Bird challenges jail term, free on bail

Former NRL star Greg Bird has been sentenced to at least eight months for glassing
his American girlfriend in the face, despite her pleading on his behalf for
leniency.
The stocky five-eighth looked bewildered as he was led from Sydney's Downing Centre
Local Court into custody, but the former Cronulla Shark was not behind bars for
long.
Within two hours his lawyers had successfully lodged an appeal and Bird had been
released on bail.
Katie Milligan suffered a fractured eye socket and cuts to her eye when the former
rugby league international hit her with a glass at his Cronulla apartment last
August.
But the paralegal stuck by her man, who now plays for a French club, providing a
glowing character reference at his sentencing hearing on Monday.
"I would like to make it absolutely clear that Greg Bird has never intentionally
harmed me nor been abusive towards me in any form, physical or emotional," the
letter tendered to the court read.
"Greg is one of the most loving, sensitive and yet principled men I have ever met."
It was not enough.
Magistrate Roger Clisdell sentenced Bird to a non-parole period of eight months,
with a maximum term of 16 months, for the offence of reckless wounding.
He was also fined $5,000 and put on a three-year good behaviour bond for trying to
blame the attack on his then-flatmate and friend Brent Watson - an act the
magistrate described as "despicable and un-Australian".
After being released on bail, Bird evaded waiting media by being taken out of a back
entrance of the courthouse.
One of his lawyers, John Meadley, told reporters his client was surprised at the
"ultimate penalty" handed down by the magistrate.
"I think he's very fragile," Mr Meadley said outside court.
"Let's hope he's not fragile when he's next appearing for the Catalans."
Bird's bail conditions were continued, allowing him to retain his passport and
return to France where he captains the Catalan Dragons in Super League.
Ms Milligan, who refused to make a formal statement to police about the attack,
moved to Perpignan in the south of France to be with Bird soon after his conviction
in April.
Her parents also wrote letters of support to the court on Bird's behalf.
Jim and Millie Milligan said they had "utmost concerns" for their daughter after the
incident, but after flying to Sydney soon decided it was a terrible accident.
"We have at all times found Greg to be a decent, honest and well-intentioned young
man," they wrote in their letter tendered to court.
"It was my strong belief that Greg's act was not wilful."
In sentencing submissions, defence lawyer Leslie Nicholls said the incident had been
"almost instantaneous and over in a matter of seconds".
And it had certainly not been Bird's intention to hit Ms Milligan with the glass, he
said.
"Katie Milligan might have been holding the glass (and there may have been) some act
that caused her to fall," he said.
"There's no evidence that the glass was used as a weapon by Greg Bird."
In any event, the injuries she sustained were not very serious, he said.
"Although the injury was sufficient to need operative treatment immediately after
the incident, there's clearly no evidence whatsoever that that injury has caused any
damage, disability or disfigurement," he said.
Bird had shown an "almost altruistic overriding concern" for Ms Milligan's welfare
since the incident, Mr Nicholls added.
Mr Nicholls also asked the magistrate to note the fact Ms Milligan never complained
about the incident.
"Perhaps the most unusual aspect of this case is that the victim has never made any
complaint of criminal conduct against Mr Bird," he said.
However, Mr Clisdell said this was not unusual in cases of domestic violence.
Bird's appeal will next be mentioned in Sydney's District Court on August 6.