League player Hopoate Jr jailed for 'gratuitous' bashing

He was a promising rugby league player - the son and brother of two NRL stars - but tonight Jamil Hopoate is behind bars.

The 20-year-old was today sentenced to jail for a drunken, unprovoked attack outside a Sydney pub. 

The magistrate said it was the only appropriate punishment.

Hopoate wanted a good behaviour bond but was instead was locked up for at least a year.

The sentence sparking anger from his footballing father, John, with sheriff's officers forced to intervene when Hopoate Snr targeted waiting media.

He appeared to have stepped on the foot of a reporter asking for a comment.

Hopoate was charged over a violent bashing outside a Manly pub on Valentine's Day.

He pleaded guilty and expressed shame and remorse.

But the magistrate Jane Mottley was scathing as she sent him to jail for a maximum 18 months, describing the attack as "savage and unprovoked".

The court was told Hopoate kneed and punched a man he mistakenly believed had him kicked out of the pub.

Ms Mottley compared the attack to the coward punch which killed Thomas Kelly.

"To say the community is deeply concerned by this type of gratuitous violence is an understatement," Ms Mottley said.

Hopoate's lawyer said the Manly Rugby League player had shamed his family and his club.

The magistrate said Hopoate was binge drinking by the time he was seventeen and wanted to follow his father's success on the football field.

Hopoate's family and friends sat stunned as the sentence was handed down.

He was briefly given the opportunity to hug is brother and father before prison officers took him to the cells to begin his sentence.

Late this afternoon, Hopoate lodged an appeal and tried to get out on bail, but he was refused.