While it is common for AFL players to look into a career in boxing once they can no longer perform on the field, it might also be a career path that Hobart criminal lawyer Jimmy Saric will look into after being found guilty of assaulting a man in an unprovoked drunken attack.

With just one punch outside the Cargo bar in Hobart, Saric broke his victim’s nose, fractured his eye socket and damaged his teeth. The Supreme Court heard that Saric was drunk and eating pizza by himself at an outside table, struggling to stay awake. When he had finished eating, a woman sitting at the other end of the table suggested he should leave. Saric responded with an epithet that suggested the woman was overly promiscuous.

Anthony Peacock, a friend of the woman, also suggested that Saric leave. Saric allowed a minute to pass and then got up and approached Peacock before delivering a “roundhouse” punch to the face. The court then heard that Peacock ran off.

Peacock suffered an infection in relation to his facial injuries and was hospitalised. The court heard that he still suffers from nerve damage. Saric was given a four-month jail term suspended for two years.