Adz
Reserve Grader
When you say Ola should re think his associations,are you saying he should not support a childhood lifetime friend and a family he is very close too?More positive news for MWSE
Had it all’: NRL star who missed out on millions
A man was on a trajectory to be one of the great NRL players before he was arrested for stabbing a church leader, a court has been told.
Manase Fainu missed out on potential millions in career earnings and Des Hasler compared him to some of the best to ever play before his career was cut short when he stabbed a church leader in the back, a court has been told.
Three years ago Fainu was on track to be one of the NRL’s shining lights.
But he is now facing the prospect of spending his prime years in prison after he was found guilty of plunging a steak knife into the back of Faamanu Levi at a Mormon church dance at Wattle Grove in southwestern Sydney.
Fainu, 24, on Friday sat silently in Parramatta’s District Court as he waited to learn his fate after a jury earlier this year found him guilty of one count of wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The jury found that Fainu stabbed Mr Levi in the back near his shoulder blade during a brawl, also involving four of his mates, in the carpark of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the evening of October 25, 2019.
In a victim impact statement tendered to the court, Mr Levi detailed how he was still struggling with the physical effects of having his lungs pierced by the knife, forcing him to abandon his dream of becoming a police officer.
“I wake most nights in terror, as it haunts my dreams,” Mr Levi said in a victim impact statement that was tendered during a sentence hearing on Friday.
“I am always watching my back and live in constant fear that this could happen again.”
It was not in issue during the trial that Fainu was in the carpark and that he had his arm in a sling at the time after undergoing shoulder surgery a month earlier.
But he denied playing any part in the stabbing or the brawl, claiming it was a case of mistaken identity.
Fainu’s lawyers have previously flagged that they would appeal the jury’s verdict.
During his trial, the court was told that during the evening, two of Fainu’s friends – including Uona “Big Buck” Faingaa – were involved in an altercation on the dance floor and escorted out of the church.
The group then drove to an adjoining Coles carpark and CCTV showed Fainu and his friends jump over a concrete fence back into the church grounds where the brawl erupted.
One eyewitness, Tony Quach, told the court that he saw Fainu, with his arm in a sling, stab Mr Levi.
At the time of the stabbing, Fainu had been earmarked as one of the NRL’s rising stars and was set to inherit the Sea Eagles No.9 jersey in 2020.
However, he was stood down under the NRL’s no-fault policy and has not taken the field since September 2019.
Fainu’s barrister Margaret Cunneen SC argued that at the time the Tongan Test representative was on a trajectory to earn a million-dollar-a-year contract.
Mr Hasler, in a personal reference tendered to the court, compared Fainu to some of the great players who he had worked with.
“As the coach of the Manly Sea Eagles, I have the good fortune to work with some of the best players that have ever played the game,” Mr Hasler said in his statement.
“In writing this short note to share my thoughts about Manase, I compared the qualities, skills, capacity and natural flair of the so-called best to Manase and genuinely believe that Manase had it all and more.
“This man had the world at his feet post-2019. I have absolutely no doubt that he was destined for greatness.”
Mr Hasler said he hoped Fainu could be a “phoenix of sorts” and rise to the “fires of his challenges” upon his release.
CCTV played in court has shown rising NRL star Manase Fainu jumping over a fence into a Mormon church shortly before a wild brawl that ended in a stabbing.
Fainu’s mother Lile Fainu told the court on Friday that her son was caring and instrumental in bringing up his younger brothers and sisters.
She said their family, which included eight children, struggled to make ends meet and at the time of the stabbing he was intending to buy the family a house.
When asked by Ms Cunneen if he was the kind of person who would stab someone, Ms Fainu said: “It’s not the Manase I know and it’s not the Manase I raised.”
Ms Cunneen argued that the stabbing was not “vicious” but rather “instantaneous, simple, terrible, but one application of the knife”, noting Finau had not inflicted any harm after the first stab wound.
Fainu will return to court for the second half of his sentence hearing in November before he is sentenced at a later date.
With Cunneen arguing that the stabbing was spontaneous and not vicious, it's looking like they won't appeal. Cunneen seems more interested in putting forward arguments that will mitigate Fainu's sentence. Such a tragic waste of talent.
It's about time that the last Fainu hangouts on here accept that not only was Fainu found guilty, but he is guilty, and always has been. His adherence to gang rules (particularly in his evidence) have cost him everything. Perhaps its a good time for Olakau'atu et al to re-think his associations as well.
I was not aware Ola was there or had anything to do with it,it was his brother Buck.
