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Daily Mail
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Married At First Sight star throws his support behind VERY surprising candidate in the Federal Election
Married At First Sight veteran Jono McCullough has revealed his support for a surprising Melbourne candidate in the 2025 Federal Election on Saturday, despite not living in the electorate. The reality TV star, 40, who lives in Palm Beach, Queensland with partner Ellie Dix, has shared images of himself to Instagram supporting his co-star Tim Smith, who is running as an independent for the seat of Melbourne. Jono appeared to have jetted down to Victoria to help his TV pal, 52, hand out How To Vote pamphlets to constituents, which advised them to 'Vote 1 Tim Smith'. And it seems Jono wasn't the only MAFS star to fly into town to help, as fan-favourite Tristan Black also shared images and video of himself helping Tim out amid voting. 'To all the political campaigns today, everyone deserves a shout-out. This shizz is hard to do! Be nice to the people handing out the pamflets [sic],' Tristan, 31, captioned one image of Jono enjoying a beer. It comes just a few weeks after Tim performed a dramatic citizen's arrest early last month in Melbourne when he chased down a teenage boy allegedly armed with a machete. Police arrested a 14-year-old boy, who allegedly attempted to carjack a woman with another teenager, after Tim managed to detain the youth when he ran, reported Seven News. In shocking footage captured by CCTV, the reality TV star could be seen sprinting after the two youths in Prahran after he heard the commotion while standing outside his campaign office on Chatham St. Tim was standing at the intersection of Chatham St and Chapel St when two black-clad individuals raced past him. The TV star-turned-budding politician, who is running as an independent for the Melbourne seat in the federal election, immediately took off after the pair. Further clips saw Tim keeping the alleged machete-wielder detained until police arrived to arrest him. Tim later claimed on Jacqui Felgate's 3AW Drive he was first alerted something was wrong when he heard nearby screams while talking with his campaign manager. 'I was out the front talking to my campaign manager and then we heard some screams. Some guys came by, one with a machete, and I gave chase to the one with a machete,' he alleged. 'They were waving them around. As I was running behind him he kept yelling, "I'm gonna cut you," but he wasn't stopping.' The reality TV star, who lives in Palm Beach, Queensland with partner Ellie Dix, has shared images of himself to Instagram supporting his co-star Tim Smith, 52, who is running as an independent for the seat of Melbourne And it seems Jono wasn't the only MAFS star to fly into town to help, as fan-favourite Tristan Black, 31, also shared images and video of himself helping Tim out amid voting Tim went on to claim the teenager burst into tears when he realised he was about to be arrested, but the reality star wasn't moved by the display. 'He was young. When they have a knife in their hand they're very confident. But once that knife's gone the tears start,' Tim said. 'But how's that lady gonna feel? That's traumatic. His tears don't do anything for me.' Tim added he felt no fear for his own life when chasing after the boy, saying he was far more 'annoyed' with the wave of youth crime which has struck Melbourne in recent months.
Daily Mail
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Father of man who died of coward punch makes chilling prediction about AFL star's future after he dodged jail for shocking attack
A father whose son died in a coward-punch attack believes Richmond defender Noah Balta is likely to be 'targeted' in future and will 'unfortunately be remembered' for his assault of a 27-year-old man last December. It comes as the footy star was sentenced in Albury Local Court on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to the attack on Mr Thomas Washbrook outside the Mulwala Water Ski Club near the NSW /Victorian border. The 25-year-old footy star was handed an 18-month community order, a $3,000 fine, and is now due to miss a large string of games this season, having also been handed a three-month curfew order, which restricts him to his home between the hours of 10pm and 6am. Reflecting on the events that have happened after the incident, Balta has shown remorse, pleaded guilty, and settled a civil claim with the victim, while also undertaking education and counselling. But now Matt Cronin, the father of Pat Cronin, who died following a coward punch attack at the age of 19 in a pub brawl nine years ago, has broken his silence after Balta's sentencing was handed down. 'I've done a fair bit of reflecting on this today,' Cronin told Heidi Murphy on 3AW Drive. Cronin's son, Patrick (left), tragically died after the 19-year-old was punched in the head during a brawl in a pub nine years ago 'When I was first approached about the whole Noah situation a number of weeks ago, my comment was prepare to be disappointed. 'I think right through the court process that we went through where Pat did die, he wasn't as injured, he was killed. 'We were very disappointed with the outcome from the courts on that.' He added: 'The affray charge that was laid against eight people who were involved seriously that night that led to Pat's death, not one of them got a custodial sentence. Not one. 'So to say that our bar is fairly low in terms of expectations of what courts will deliver when it comes to punishment in these sorts of cases... we'll use Noah's situation no doubt with our education programs we run, and use it as a real shining light of someone that you don't want to be. You don't want to be that person being talked about, for weeks and weeks on end.' Mr Cronin is the founder of the Patrick Cronin Foundation, an organisation that raises awareness to end violence and bring about change to 'end the coward punch'. The charge Balta was facing carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment. He had no involvement in Pat Cronin's death. But when asked whether Balta should have been handed jail time, Mr Cronin said: 'No, I don't think so.' 'I don't think there's much more that he can do now,' he added. 'We talk a fair bit about remorse in our lives and remorse to me isn't about words, it's about actions.' Now, Mr Cronin believes that Balta's case can help create change around the dangers of assaults and coward-punch attacks among the wider Australian community. 'I think this is an opportunity where we can use Noah's situation to say: "Well what can we do from here from now on". 'How can we learn from these and use this example where it's been such a high-profile case, it is because he's an AFL footballer, he's in a privileged position of being an AFL footballer and is a role model as many AFL players are. 'And we've got to use this opportunity to say how do we use this opportunity to make a change for the future. You know? Let's stop the next one from happening. 'As you know with the work we do with the foundation - it is all about that next moment. It's all about the next situation that comes out. 'Like it or not, Noah is now going to be a target, someone will want to provoke him, whether that be on the football field or in private life. 'He'll always be remembered unfortunately for this act, and that is a consequence piece.' Mr Cronin, who is also a Tigers member and continues to pay for the membership of his son, Pat, had previously been left disappointed by Richmond and the AFL's decision to green-light Balta's return to play against Fremantle in Round Five. But he explained that he had sent an email to Richmond and Andrew Dillon, the AFL's CEO, regarding his eligibility to play. 'I am really pleased to say that both responded to that reach out,' Mr Cronin said. 'We've got a meeting next week with Andrew Dillon and we've also got a meeting on Thursday with the Richmond Football Club. I don't know what the outcomes of those meetings are going to be, but we're going to use the opportunity to say to exactly what I've said: "Let's use this moment as a real point in time where we can make a difference".' In a statement issued via the Richmond Football Club, Balta said: 'I apologise to the victim, my family and friends, and everyone associated with the Richmond Football Club. 'I have let a lot of people down and the lesson has been learned that violence is never the answer.
