http://www.news.com.au/sundaytelegraph/story/0,22049,21243456-5001021,00.html
POLICE are preparing to charge NRL star Frank Pritchard and at least two members of his family over a vicious street battle that has left his younger brother fighting for his life. Thomas Pritchard, 20, remains in a critical condition in Liverpool Hospital after being stabbed twice in the heart.
The brawl - between several members of the Pritchard family, who are Maori, and 10 Asian males - is thought to have begun at a Liverpool unit block about 3.30am after a dispute over loud music. The 23-year-old Penrith Panthers second-rower had emergency surgery on his thumb after he was stabbed in the hand. His cousins, Johnny and Alfred, were treated for stab wounds to the abdomen and shoulder respectively.
At one stage last night, a police guard consisting of two uniformed officers and a detective stood guard against further violence while relatives visited Thomas and one of the Asian males, who were in the same ward, witnesses said.
Police detained 14 people after the brawl, on the corner of Lachlan and Bigge streets. Eighteen people, some wielding knives and tyre levers, were allegedly involved. Frank Pritchard, his brother and two cousins were not detained because they had been hospitalised.
"It's difficult to establish exactly what happened because everyone is telling a different story, but it seems to have been sparked by a noise complaint,'' Superintendent Mick Plotecki said.
Police had identified the 18 people - including one woman - involved in the brawl, he said. All of them would be charged with offences ranging from malicious wounding to malicious damage and affray, police said.
The woman also faces a charge of trying to steal a police car during the melee. Supt Plotecki described the scene of the brawl as "carnage''.
"There was a lot of blood, knives everywhere, tyre levers and smashed car windows,'' he said.
More than 20 members of the Pritchard family held a vigil yesterday at Liverpool Hospital, where Thomas Pritchard underwent open-heart surgery.
"He was stabbed twice in the heart and once in the chest,'' Thomas's aunt, Ruta Mapusua, told The Sunday Telegraph. "It's very sad - the family are very worried.''
Police inquiries indicate the Pritchards and several relatives confronted a large group having a party at the unit after being summoned by a woman relative. The woman, who lived in the block, claimed she had been threatened when she asked her next-door neighbours to turn down their music.
"They refused ... so she called all the boys over,'' Ms Mapusua said.
The brawl erupted as soon as they arrived. It is understood those in the unit were armed with knives. One of them was treated in hospital for a fractured cheekbone.
Frank Pritchard's manager,David Riolo, said Pritchard was deeply concerned about his brother.
"Frank got stabbed in the hand. His brother got stabbed in the heart,'' Mr Riolo said. "Frank was badly cut, but he's only worried about his brother.''
Pritchard's uncle, Oscar Pritchard, said Thomas, who was taking a year off from playing for Penrith's junior team, was not doing well.
"Tom is in a bad way, but we are hoping he will pull through,'' he said. ``If he dies, I can't rule out what my family will do. We hope the law does what it can, but we can't rule out retribution.''
Neighbours said yesterday the inhabitants of the unit regularly held karaoke parties until the early hours of the morning. Building manager Fred Pagano said a nearby resident told him she heard a lot of fighting.
"They're always playing karaoke until three in the morning,'' Mr Pagano said.
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