Australian team manager Gareth Holmes said the Kangaroos' would turn their attention to the game. Billy Slater's punch on the Manchester club patron. "The player was clearly the victim here," Holmes said. "We will put this behind us and focus on Saturday's match against the USA." The Australians have had an unhappy time in Manchester, which has been their World Cup base. Players have felt restless at times, many are homesick and the week away in Ireland last week was supposed to be the perfect remedy to cure their uneasiness. The squad was given a chunk of time off in Dublin, which was meant to be their last real chance to unwind before heading into the finals. The players returned to Manchester on a chartered flight from Limerick only hours after thrashing Ireland 50-0 on Saturday. Some stayed at the hotel before going out in Manchester the following night. Slater was detained by British police but was released without charge after an altercation outside popular nightspot Mojo Club – 10 minutes' walk from the Australian team hotel in Manchester – about 2.40am on Monday. The 40-year-old who allegedly struck the Kangaroos' fullback accepted a fixed penalty notice for drunken disorderly behaviour and was released, with Slater not pursing charges.

Slater described the attack as a "wake-up call" for him and his Kangaroos teammates. Follow through: CCTV still of Billy Slater's retaliatory punch. "I think we've got to be aware of the situations that we find ourselves in," Slater said. "I suppose it's probably a bit of a wake-up call for everyone when we do go out but I hope what happened last night doesn't jeopardise anyone else going out and having a good time. That's certainly what I don't want. "I'm not going to go into the details. I think the focus is on the wrong things already and I don't want to escalate that any further." The venue: The Mojo nightclub in Bridge Street, Manchester, where the scuffle took place. Credit:Michael Carayannis

Visibly shaken from the incident, Slater did not leave his room until 6pm when he addressed the media. "You don't like to put yourself in these situations or find yourself in these situations," Slater said. "It is what it is. I'm hoping I can put it all behind me and move forward. I think the focus is on the wrong things already and I don't want to escalate that any further. "I'm OK. [I'm in] no pain . . . I'm mostly disappointed that the focus is on this because we have been preparing for each game really diligently and I thought the performance on the weekend was quite good. That's my main disappointment." Slater, who was sporting a scratch near his left eye from the Australians' win against Ireland, said it was important that he spoke to his family. "That was my main priority, to make sure my family knew that I was OK," he said. "It's pretty tough on them being on the other side of the world and hearing stuff like this. That was my main priority, to say that I was OK."

An employee from a takeaway kebab shop next door to the nightclub said they did not see the fight but police had asked for camera footage from the night. Employees at another food shop said they heard about the fight from a regular customer who described it as "wild". Slater's wife, Nicole, said the unprovoked attack could have killed him. Loading "Some man thought it was ok to punch my husband in the face because he thought he pushed in line," Nicole wrote on Instagram. "If he had king hit him and killed him I would have to raise my 2 kids alone.

"What has this world come to?"