Latest news with #WestUlverstoneLions
ABC News
17-07-2025
- ABC News
Brady Hubbard may have been thrown from the back of ute and fatally injured, inquest hears
A "fishtail" burnout may have caused a young man to be thrown from the back of a ute and fatally injured outside a north-west Tasmanian football club, a court has heard. Brady James Hubbard was 21 when he died on June 28, 2023, about four days after he was injured. He played football for the West Ulverstone Lions football club on June 24, but an inquest into his death in the Devonport Magistrates Court has heard several stories about how he was injured. Several witnesses have told the court three club members — Andrew Hilfenhaus, his son Cameron Hilfenhaus, and club trainer Anthony Sharman — lied to others at the club and "covered up" how Mr Hubbard was injured. Those three men have now given evidence in the inquest into Mr Hubbard's death which is being held at the Devonport Magistrates Court before Coroner Leigh Mackey. The court has heard from multiple witnesses that Mr Hubbard and many other club members were drinking and socialising during the afternoon and evening of June 24, after a football game against Wesley Vale. The court heard Mr Hubbard had joined the two Hilfenhaus men when they left the football club in the evening to collect a pool cue from Andrew's nearby home. Multiple witnesses have said Mr Hubbard was "not himself" when he returned to the club, and that he was not sociable, and sat down at a table while cradling his head. None of the witnesses knew what caused the change in his demeanour, though some said they were told he had slipped and hit his head, while others heard he hit his head while wrestling with a clubmate. The court heard suggestions he may have been injured during the day's football game, or that he might have got into a fight at Burnie's Greens Hotel. But on Thursday, Cameron Hilfenhaus told the court Mr Hubbard fell off the back of Andrew Hilfenhaus's ute while they were driving back toward the clubhouse. The Hilfenhaus men told the court Mr Hubbard and Cameron were standing on the back step of the ute, on either side of the tow ball, and that Andrew was driving. However, they gave differing stories about when and how Mr Hubbard came off the back of the ute. Andrew told the court his son and Mr Hubbard stepped off the back of the ute, and that he then did a burnout to "spray them with mud" from the oval. Cameron said he was still on the ute when his father did the burnout, but that Mr Hubbard no longer was. He said Mr Hubbard may have fallen off the ute, but if he did, it was before the burnout. Counsel assisting the coroner, Anna Hogan, suggested to both men Mr Hubbard was injured after being thrown from the ute during the "fishtail", which they both denied. Cameron agreed with Ms Hogan that as he was on the back of the ute with Mr Hubbard, he was best placed to know what happened, but denied her version of events. Both men agreed that whatever happened, Mr Hubbard was then on the ground and in need of medical assistance, so Cameron alerted trainer Anthony Sharman, who had first aid training. Mr Sharman told the court he believed Mr Hubbard needed an ambulance, but that the young player denied needing to be hospitalised, so triple-0 was not called. He said he blamed himself for Mr Brady's death. He also told the court Andrew had changed his version of the story in the two years since Mr Hubbard's death. Cameron agreed he had told different stories about what happened to other people at the club, but could not explain why. Andrew said he was also concerned about being charged by police in relation to the incident, but that he would admit it, if he was to blame. He denied attempting to shift blame by lying about how Mr Hubbard may have been injured, or starting rumours about his mental health. "If I'd done the wrong thing … I'd be happy to go to jail," he said. The inquest is expected to end today, with findings to be delivered at a later date.
ABC News
16-07-2025
- ABC News
Mother of Brady James Hubbard tells inquest of rapid decline after mystery injury
The mother of a 21-year-old footballer who died in 2023 has told a court how her son's condition quickly declined the day after he suffered a head injury. Brady James Hubbard died on June 28, 2023, about four days after playing a game for the West Ulverstone Lions. An inquest into his death is being held in the Devonport Magistrates Court before Coroner Leigh Mackey. The court heard Mr Hubbard suffered a head injury on June 24, but accusations of a "cover-up" of how he was injured have been raised during the inquest. At the time, police said they were investigating whether he fell from the back of a ute outside the north-west Tasmanian club, which has also been discussed in court. The coroner has also been told he may have been injured during the day's game, that he was injured while play wrestling with another club member, or that he got into a fight at Burnie's Greens Hotel. Mr Hubbard's mother, Rikki-Lee Hodgetts, said she did not know what had happened to her son, and that on the day he said nothing about being injured. Ms Hodgetts became visibly emotional when asked to describe her son. She said he called her about 5pm on June 24 to say he'd been awarded man of the match, which he was excited about. She said he sounded like his normal "loud, bubbly and caring" self during that conversation, but had said nothing about being injured during the match or coming off the field. During evidence on the first day of the inquest, several witnesses described Mr Hubbard in similar terms, and Coroner Mackey said he had been described as a "larrikin". Mr Hubbard's uncle Clayton Hodgetts said he was the "happy, bubbly, life of the party", while his West Ulverstone coach Nathan Murison said he was "the best human you could ever come across". Several witnesses said it was therefore out of character for him when he came back into the clubrooms that night