Alleyway CCTV footage has captured a wild Civic brawl between numerous men, said to have kicked off over a single comment.
Multiple angles played in the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday showed shirts being ripped off, clenched fists being thrown, teeth being chipped, and drunken duos squaring up behind King O'Malleys pub.
In the background, Apenisa Vualili Driti is seen hunched over a ute and vomiting.
But the 24-year-old man, described by his lawyer as a "professional rugby player", wouldn't remain idle very long in the early hours of February 4, 2023.
As the brawl reignited further down Bible Lane, and a young a woman trying to de-escalate things was violently knocked to the ground, video captured Driti picking up a mop with a metal pole.
Intoxicated from celebrating his father's 60th and under NSW parole orders following an incarceration for more violent behaviour, Driti struck another man twice with the weapon as the group retreated.
A prosecutor told the court the rugby player "entered and escalated" the situation.
"The others are retreating and the incident is nearly at its end. It's very clear what his intentions were when he picked up that item," the lawyer said.
The man and two co-offenders, accepted to have instigated the all-in brawl, then followed the other group into more public areas as Driti struck the same victim again.
He would chase down another victim and hit that man by throwing the metal pole at him. As a result, Driti admitted charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault.
"He is someone who doesn't mix well with alcohol," Legal Aid lawyer Brandon Bodel told the court of his client, who reportedly has not touched a drop since the fight.
"It's clear from the evidence that my client is not the initial aggressor."
Mr Bodel said his client was remorseful, seeking a referral for restorative justice, had cut ties with antisocial peers, and had written a letter to the court describing his behaviour as careless and disgusting.
But the prosecutor asked the court to give the letter and character references supporting Driti little weight because they did not paint the full picture of the offender's violent past and squandered chances.
The letter described the offender as an "exemplary young man", and his latest attack as "uncharacteristic of his true nature" and not reflective of "the person I've known for the past three years".
Despite having now been before the courts four times for relevant conduct, Driti's letter claimed his most recent behaviour was an aberration.
"He's again said it's out of character and he hasn't acknowledged this is something he has a genuine history and issue with that needs to be addressed," the prosecutor said.
Driti is set to return to court later this month to learn his fate.
