Originally Posted by
bulldogtragic
NRL celebrate it every State of Origin. Plenty of work to do.
Unless the Summary Offences Act/Crimes Act has changed recently, an 'offence against the person' (ie assault) needs a victim, as opposed to an 'offence against statute' (ie burglary). Without a victim statement generally the court would be unlikely be satisfied of the existence of a victim, and therefore no offence would be proven. I'm pretty sure there's a defence (rarely used) in any event that a player could use to argue it fell within a sporting contest (consented to). Then it's a fight about whether the punch is within the defence. It's a quagmire really, and without a player walking into a police station, making a full statement and reporting a crime, as WD says, the police are sidelined.
Edit: On Bruns/Matthews, the laws may have been different.