Former AFL and NRL player is arrested for allegedly coward-punching Hawthorn footy star after game – with ‘up to 30 fans forced to intervene’
Former AFL and NRL player is arrested for allegedly cowardly beating Hawthorn footy star after match – with ‘up to 30 fans forced to intervene’
- Cross-code talent in alleged Saturday afternoon attack
- Charged with punch after Hawthorn game in Melbourne
- He reportedly had to be kept on the ground until police arrived
A former Hawthorn and Melbourne Storm footballer has been arrested for allegedly punching a Hawks player after a game.
Shem Tatupu is accused of assaulting Hawthorn’s Justin Raiti just after full-time in the game between the Hawks and Elsternwick at Melbourne’s Waverley Oval on Saturday afternoon.
About 30 feet tall fans kept Tatupu on the ground until police arrived Seven news.
Tatupu – who last played for Hawthorn in 2015 before being signed by the Storm NRL team in 2016 – is said to have punched Raiti as he walked off the pitch with his teammates after winning the Victorian Amateur Football match Association.
Shem Tatupu (pictured while with Hawthorn in 2016) is accused of assaulting Justin Raiti just after full-time during a football game in Melbourne on Saturday afternoon
Raiti (photo, center) was checked by paramedics after the alleged blow
Raiti was checked by paramedics and cleared of serious injuries.
“Police attended and arrested a 27-year-old man from Keysborough and questioned him on assault-related matters. He has been released pending further inquiries,” Victoria Police said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the Elsternwick club said none of the players or members of the team were involved in the alleged incident.
“From our perspective, our player is OK, the most important thing,” Hawthorn president Sam Waldron told the club Herald Sun.
The Victorian Amateur Football Association released a statement about the alleged attack: ‘The player was assessed at the scene by paramedics and cleared to be taken home. Because it is now a police investigation, the VAFA does not want to comment further at this stage.’
Tatupu (pictured right, in action for Hawthorn in 2015) made headlines when he dropped the AFL and tried to make it with the Melbourne Storm in 2016
Tatupu is the son of Tony Tatupu, the starting player of the New Zealand Warriors.
He played rugby league and union as a youngster before turning to Aussie Rules after taking part in a junior AFL tournament in Auckland in 2009.
Tatupu made 22 VFL appearances with Hawthorn after being signed as an international development player, but left the club in March 2016 to build a career in the NRL.
He was signed by the Storm later that month, with the move making headlines for the rarity of an NRL squad attempting to convert an Aussie Rules player to code.
“We saw a vision of him playing the best schoolboy rugby in New Zealand, but when we made this decision, his character, background and attitude convinced us,” said Storm football director Frank Ponissi at the time.
“Craig (Bellamy, head coach) and I met him a few times. His attitude was good, his desire to come here was clear and he didn’t need much convincing.”