{"id":812317,"date":"2026-07-20T13:48:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T13:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/812317\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T13:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T13:48:13","slug":"mick-malthouse-update-afl-legend-dubs-alleged-home-invaders-cockatoos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/812317\/","title":{"rendered":"Mick Malthouse update: AFL legend dubs alleged home invaders \u2018cockatoos\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

AFL<\/a> legend Mick Malthouse<\/a> has called alleged home intruders who stabbed him with a screwdriver \u201ccockatoos\u201d as he was taken to task for \u201cdepriving\u201d the trio\u2019s liberty.<\/p>\n

The former Collingwood and West Coast premiership<\/a> coach appeared before the Melbourne<\/a> Magistrates Court on Monday to give evidence in a hearing for three men who allegedly tried to break into his East Melbourne unit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mick Malthouse leaves Melbourne Magistrates\u2019 Court after providing evidence on Monday.\u00a0Jason South<\/p>\n

The 72-year-old AFL\/VFL<\/a> games record<\/a> holder for coaching<\/a> said he had been drifting in and out of sleep next to his wife, Nanette, when he heard a unique \u201cpinging\u201d sound outside his top-floor unit on September 4, 2025.<\/p>\n

Picking up an exercise bar, he went out to investigate the noise, only to find the three men allegedly clamouring outside his door with a crowbar.<\/p>\n

Andrew Carroll, Aysar Mashu and Joshua Di Cello have been charged with the attempted home invasion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There was a \u201cchaotic\u201d scuffle on the small top landing, where Malthouse said he \u201ccracked\u201d one of the men with the bar twice and was hit on the arm with a crowbar, causing a bruise.<\/p>\n

The men then allegedly fled downstairs into the basement garage with Malthouse giving chase barefoot and in his pyjamas.<\/p>\n

But they were trapped and scrambling after being unable to open the garage roller or exit door.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like trying to herd cats. They were all over the place,\u201d he told the court.<\/p>\n

As Malthouse yelled at the men, one allegedly told him they \u201cgot the wrong building\u201d and that \u201csomeone owes us money<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Former AFL coach Mick Malthouse leaves Melbourne Magistrates Court\u00a0Jason South<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were like a bunch of cockatoos. Once one said it, the others said it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He ordered them to stand in a corner and away from the exit before he opened the door for them to leave.<\/p>\n

The trio \u201cstreamed past\u201d while he swung the exercise bar at them.<\/p>\n

Malthouse recounted how the second man allegedly lunged and \u201cstabbed\u201d him in the sternum with a screwdriver, causing him to bleed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019ll teach you, you bastard,\u201d Malthouse alleged the man said.<\/p>\n

The third man allegedly held a crowbar in the air to strike<\/a> the AFL legend before he grabbed it and \u201cwhacked\u201d him on the side of the head with the exercise bar.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was conscious (that) had I not done it, the bar would\u2019ve landed on my head,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Defence lawyer John Desmond questioned Malthouse\u2019s recollection of events, including pointing to discrepancies in the evidence he delivered in court, and the two signed statements he gave to police<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lawyer John Desmond.\u00a0Jason South<\/p>\n

He also accused the three-time premiership coach of trapping the three accused home invaders by delaying opening the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom where they were standing, there was no other way to get past you. Their liberty was deprived, Mr Malthouse, in those seconds, those minutes by you,\u201d Desmond said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree I did hold the door for as long as I could, knowing there was no way I could control their movements,\u201d Malthouse responded.<\/p>\n

The defence lawyer put it to him that he was justifiably angry in that moment, which he agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou made a decision to confront them and ask questions later, assault them and ask questions later. You felt entitled to,\u201d Desmond said.<\/p>\n

The hearing resumes on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Malthouse played 174 VFL games for St Kilda and Richmond, including the latter\u2019s 1980 premiership, before embarking on a record-breaking 718-game coaching career at Western Bulldogs<\/a>, West Coast<\/a>, Collingwood<\/a> and Carlton<\/a>, masterminding three premierships (1992, 1994, 2010).<\/p>\n

– AAP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AFL legend Mick Malthouse has called alleged home intruders who stabbed him with a screwdriver \u201ccockatoos\u201d as he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":812318,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-812317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=812317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=812317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=812317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=812317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}