Jamil Hopoate's brother Will said jail would crush their mother's heart. His manager said prison would finish his promising rugby league career.
Now the 20-year-old has been sentenced to a minimum one year behind bars for a drunken, brutal and unprovoked attack on a man outside a Sydney pub.
The second-eldest son of former NRL bad boy John Hopoate hugged and kissed his father in court after learning of his punishment for the late-night assault on two men this year.
An emotional John Hopoate left court briefly, jostling with journalists and cameraman outside, as his son prepared to make an urgent bail application, pending an appeal.
But Magistrate Jane Mottley refused his bid, saying he posed an unacceptable risk of failing to appear if released.
"The offence before the court is a serious matter. It's of a violent nature," she said.
Hopoate pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company following the attack on Alexander Christie and "good Samaritan" Timothy Blackett outside a Manly hotel in February.
Hopoate started an argument outside the Ivanhoe Hotel with a security guard after he was ejected from the premises.
His co-offenders John and Luke Akauola arrived and set upon the unsuspecting Mr Christie, punching and kicking him.
Mr Blackett tried to intervene but was "cast aside like a toy" so the brutal assault could continue.
Then, as Mr Christie tried to rouse himself from the ground, a "grossly intoxicated" Hopoate ran over and made a kick towards him before Luke Akauola delivered the blow that rendered their victim unconscious, Ms Mottley said.
"To say the community as a whole is deeply concerned about this type of gratuitous violence is an understatement," she said.
Hopoate was sentenced to a maximum of 18 months for the attack on Mr Christie and a two-year good behaviour bond over the assault on Mr Blackett.
It comes after rugby league manager Tyrone Smith said the NRL would "tear up" Hopoate's new contract if he received a custodial sentence.
"It will finish him," Mr Smith told court this month.
"I think with his talents, his footy is what's helping him move forward. Other than that, there's not much more."
Hopoate's older brother and NRL star Will told the court a jail term would "shatter" his family.
"It'll crush his heart," he said.
"I think it will crush mum to pieces."
Manly said the club and the NRL's integrity unit were reviewing the matter.
Hopoate was stood down by his club Manly after the incident, but he was allowed to return in June to play in the National Youth Competition and NSW Cup.
Despite missing half the season, he won the club's under-20s player award and earned a first-grade contract for 2015.
The Akauolas will be sentenced next year.
