Call for Calm Following ‘Barbaric’ Attack

THE Upper Hunter rugby league community is reeling following a vicious on field attack at Denman on Sunday.

Ryan Holman a 22 year old who plays for the Murrurundi Mavericks was rendered unconscious then allegedly set upon by Denman Devils player Ilipsa Cama, who witnesses say begun punching Ryan in the head.

Ryan was taken off field before being transport to Muswellbrook Hospital and later the John Hunter Hospital where he has undergone surgery for a broken jaw, sustained dental trauma and is undergoing a brain trauma assessment before he will be able to be released which his family hope will be this weekend.

The Devils player only received a 13 week suspension, which has incensed the close knit rugby league community.

An appeal to the judiciary is now underway and a report has been made to police.

Ryan’s dad, Craig ‘Pud’ Holman, who was at the game said he was shocked to see his son attacked and described it as barbaric.

“It’s very frightening to see your son helpless on the ground and getting bashed when you are unable to protect yourself – my daughter thought he was dead on the ground,” said Mr Holman.

“There was about 10 or 15 minutes to go in the game, Ryan tackled an opposing player and got off the ground…Ryan was turning to chase him when the opposing player hit him in the head blindsiding him, rendered him unconscious and he was on the ground and punching him in the head,” he said.

Pud said he was very proud of his other son, Corey Holman, who was also playing that day as captain and coach of the Mavericks and stopped Cama.

“There was only a few minutes to go, so everyone was chasing in another direction – my other son who is the coach of the Murrurundi Mavericks ran back in and stopped him,” said Mr Holman.

“He is really shattered because he couldn’t do more…he’s a little pocket rocket and he got there and stopped it,” he said.

Corey Holman, was shocked by the incident and considered standing down from his position with the Murrurundi Mavericks, which Pud said he understood because he had a wife and two young children he was thinking of, but this morning Corey confirmed he will take to the paddock again on the weekend with his team, pending the final decision of the judicial process.

Pud said he was glad the team was playing on Saturday on their home ground against Murrurundi.

“They are a small town team too and the game has got to go on, we can’t let an isolated incident stop it, and we all need to move on and let the appeals process happen now,” said Mr Holman.

The 13 week suspension for Cama has drawn criticism from the rugby league community and Pud said his family are yet to hear directly from the judiciary or the Denman Club.

“Players from the Denman football club have reached out personally to the family, but the Denman football club has not checked with the family on his welfare at all, none of the committee members,” said Pud Holman.

“Aberdeen football club have been fantastic, they are running a bucket around at the next game and out cutting loads of wood, there are other people who need it more than us, but it is nice to see the community rally,” he said.

“We’ve been chasing our three boys around for 30 years, they’ve played for country NSW, Newcastle Knights in the juniors, my daughter plays league tag and we’ve been around a lot of people and never seen anything like this in our life,” he said.

“This type of stuff doesn’t happen in rugby league, it is an isolated incident, rugby league does a lot of good things in the community we have met a lot of great families over the years,” Pud Holman said.

Pud is keen to point out how family and community orientated rugby league is in the Upper Hunter, which is why he feels so shocked at the incident and the penalty from the judiciary.

“Adults at the game were shocked, but there were kids there too, apparently were crying and some have said they don’t want to play anymore,” he said.

“Murrurundi Football Club wanted to represent Ryan at the judiciary, but they said they were told it was a closed show, so all we could do is send a picture of his x-ray to the group secretary which showed where his face had been plated with three plates in two different locations,” he said.

“We are only into the fourth round out of 16, so yeah he (Cama) could possibly play in a semi-final if they made it,” he said.

“There has been a team who have said they won’t take the field if he does,” Pud Holman said.

The Murrurundi Mavericks will be going through the appeals process to the Northern District and are prepared to take it to Country Rugby League and Pud said he was hoping for the best out of that process for his son, the game and the rugby league community.

Steve Reynolds who has been a promoter of Group 21 for 13 years and a player for 10 years said he believed the decision by the first judiciary had brought the game into disrepute.

“We’re trying to promote the game and players like this need to be removed out of the game, especially multiple offenders,” Mr Reynolds said.

“They are bringing our game into disrepute and the appeals process needs to intervene,” he said.

“There is a second time offender in the under 18’s group 21…and the 18 year old kid got done for punching another player in the face, breaking his eye socket and he got 12 months,” he said.

“Another player got an 8 week suspension for an alleged head butt and only five extra weeks for this, fair dinkum, I can’t fathom it,” said Steven Reynolds.

The secretary of the Mavericks emailed Group 21 to progress the appeals process, but at time of publishing they had not received a reply.

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Related story: Arrest Made Following Football Incident – June 12, 2019.