Ex-titans player cops drink drive punishment

BUT LAWYER ASKS FOR $1 FINE

The lawyer representing an exNRL player at his second drink driving sentencing in as many months asked that his client walk away with a $1 fine.

Former Gold Coast Titan Steve Michaels pleaded guilty to one count of drink driving in Southport Magistrates Court on Friday.

Police prosecutor Nicole Conditsis said the 36-year-old was pulled up at a random breath-testing station on Markeri St, Mermaid Waters on June 3 last year.

She said officers could see two cans from a four-pack of alcohol on the seat beside Michaels.

“When asked, (Michaels) stated he had a few beers at work and went to the bottle shop and quickly downed two more drinks in his car right before leaving,” Sgt Conditsis said.

“He stated he had a bad week and was just driving home from work, but hadn’t had much to eat that day.”

Michaels later recorded a blood alcohol concentration of 0.062.

Sgt Conditsis said the incident was only weeks before Michaels was busted asleep behind the wheel of his car with a much higher BAC of 0.215.

She said the father of two could lose his licence for the minimum one month, as the six-month disqualification he received at his sentencing last December was still in effect.

Defence barrister Chris Garlick said the former NRL star had become a qualified plumber and gasfitter since retiring from professional football in 2017.

He asked Magistrate Dzenita Balic to consider a fine as low as $1, as Michaels had already been heavily fined and off the road for several months.

“In my experience – having been in this occupation for some decades – Mr Michaels will not come before this court again on this sort of matter, and hopefully any matter,” Mr Garlick said.

He told the court Michaels retained the support of his family and had since undergone counselling.

Magistrate Balic said Michaels was a mature man who “should have known better”.

“This particular reading was 0.062 – it’s not great, but by virtue of relative comparison, you can see the other one is much, much worse,” she said.

“Once you get on the road and drink, you become a problem for the rest of us.”

Michaels was fined $150 and disqualified from driving for one month. No conviction was recorded.

It isn’t the first brush with the law for Michaels, who played more than 100 NRL games before moving to the UK to play in the British Super League.

He was one of the Titans players embroiled in a cocaine scandal that rocked the club in 2015.

Michaels was sentenced years later for his role as a “middle man” in the scheme, which saw him arrange for small amounts of the drug to be supplied to himself and friends in 2014.

The Southport court was told in December that Michaels successfully completed the community service order handed down at his 2018 sentencing.