When Judge Dean said he was prepared to impose a sentence without conviction, Archer, 45, pleaded guilty to unlawful assault and at the end of a hearing that was completed inside an hour, was put on a 12-month good-behaviour bond, asked to donate $2000 to the Berry Street charity for children and ordered to compensate the runner $955 for breaking his glasses. "I'm glad it's over. It's been two years of my life and a lot of other people's lives," Archer said outside court. "I'd like to thank the judge for being able to end this so quickly. "It could have wasted four times the court's valuable time. It's over now and we can all move on and get on with our lives." Archer was watching his son play on June 25, 2017, prosecutor Peter Pickering said, when a fight between players started near the boundary line and the former AFL star thought he saw a boundary umpire strike a player.

Archer jumped the fence and was told to leave the field by officials and the runner, Mr Pickering said. He did so, but at half-time the two men exchanged words and Archer struck the runner to the side of the head, and broke his glasses. The next day he was interviewed by police, and apologised to the media for his behaviour. After magistrate Catherine Lambie convicted him, Archer went to the County Court and was given permission to appeal when a judge was told the former footballer had received bad advice from his then lawyer in 2017. Archer said when he appeared before the magistrate he was advised to "take the easy road" and plead guilty, and expected to be given "a slap on the wrist". He hadn't expected to get a conviction and didn't realise he could appeal against the conviction. Archer changed lawyers for the appeal. When the County Court ruled Archer could appeal, the Office of Public Prosecutions launched a counter-appeal and argued bad legal advice didn't count as grounds for a challenge. The matter went to the Supreme Court last year, and another judge ruled Archer had the right to appeal. On Monday, Mr Pickering said a non-conviction was within the range of sentencing options.

Judge Dean said while the matter was serious and violence at junior sporting events was prevalent, he found Archer's offending was at the lower end of the scale, even if he was in a position to act responsibly at the football. "It was a serious error of judgment and a lack of self-control on his part," the judge said, as a group of school students in court watched on. "He has let his community and himself down." Archer has prior convictions for unlawful assault in 1994 and 1999, and the most recent, the court heard, came from an altercation with a bouncer, whom he believed had harassed his wife. Defence counsel Rohan Lawrence said the former footballer was now involved in several business ventures, still maintained an involvement in community football, and had donated much of his time to charity, in particular helping raise funds for a home for a man with cerebral palsy.

The father of four, Mr Lawrence said, acknowledged he should have stayed on his side of the fence while watching the game. "He should have left it in the hands of the officials and not become involved," he said. Archer played 311 games for North and was a star in two AFL premierships, but Judge Dean said he did not need to be reminded about his playing career. "I follow Geelong, Mr Lawrence. The 1994 preliminary final comes to mind," he said. Geelong beat North by six points thanks to a goal after the final siren by Gary Ablett senior.