- Luke McGuane faced court on Tuesday
- Former footy star attacked a security guard
- Dispute was over his level of intoxication
Former footy star Luke McGuane attacked a security guard, new footage has revealed, with the ex-Richmond star cut off from drinking while lamenting delays in a concussion class action against the AFL.
McGuane, who played 105 games for Richmond and enjoyed a brief stint with Brisbane before retiring in 2015, pleaded guilty to assault in Southport Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
The charge related to an incident at Fat Freddy's Bar in Broadbeach in March, where the 37-year-old had been drinking with his father and friends.
The court heard how staff at the bar stopped serving him alcohol, before his father brought him a beer. That prompted a male security guard to confront McGuane, where he asked him to leave.
CCTV vision showed the guard speaking to McGuane in what the prosecution labelled a calm and professional manner, before the former footy star stood up and confronted him.
Former footy star Luke McGuane assaulted a security guard at a bar
CCTV footage showed the former Tigers star wrestling the guard
He pleaded guilty to the charge at a court hearing on Tuesday
The security guard put his hands up in a defensive manner but McGuane grabbed him and started wrestling him.
A table is knocked over in the midst of the fracas and the pair wrestle on the ground before being split up by bystanders and police, who were already at the bar to attend a different disturbance.
McGuane's lawyer Jason Jacobson said the former tall forward had only been at the bar for approximately an hour, and his medical conditions made him seem more drunk than he actually was.
'His debate with the security officer was to try to convince him that he wasn't so grossly intoxicated,' Jacobson said.
The court heard how McGuane had been 'destroyed financially' after losing 'hundreds of thousands' of dollars due to failed investments in a gym and a barber shop during lockdown.
Jacobson also revealed McGuane was part of a class action lawsuit against the AFL, with former players seeking action for concussions.
McGuane played 105 games for Richmond and enjoyed a short stint at Brisbane
'His personal level of frustration had increased because he had received some news 48 hours before this incident that relates to the class action, that he is a part of, in terms of the AFL's concussion issues in Victoria,' Jacobson said.
'(He was told) that things there were going to be put on hold for another 18 months.
'That was something he was personally affected by to the point that he made that decision to that he wanted to go and relax a bit and go to the hotel with his father.
'He's had a bad run financially, and that is why the class action matter is something he's pinning his hopes on.'
McGuane has been ordered to pay the security guard $500 in compensation and was sentenced to nine months of probation but did not cop a recorded conviction.
