Rugby league stars sentenced over street brawl

Four rugby league stars – two of whom are Great Britain representatives – have been sentenced today over a brawl which took place outside a Leeds nightclub last July.

Leeds Rhinos and Great Britain international Chev Walker, 20, was sentenced to detention at a young offenders' institution for 18 months. Fellow club and international teammate Ryan Bailey, 19, was sentenced to nine months at a young offenders institution.

Dwayne Barker, 19, also a player with Leeds Rhinos, was ordered to do 150 hours of community service by Judge Paul Batty at Leeds Crown Court.

Rochdale Hornet player, Paul Owen, 24, was also jailed for 15 months.

All four had pleaded guilty to charges of violent disorder.

In a statement, Leeds chief executive, Gary Hetherington said: "The club naturally views the whole episode extremely seriously. It is a first experience for the club and it has been a 12-month ordeal for everyone concerned.

"The players are ashamed of their involvement and are full of remorse. Their actions were out of character. All have been at the club from the age of 15 and had an unblemished record.

"They have made a mistake and this has been punished by the courts. We will continue to give our support but also we will invoke our own internal disciplinary procedure."

The court heard that the fracas developed after the Leeds trio felt that Owen had assaulted a woman who was not identified.

CCTV footage of the incident showed Owen and the three Leeds players brawling in the street for four minutes.

(GMcG)