Cross fistfights and firearms

parragirl · Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 1:36 pm Post subject: Cross fistfights and firearms

A BRAWL at McDonalds involving Dragons ace Mark Gasnier sparked the terrifying Kings Cross shooting that left three Parramatta players bolting for police. The truth behind the night of drama emerged as footy bosses debate a player curfew and a Sydney man was abducted and shot in a park. / The Daily Telegraph

By Josh Massoud and Rhett Watson | March 04, 2008 12:00am

AN ATTEMPTED get-square with a man who punched St George Illawarra's Mark Gasnier led to NRL star Jarryd Hayne and two Parramatta team-mates being shot at in Kings Cross early yesterday.

A source close to the players last night told how Hayne and fellow Eels Weller Hauraki and Junior Paulo confronted a man outside McDonald's on Darlinghurst Rd just before 4am.

"The players were all at a bar together when this bloke had a go at Gasnier," the source said.

"He threw a punch and Gasnier took off in a taxi. The Parra players went out for a feed at Macca's later on and recognised the same guy that had a go at Gaz."

The man retreated when approached by the imposing trio of footballers, but returned just 20 minutes later with deadly force in mind.

As Hayne, Hauraki and Paulo were attempting to catch a cab on nearby Ward Ave, the man stepped from a car and fired a single shot in their direction. The incident came after a long drinking session that involved up to eight other NRL players - including Rooster Willie Mason.

Gasnier and the three Eels were the last to leave, with the Dragons skipper and Hayne denied entry to the Vegas Hotel on Darlinghurst Rd about 3.30am.

It is believed the original altercation between Gasnier and the suspected gunman occurred around the time the pair was refused entry for being intoxicated.

A Vegas Hotel staffer confirmed police were viewing its CCTV footage of the footballers.

Gasnier left in a cab immediately after almost coming to blows, but the Eels remained in the Cross.

Gallery: Scenes from the drive-by shooting

Police said a man of Pacific Islander appearance was responsible for the shooting.

He fled in a car, which detectives still believe could have been a taxi. They appealed for a cab driver seen in the area to come forward with information.

Fearing for their lives after being shot at, the three players hid in a nearby car park for 20 minutes before calling police.

Hauraki and Paulo returned to Kings Cross at 1pm yesterday, followed by Hayne an hour later, to give statements to police.

Detectives interviewed them for nearly three hours.

The incident came after a number of Parramatta players attended the first one-day cricket final between Australia and India at the SCG on Sunday.

After drinking at Double Bay's Golden Sheaf, the younger Eels then headed to Kings Cross where they met with Mason and Gasnier.

Last night, Eels chief executive Denis Fitzgerald said he was considering a curfew for players and a ban from notorious drinking spots in the wake of the shooting drama.

NRL chief executive David Gallop was made aware of the incident at Sydney airport after returning from the UK but said: "I've got nothing to say, I'll comment tomorrow."

A MAN was found shot in a park in Sydney's southwest last night - the third shooting incident in just 24 hours.

Police said the man was shot in the leg at Rudd Park in Belfield about 11pm. The gunmen, of Middle Eastern appearance, were believed to have escaped in two cars.

http://www.news.com.au/dailyteleg.../0,26799,23314151-5006066,00.html

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parragirl · Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 1:49 pm Post subject:

Parramatta players' chilling ordeal

By Josh Massoud
March 04, 2008 12:00am

PRE-dawn arguments at McDonald's are as plentiful as the calories in their Big Macs.

Accustomed to the odd night out, the footballers who engaged in a "bit of push and shove" outside the golden arches in Kings Cross early yesterday might have thought nothing of the incident.

That was until three of them were fired at by a gunmen whose trigger finger was apparently energised by the fast-food fracas.

Parramatta's Jarryd Hayne, Weller Hauraki and Junior Paulo were reportedly so scared that they hid in a car park for 20 minutes after the single shot was fired in their direction about 4.20am.

Remember, these are the men who many people equate with courage and fearlessness every weekend of every winter. As the three Eels probably realised yesterday, bullets are a great equaliser.

The chilling ordeal might be especially sobering for Hayne, who was reportedly too intoxicated to be granted entry to the Vegas Hotel shortly before hostilities began at McDonald's.

An Australian and NSW representative after just two seasons, the 20-year-old should know better than any talented youngster in the NRL about overdosing on nightlife.

Hayne's father, Manoa Thompson, emerged as an equally gifted star two decades ago. These days, Thompson is driving a delivery truck. Barely a moment goes by when the old man doesn't remind Hayne how the bright lights sidetracked him into a career that failed to meet expectations.

Some might applaud Hayne for trying to defend St George Illawarra's Mark Gasnier in a potential fight against a group of men as the players waited for taxis outside McDonald's.

Others might ask what he was doing there in the first place - with the clock verging on 4am - to stick up for a rival player.

After a training camp in Kiama last week, the Eels were given yesterday and today off training. The two-day break no doubt inspired a large number of the team - including senior stars Nathan Hindmarsh, Nathan Cayless, Luke Burt and Mark Riddell - to enjoy themselves at the cricket on Sunday.

