NRL star Junior Amone avoids jail for heated rooftop hammer attack

Fallen St George Illawarra playmaker Junior Amone has avoided prison after he was found guilty of arming himself with a hammer and chasing a tradesman off a roof during a heated dispute. But the 21-year-old walked out of Wollongong Local Court on Monday without his father Talatau Amone, who will spend at least a year behind bars after he was found to have instigated the attack. Junior Amone and his father Talatau Amone were found guilty of a string of charges in October relating to an incident outside their family home in Warrawong in November 2022. The pair were both charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, intimidation and damaging property while Talatau Amone faced an additional charge of entering a building or land to commit an indictable offence. Magistrate Gabriel Fleming described the pair’s conduct as “appalling” as she individually sentenced them for their separate roles during the heated confrontation. Talatau Amone was sentenced to a period of two and a half years behind bars, with a non-parole period of 12 months after Ms Fleming found he was the instigator. She also found he had “an entrenched attitude towards the use of violence”. “There is an ongoing inability to understand the consequences of his actions of violence,” Ms Fleming said of his behaviour. “There is no insight, there is no remorse, there is no indicator the community would be safer if he were serving the sentence in the community.” The sentence was backdated to take into consideration time already spent in custody, meaning Mr Amone will be eligible for parole in September 2024. As his father was taken into custody by corrective officers, Junior Amone was sentenced to a two year Intensive Corrections Order, which is a term of imprisonment to be served in the community. Ms Fleming described the NRL player’s conduct as “appalling”. “You armed yourself with a hammer, the victims were vulnerable, the victim was up on a roof, there was nowhere to go,” she said. Ms Fleming told the court it was a “tragedy” the conviction is affecting the 21-year-old’s playing career and finances, as he supports his family both in Australia and overseas. “But you are 21 years of age, you have to be responsible for your own behaviour. I think it is a tragedy this could jeopardise your entire future in the profession you love,” she said. “That is a tragedy, clearly, but it is your tragedy, not mine.” The 21-year-old playmaker must also serve 300 hours of community service. Both men were fined $1000 each for damaging a car, and will have to pay their share of $13,481 in compensation. Outside court, Mr Tabchouri said the younger Amone was happy he avoided a full-time jail sentence. “We always respect any decisions being made by the court and we will look at our options moving forward,” Mr Tabchouri said. The NRL star’s playing future is now under a cloud after the Dragons stood him down from all club activities indefinitely. The club issued a statement on Monday, saying it acknowledges the sentence he was handed. “The club will now work closely with the NRL Integrity Unit to determine the appropriate next steps,” it said. “An update will be provided once this process has been completed.” The pair entered court on Monday flanked by 17 family members and supporters. When asked whether they were prepared for the worst, lawyer Elias Tabchouri said the father and son were “prepared for anything”. Ms Fleming in October found the pair guilty of all charges after the court was told tradesmen Jai King and Dean West were working on a house opposite the Amone home when they became embroiled in an argument with a group of men over a Nissan Navara parked on a nature strip. The court was told Talatau Amone elbowed the rear-vision mirror and reached into the vehicle to snap off the indicator. Junior Amone then jumped on the top of the vehicle, the court was told, while his father abused and threatened the tradesmen. Ms Fleming found Junior Amone then climbed onto the roof of the property where the men were working while wielding a hammer. Mr King jumped to a neighbouring roof to escape him, falling and hitting an airconditioning unit on the way down. He suffered serious injuries, including a broken hand. Ms Fleming found evidence tied Junior Amone to the scene and she was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that he was the man who chased Mr King from the rooftop.