteges watched on while he was “hit and driven to the ground”.
"It simply doesn’t give you a license to become a thug,” Mr Sullivan said.
“I'm definitely looking at pressing charges - I don't want to be a dibber dobber or a snitch but I'm now two weeks off work, over my head with medical bills and I've had constant headaches and a throbbing jaw.
“I have 16-year-old kids out there watching, you certainly worry a domino affect there when they see that.”
Mr Sullivan was taken to hospital after being knocked out in the second quarter of Narrandera’s 44-point win over Turvey Park.
A Turvey Park player was reported by umpires and will face a tribunal after allegedly striking Sullivan in the second quarter.
But Mr Sullivan said a match ban “simply isn’t enough” for people who think it is okay to commit violence because they are a sportsman.
“After talking to a few close people and informing the league, I have to consider taking this further,” Mr Sullivan said.
Police are currently investigating the circumstances of the incident.
Wagga police duty officer Inspector Peter Robertson said it can often take some time to determine whether on-field action constitutes assault.
“The laws concerning assault give some exemptions during sport, but we'll have to investigate whether the people involved crossed the line,” he said.
“There are lots of things that happen during sporting contests that aren’t brought to our attention so we need to ensure we find out if what occurred was reasonable or unreasonable.”