The Eels then continued at the Golden Sheaf in Double Bay, before some decided to kick on at the Cross.

There they met players from other clubs, including the NRL's version of The Great Gatsby, Willie Mason. No player in the league parties like Willie and Gasnier couldn't refuse an invitation to join in when his mobile rang at a mate's house in the Sutherland Shire that night.

That Gasnier had a training session the following morning in Wollongong at 11.30am didn't seem to be an issue.

That the Dragons captain arrived home at 4.15am - he wasn't in Kings Cross at the time of the shooting - didn't seem to mesh with his recent proclamations of new-found maturity and leadership skills.

Both Gasnier and Hayne performed brilliantly in the centres for their respective sides in Saturday night's trials.

With no matches scheduled for next weekend they were entitled to relax ahead of what shapes as the most demanding season on record for the game's elite.

But Kings Cross? At 4am? It makes you ask: why.

These guys aren't paid to be smart, but someone at their clubs who is should remind them that trouble lurks there. And if they venture into trouble, they can't complain about encountering it square in the face.

Even if it is, as Hayne and co. have hopefully learned, staring at them straight down the barrel of a gun.

http://www.news.com.au/dailyteleg.../0,22049,23314654-5001023,00.html
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parragirl · Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 1:54 pm Post subject:

Fuming Fitzgerald calls for curfew after Hayne drama

By Dean Ritchie | March 04, 2008 12:00am

FURIOUS Parramatta chief executive Denis Fitzgerald will push for his club to introduce tough new guidelines under which players will be issued with late-night curfews and be banned from drinking at Sydney's most notorious nightspots.

Fitzgerald revealed the radical policy last night after a dramatic day in which his star player Jarryd Hayne was targeted by a drive-by gunman during a terrifying 4am incident at Kings Cross.

"It has become obvious that we need to adopt a more hardline approach," Fitzgerald said. "This was a dangerous situation that could have been life and death.

"I've spoken with Jarryd. He is certainly shaken."

The drama has again tarnished rugby league just two days before the launch of its 100th season. After a number of off-field indiscretions, Fitzgerald told The Daily Telegraph he was angry and tired of his players being involved in late-night drama.

The Eels will consider banning players from all well-known Sydney nightspots including the Sapphire Suite, Vegas Lounge, Northies, The Bourbon, Coogee Bay Hotel and even Scruffy Murphys.

No time has been set for the curfew but it is thought to be midnight.

Another Sydney man has been shot, as more details emerge of how a brawl at McDonalds involving Dragons ace Mark Gasnier sparked a terrifying Kings Cross shooting. Read more here.

St George Illawarra centre Mark Gasnier was drinking with Hayne in Kings Cross but left before the shooting drama erupted.

"We will have a Parramatta management meeting with the coaching staff after the police investigate the incident," Fitzgerald said. "We will then take it to our player leadership group.

"We will be discussing a curfew for players during the season and banning them from renowned Sydney nightspots. The club is concerned our players were in the vicinity of such places.

"Kings Cross will be among them, as will others like Northies and the Coogee Bay Hotel - anywhere renowned for drinking and drama."

The Eels would not comment on penalties for breaking a curfew but players could face fines or even suspension.
# The scene: Parramatta players' chilling ordeal
# The history: Caught in the Cross fire is nothing new
# Vote now: Should NRL players have a curfew?

NRL chief operating officer Graham Annesley, when told of Fitzgerald's plan, said: "The response from Denis reflects just how important it is that clubs take whatever action is required to ensure our players do not place themselves in a position where their actions can be called into question."

Hayne was on a night out with Eels teammates Junior Paulo and Weller Hauraki when it is believed they were shot at when leaving the Vegas Hotel at 4.20am. Eels winger Eric Grothe had also been with the group but left by about 2am.

Gasnier, Hayne, Hauraki and Paulo were in a fight with others at McDonald's before a man involved in the punch-up fired at Hayne.

George Mimis, Gasnier's manager, said his client was innocent of any wrongdoing. "Mark had left before any of the alleged incidents took place," he said.

Asked was he involved in a fight, Mimis said: "Not to my knowledge. He wasn't there, he wasn't involved."

Hayne's manager, Wayne Beavis, was in Queensland yesterday. Hayne appeared at Kings Cross police station with lawyer Keith Bagley.

Annesley said: "We have to be careful about making any public statements at this stage as we have no information the players have committed any offence and we are still awaiting further details from both the police and the club.

"Obviously the NRL is concerned any time a player is involved in a public incident, but until we know all the facts it would not be appropriate to jump to any conclusions."

The Dragons released a statement yesterday attempting to clear Gasnier.

"Arising from reported events overnight in the city, St George Illawarra - upon investigation of the facts - advise that Mark Gasnier was not involved in any incidents," it said.

"Mark Gasnier was in the city along with other NRL players from other clubs, but was not in the city or the vicinity at the time of any alleged incidents.

"The club and Mark Gasnier are very disappointed and concerned about how Mark has been sensationally linked by inaccurate reports."

http://www.news.com.au/dailyteleg.../0,26799,23314400-5012654,00.html
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