He declined,but Elias told the court it would likely finish up as a “short matter”.

It is alleged the television host had been at his regular table at his regular watering hole,The Sackville Hotel,for hours with friends before walking toward his home in Lilyfield just after 11pm on April 27.

The route took Kent past the Three Weeds hotel and attached restaurant,Totti’s,where a 35-year-old man allegedly hurled an insult at Kent.

Kent,a divisive figure among NRL fans because of his comments on Fox’s rugby league TV show,allegedly responded with his own colourful language – branding the man a “doghead”.

Footage from the evening appears to show Kent attempting to remove his watch,pushing past people trying to restrain him,and then trading punches with the younger man.

The brawl shifts into the street before Kent is flung,headlong,into a tree on the roadside.

The 35-year-old man was allegedly tackled by a third man andleft with a head injury, his lawyer Chris Murphy told this masthead.

“A group walked past[the venue] and Paul Kent accused him of saying something. It just didn’t happen,” Murphy said.

“My client didn’t know who Kent was until someone said,‘C’mon Paul,back off Kenty’ and tried to restrain Kent. But he broke away from them and came at my client.”

Kent was hospitalised with broken ribs and doctors feared he had a collapsed lung.

He was stood down by his employer,News Corp,from both hosting duties withNRL 360 and hisDaily Telegraph column while an investigation is underway.

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