Soane Vahai lashed out at the Robb College player during the latter half of the first grade game on June 7 in Armidale.

In Armidale Local Court on Monday, Magistrate Karen Stafford said the serious assault warranted a full time custodial sentence, jailing the player for eight months.

The Guyra breakaway is already banned from football for 52 weeks after he was hauled before the New England Rugby Judiciary following the assault.

After viewing video footage of the attack, the three-man panel handed down the maximum penalty under the Australian Rugby Union guidelines.

During the June match at Bellevue Oval, Vahai was given a red card for striking Robb’s Sebastian Dunhill in the face, leaving him with a broken jaw.

Mr Dunhill was hospitalised and had surgery at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle the day after the match, with a metal plate inserted into his jaw.

Police stepped in shortly after when a complaint was made.

Following an investigation, Vahai was charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm before fronting court in July, where he pleaded guilty to the offence.

Magistrate Stafford had ordered a pre-sentence report to look into the background of Vahai and to see if he was eligible for any community-based punishments.

A victim impact statement was also ordered before the sentencing deliberations.

The maximum penalty for the offence is two years, but yesterday, Magistrate Stafford handed Vahai a non-parole period of six months before he was led away by authorities from the courtroom.

He will be eligible for release in March next year.

The sentencing comes amidst a string of on-field indiscretions during football games across the New England North West.

Last week, an Inverell man was charged with two assault-related offences after he allegedly struck a match official during a rugby game in Bingara, while a soccer game was called off in Tamworth on Sunday after a melee involving players and coaching staff escalated.