No more sanctions for Jack Wighton: NRL

NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg has labelled footage of Canberra player Jack Wighton assaulting random men as "disgraceful".

Jack Wighton

Canberra's Jack Wighton has avoided jail time for his violent rampage in February. (AAP)

After narrowly avoiding a jail sentence, Canberra fullback Jack Wighton is free to resume his NRL career.

The 25-year-old's day in court came on Wednesday, where he received a two-month suspended jail sentence for assaulting five men during a wild night out for his birthday in February.

Wighton was already banned for 10 games and fined $30,000 by the NRL this year, with his last appearance for the Raiders coming in round 15.

But now his case has been resolved in court, NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg says the league will be taking no further action.

It means Wighton could line-up for the Raiders in round one next year on the Gold Coast.

"He received a fine from the game, which was effectively ten times what he got in the court of law," Greenberg told reporters on Wednesday.

"And he didn't play again in the entire 2018 season, so I think his punishment's served."

Video footage of the incident at 3am on February 3 has been released, which shows him throwing punches and headbutting random men.

In one incident, a victim's head was thrown back by a punch and he hit his head on a glass window.

Greenberg described the vision as "disgraceful", but he backed the NRL's sanctions.

The Raiders were furious in June after the NRL decided the club's proposed ban of six games for Wighton was too lenient.

"I saw that vision four-to-five months ago, which is why I made the decision that I did at the time," Greenberg said.

"It's very rare that we come in over the top of a club on a disciplinary matter, but we did on this occasion and I'm satisfied we made the right decision there."

Wighton gave a brief statement outside of court - without taking questions - where he apologised to his victims and spoke about moving on with his life.

The Raiders are not expected to comment publicly on Wighton's case wrapping up, but it is understood they will not impose any further sanctions.

Wighton has been back at training and will now look to add to his 130 top-flight games.

His availability would be a major boost to Canberra's fortunes heading into 2019, as the Raiders will already be without star winger Jordan Rapana.

The New Zealand international will undergo a shoulder reconstruction and could be out until round 14.


Share

3 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world