COMMODORE CUP CHAMP JAILED FOR ASSAULT

Australian Commodore Cup Champion Michael Tancredi has been sentenced to four years jail after pleading guilty to a violent bashing that left a young Geelong man in a coma for 24 hours. Judge Anthony Howard sentenced Tancredi to a minimum jail term of two years and eight months. Tancredi's friend  Andrew Pamvouxoglou was given a three-year jail term with two years non-parole. It was not the first time Tancredi had faced the court with two prior convictions for assault. Judge Howard told the court that he needed to send a strong message that violence was not acceptable on Geelong's streets. He called for greater control of drinking and behaviour in licensed venues, more police on the streets and firm sentencing in the courts. Tancredi won last year's Commodore Cup series and is currently lying in sixth place as the series heads to Oran Park next weekend.