- Was a flashy entertainer in the NRL in the past
- Career has been marred by series of controversies
- Was lucky to escape prison over his latest charges
Flashy yet controversial former NRL star Chris Sandow has been warned he’ll be jailed if he so much as drives his car to the shops as he appeared before the courts once again.
Sandow began his NRL career with the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2008, making an immediate impact and earning the Dally M Rookie of the Year Award.
Known for his attacking flair and off-the-cuff brand of footy, he played 80 games for the Rabbitohs, scoring 405 points, before joining the Parramatta Eels in 2012.
Over four seasons with the Eels, Sandow appeared in 69 games and added 235 points to his career tally.
However Sandow’s career was marked by several controversies.
In 2017, he was involved in a videotaped street fight in Cherbourg, Queensland.
Former NRL star Chris Sandow (pictured) has appeared in court again after being hit with fresh driving charges after his arrest in Ipswich, Queensland
Sandow was previously involved in a street brawl in Cherbourg on New Year’s Day in 2017
He narrowly avoided jail and was fined $300 after pleading guilty to a public nuisance charge for his role in the New Year’s Day brawl.
And in 2022 Sandow was charged with serious assault of a police officer causing bodily harm, serious assault of a police officer or person acting in aid of police officer, two counts of obstructing police, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, two counts of driving without a licence, and evasion.
He was acquitted of the charges of assaulting police, but pleaded guilty to the other offences.
Now the fallen footy star has faced court again, pleading guilty to one count each of obstructing a police officer and driving without a licence disqualified by a court order.
And once again he was lucky to avoid jail, but he was still penalised hard by Magistrate Jason Schubert.
The 35-year-old appeared in Ipswich Magistrates Court on Thursday where the court heard he resisted arrest and shouted at bystanders to film the incident.
Sandow also continued to kick the police vehicle for several minutes after his arrest.
The court also heard that Sandow drove unlicensed on King Edward Parade in Ipswich on October 22.
The police prosecutor told the court Sandow was subject to a suspended sentence at the time of both incidents and called for the sentence to be activated.
The former South Sydney and Parramatta halfback has been banned from driving for two years
Magistrate Schubert handed Sandow 200 hours of unpaid community service and also disqualified him from holding a driver’s licence for two years.
He warned Sandow not to get behind the wheel during that time or risk jail time.
‘Don’t think that you can just go down to the shop to drive, because most police cars have scanners on them operating the whole time,’ he said.
‘Don’t come back before the court.’
Mr Sandow told News Corp he was regretful for the incidents but happy to have escaped a prison sentence.
‘It was a good outcome today,’ he said.
Convictions were recorded for both charges.
Sandow has abandoned hope of returning to the NRL and said he would now seek coaching opportunities.
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