Sydney Roosters heavyweights Nick Politis and Trent Robinson have backed their young playmaker Sandon Smith, saying the rising NRL half had learned his lesson after pinning a man's foot under a car in a freak accident.
Smith left court on a two-year conditional release order on Friday after pleading guilty to negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.
The 22-year-old was remorseful and had apologised repeatedly since the incident on March 13 that resulted in a man losing two toes, his lawyer David Newham said.
"This was a terrible … freakish accident that Mr Smith feels terrible about," Mr Newham said outside Downing Centre Local Court.
Smith was on his way to training at Allianz Stadium and was inching an Audi A5 out of the driveway at his rented home in the east Sydney suburb of Vaucluse when the incident happened.
His view was obscured by a tinted black Range Rover, a pantech truck and a tree when his car collided with a Toyota Kluger travelling along Old South Head Rd.
The crash sent Smith's car into another, pinning a man's foot as he was getting his son out of the rear of the vehicle.
The rising Roosters talent technically fell short of his responsibilities as a prudent driver, but had driven like most other people "in the real world", Mr Newham told the court.
"He hasn't shot out like a bat out of hell for example," he said.
Smith was gathering his thoughts after the crash when he heard the man screaming and went to free him, lifting the car with help from passers-by, the court heard.
Police prosecutor Adrian Walsh said it was conceded the incident was "a series of most unfortunate events".
"However, those events will now have a long-lasting and significant adverse impact on the victim's life," he said.
The man spent weeks in hospital, lost two toes and most of the feeling in his right foot, Sergeant Walsh added.
A gruesome photo of the victim's injuries showed bones visible through an open wound running from heel to toe.
Mr Newham said the injury was the reason Smith was charged and the man had essentially forgiven him.
"He's not baying for blood so to speak," he said.
The court also received character references from Roosters chair Nick Politis and premiership-winning coach Trent Robinson.
Mr Politis said Smith had expressed "deep remorse".
"He understands the gravity of the charge … he understands the complications the man continues to have with his injury, and although an accident, he carries a heavy burden knowing how this man has suffered," he said.
Mr Robinson attested to Smith's willingness to take responsibility.
"I believe that this experience will serve as a lesson he will learn from and that he will grow into an even more conscientious individual," the coach wrote.
Magistrate Scott Nash placed Smith on a two-year conditional release order with no conviction recorded.
Smith was charged in September, days out from the Roosters' qualifying-final loss to Penrith.
But the NRL's integrity unit was not informed until the eve of Smith's first court hearing.
Smith is set to take on a key role at the club in 2025 following the departure of veteran Roosters playmaker Luke Keary and a long-term injury to halfback Sam Walker.
He was the first player from the team's Central Coast pathways program to play an NRL game for the Roosters when he debuted in June 2023, appearing in 15 games that year and 14 more during the 2024 campaign.
