Prosecutors urge jail time for former AFL star Nicky Winmar over assault conviction
Prosecutors have asked a Bendigo magistrate to impose a prison sentence on former AFL player Nicky Winmar after he was found guilty of violently assaulting a woman in Cohuna.
A Bendigo magistrate heard arguments that former AFL figure Nicky Winmar should receive a custodial sentence after a 2025 assault conviction in Cohuna, Victoria. The victim described the attack as leaving her a "shadow of the person" she once was, with lasting pain in her arm and ongoing mental distress. Prosecutor Annina Tropea pointed to Winmar's earlier convictions for violence and urged jail time to demonstrate consequences.
Defence lawyer Dermot Dann KC argued that imprisonment should be a measure of last resort, proposing a community corrections order and noting Winmar's troubled background, including depression, PTSD, alcohol issues and possible brain injury from his playing career. The magistrate, Trieu Huynh, has not yet determined the appropriate penalty, and a sentencing date remains pending.
Why it matters
The case tests how the justice system handles repeat violent offenders, even those with high public profiles.
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