Some people were shocked and surprised by the sentence meted out to former Kiwi league international Russell Packer in a Sydney court this week.  If you don't follow league, you may not know Packer's name, but if I remind you of the infamous incident of a league player standing on a field, peeing copiously into his shorts, all of which was caught on camera, that may jog your memory.

Packer was in court after pleading guilty to assaulting Enoka Time outside a Sydney bar last November. Packer had been ejected from the bar and bashed Time in a drunken rage, before stamping on his face, leaving him with facial fractures.  It was a vicious, nasty assault, and the judge sentenced Packer accordingly. He described the attack as cowardly and deplorable and said he was sick and tired of alcohol-fuelled violence in the community.

He gave Packer the maximum he could under Aussie law - two years - and denied him bail while his lawyers scrambled to mount an appeal.

The people stunned by the sentence are divided into two camps.