Manly NRL player Manase Fainu has been released from jail despite a court hearing he went dangerously close to killing a man in an alleged knife attack at a church dance.
Fainu is expected to return to Sea Eagles training in the coming weeks after he was released from Parklea Correctional Centre on strict bail conditions on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old has pleaded not guilty to several charges, including recklessly causing grievous bodily harm in company, relating to an alleged attack in Sydney's west last month.
Fainu, who appeared via video link from prison on Tuesday, was supported in court by Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler, teammates Addin Fonua-Blake, Moses Suli and Jorge Taufua, former teammate Api Koroisau and a large contingent of family members.
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Rothman said the 24-year-old victim, who was hospitalised with a punctured lung, was "millimetres" away from being killed and said of the charges that "it's as close to murder as you can get".
However, he released Fainu into home detention and on the condition he not leave his house without his parents.
He will be allowed to attend Sea Eagles training, medical and legal appointments.
He must report daily to Fairfield Police Station and had to surrender his passport after being released on $10,000 bail.
Manly football manager John Bonasera said the up-and-coming hooker, who underwent a shoulder operation three weeks prior to the alleged incident, would return to training in the next week or so to continue his rehabilitation.
He has been stood down under the NRL's "no fault" rule, but can continue to train with the club.
"He's in reasonably good spirits considering the circumstances," Mr Bonasera said outside court.
"We'll decide (when he returns to training) over the next few days. Get him back with his family and get him back into a normal routine is probably more important than football at the minute.
"We'll continue to work with him in his rehab but it will probably start next week sometime."
Defence barrister Richard Pontello SC said the incident was a "brawl between two groups in the dark" and that eye witnesses who identified Fainu were unreliable.
He also said police assertions Fainu was a member of a Pacific Islander criminal gang was "unsupported by evidence".
Crown prosecutors opposed Fainu's bail application, telling the court they had three witnesses who saw him allegedly stab the man in the back at the Mormon church dance at Wattle Grove on October 25.
The court heard Fainu allegedly scaled a wall before the stabbing took place, despite having his arm in a sling, and climbed the wall again on the way out.
Justice Rothman said he had concerns about the risk of Fainu reoffending, given the serious nature of the allegation.
However he was satisfied he would not pose a threat to the community while on bail given the unplanned nature of the alleged attack and his lack of criminal record for violent offences.
Australian Associated Press
