Buzzards

[spudigitti]

Footage of Footy Legend Warren Ryan punching fellow retiree in fight.

[cutler]

[Necrotic Bowel]

How did he not fracture a hip?

[zin0]

Gave him a nice little knot

[Bletch]

[-NocturnalPulse-]

Good game, good game.

[kellyhound]

This is the moment former rugby league coach and commentator Warren Ryan loses it after a pub argument – punching a fellow retiree to the ground.

CCTV footage tendered in Waverley Court shows the league legend landing a left hook and right cross on the jaw of 76-year-old Edward Purcell before kicking him on the ground.

The court heard the two were drinking “full-strength schooners” at a Maroubra hotel with Ryan’s brother Chris on Remembrance Day in 2016 when a dispute erupted over either (a) Donald Trump or (b) penalty rates.

While the cause was disputed in court, prosecutors said the result of the argument was clear: “a sustained, vicious attack” by the former ABC broadcaster.

On the witness stand, Chris said the fight was about penalty rates, while Mr Purcell himself told the court they were arguing over Donald Trump’s ascension to the US presidency.

Video footage shows an agitated Ryan put down his drink, hit the table and walk around it to attack his drinking partner, who fell to the floor. As Mr Purcell’s legs flailed, he kicked at Ryan, who then kicked him back.

Police prosecutor Chris Davis told the court: “Mr Ryan had gotten off his chair, walked around and connected his fist with Mr Purcell.

“It’s a sustained, vicious attack. I know they are the same age but the years have not been as kind to Mr Purcell. He looks elderly as he goes down.”

In a statement of facts tendered to the court, the former Canterbury premiership coach said that he felt “threatened” by Mr Purcell, with whom he was having a heated *argument.

“It turned personal and nasty,” he told Constable Bryant Russell at Maroubra Police station three weeks after the fight.

Magistrate John Bailey, in his sentencing remarks, said Mr Purcell was not aggressive. “He was clearly elderly and injured,” Mr Bailey said. “There’s a lot of dispute about what the parties were arguing about at the time. What’s not in dispute is that the parties were having an argument.”

Despite a character reference from businessman John Singleton, Ryan, 75, was convicted of assault and given a 12-month good behaviour bond. He refused to answer questions outside court.

Ryan, who played for St George and Cronulla, was an ABC commentator until he quit in 2014, following the announcement of an investigation into an allegedly racist remark.