and leant on a table while cradling his head, interacting with few people. "You could tell something wasn't right," club member Jesse French said. The court heard Mr Hubbard said he had a headache, but said nothing about what may have caused it. Ms Hodgetts said he arrived home about 10pm that night and went to his bedroom shortly after. It was not until about 5pm the following day, when she drove Mr Hubbard to work for a shift stocking shelves at Woolworths, that she became aware anything was wrong with her son. "He said he had a headache. I gave him a couple of Nurofen and I drove him to work," Ms Hodgetts said. But she received a call to come and collect him only an hour later, as his headache had worsened, and he was vomiting. "He said his head was hurting 'real bad, Mum, real bad," she said. "I asked did he get hit yesterday in the game? Did anything happen? She told the court she drove her son to the North West Regional Hospital in Burnie. Doctors at the hospital quickly arranged for him to be airlifted to the Royal Hobart Hospital, where he died three days later. Ms Hodgetts said while she was in Hobart, she began to hear rumours about what may have happened to her son. Club committee member Tammy Banfield said in the days surrounding his death, those rumours were also intensifying at West Ulverstone. It has been alleged throughout the hearing three other men involved in the club know more about how Mr Hubbard was injured — and that they lied to other club members about the incident. Ms Banfield told the court the club's executive asked those men to step down from their roles at the Lions the day after Mr Hubbard's death, which they did. "I believe … 100 per cent that [one of the men] definitely knows," she said. "He was on the back of the ute with Brady when whatever happened, happened." The three men are expected to be called as witnesses to the inquest on Thursday. The inquest continues.
ABC News
15-07-2025
- ABC News
Uncle tells court football club 'covered up' how his nephew Brady James Hubbard received his fatal injuries
Members of a north-west Tasmanian football club have been accused of "covering up" how a 21-year-old player was fatally injured two years ago, a court has heard. Brady James Hubbard died on June 28, 2023 at the Royal Hobart Hospital after being seriously injured on Saturday, June 24, the day of a West Ulverstone Football Club game. At the time, Tasmania Police said it was investigating if Mr Hubbard had suffered a serious head injury after falling from the back of a ute near the football club that night. An inquest into Mr Hubbard's death, before Coroner Leigh Mackey, started on Tuesday at the Devonport Magistrates Court. Counsel assisting the coroner, Anna Hogan, told the court during opening remarks that there were "inconsistencies" in witness accounts of the incident that caused Mr Hubbard's injuries. Ms Hogan said it had been suggested Mr Hubbard had slipped and hit his head outside the football club, that he had been play wrestling with a teammate, that he might have got into a fight elsewhere, or that he had been injured during that day's game. Witnesses told the court on Tuesday that Mr Hubbard had played football for the West Ulverstone Lions on the day of the incident. Coach Nathan Murison said Mr Hubbard played "one of the best matches" he had seen him play, and that he gave 110 per cent throughout the entirety of the game. Bianca Dykstra, who was also working for the club during the game, said Mr Hubbard was off the field for five minutes as he had taken a "hit" to the back, but did not appear seriously injured. They agreed that Mr Hubbard had stayed at the club after the game, socialising and drinking with other players and club staff. Ms Dykstra said she was bartending at the club on the night and served Mr Hubbard several drinks, which was normal for a Saturday evening after a game. When asked about Mr Hubbard's drinking, club senior captain Hayden Thompson said he was "good at it". "He could drink a lot and handle himself well," Mr Thompson said. "I never really saw a point where he was falling over himself or jumping on people or doing something that was too dangerous." Mr Thompson said that in the days and weeks after Mr Hubbard's injury, different stories about what had occurred were swirling among club members. "More people were trying to get to the bottom of it, I think," he said. "They were trying to dig their way through and understand what actually happened." Witnesses told the court Mr Hubbard left at one point with two other men to get a cue for the club's pool table, which is when he suffered the injuries. Ms Dykstra said she heard he had slipped and hit his head, while Kayla Wylie said she was told Mr Hubbard had fallen from a ute but she was not sure if it was moving at the time. Both women said they offered him pain relief, but that he appeared to be his usual bubbly self, apart from being tired and having "a bit of a headache". The court heard Mr Hubbard's condition deteriorated in the days after the incident, and that he sought medical treatment before being airlifted to the Royal Hobart Hospital, where he died. His uncle Clayton Hodgetts said he was in Hobart on the night of the incident but began calling people at the club in the days surrounding his nephew's death. He said he was given varying accounts of what had happened, and that it became clear to him he was being lied to. "Then I knew someone wasn't telling the truth," he told the court. "The whole footy club wasn't telling the truth. There was coaches there … I wondered why no one had rung an ambulance." When Ms Hogan asked how he knew an ambulance had not been called, Mr Hodgetts said he spoke to someone who "wanted to [call triple-0] … but she was told not to". He said he became angry with a club member on the final time they spoke on the phone. "I don't reckon I was very nice," he said. Mr Hodgetts said he reported his concerns to police. The inquest continues.
