Barry Gibbins stoically faced media outside the Sydney Supreme Court this morning after Bradley James Brooks was sentenced to a minimum 14½ years’ jail.

“We came here today with pretty split expectations, obviously he could have got more but I think what the judge handed down was ... fair, yes, I suppose,” Barry Gibbins told reporters.

“When you look at the loss of our son, it’s not, it’s not fair.

“We could have got a lot less. We’re just walking away with, you know a lot of people say the justice system is not working but I think today has showed, for us, it’s in our favour, on the higher scale.”

Flanked by his family, Barry Gibbins told media no sentence

would ever bring his son back.

“When someone is taken from you in the prime of their life, it’s very

heartbreaking and you keep asking yourself why, why, why, and there’s

no answer there,” he said.

Brooks stood motionless and showed little emotion when Justice Peter Hamill delivered his sentence while Barry Gibbins, wife Denice, ex-wife Debbie, and their two daughters wiped away tears.

The 22-year-old from Toukley was sentenced to a maximum sentence of 22 years with a non-parole period of 14½ years following the cold-blooded murder of the 28-year-old Wyong Roos player outside a Toukley pizza shop on April 5, 2015, and the grievous bodily harm of his mate Adam Swindell.

Justice Hamill said mitigating features in sentencing included Brooks’ tender age, his good character and the strong prospects of rehabilitation.

“A mitigating feature upon which parties agree is that the offences were not part of a planned or organised activity,” he said.

“On the contrary, the offender responded quickly to a sudden situation created by others and which was largely beyond his control.

“Like Mr Gibbins, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Supporters of the former rugby league star said on the Justice for Gibbo Facebook page that no sentence would ever bring him back or “repair the damage done to ‘Snitch’ and all those impacted”.

“We all would have loved the maximum sentence of life in prison with a non-parole period of 20 years. That is without question. We also knew realistically this was unlikely,” a supporter wrote on Facebook.

“Sadly, those impacted by this are the ones handed the life sentence.”

Mr Gibbins, Mr Swindell and another mate Shaun Morabito had left the Sunbay music festival at Toukley’s Beachcomber Hotel shortly before midnight when they were approached by a young woman.

During Brooks’ four-week trial in March prosecutor Huw Baker told the court Amber Pellizzon approached the trio after she was verbally abused by a group of men across the road and asked them to escort her past the pizza shop.

As they passed the shop he said some men “made comments towards her” and Brooks’ adopted brother, Joel Brooks, walked up to Mr Swindell and “stood very close”.

Mr Baker told the court Mr Swindell said “What are you doing? I have nothing to do with this”.

Bradley Brooks then pulled a knife from his pants and stabbed Mr Gibbins in the chest.

Mr Gibbins took a few steps towards the road before collapsing face-first on the ground.

Terrified onlookers raced to assist him but he was unresponsive.

He was taken to Gosford Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery but tragically died from a stab wound to the heart.

Seeing his mate stabbed Mr Swindell, meanwhile, tried to run away when Brooks turned his attention on him.

Fleeing into an empty block next to the pizza shop Mr Swindell stopped when he realised he could not outrun his attacker and put up his arms in self defence before he was stabbed.

Bradley Brooks was convicted by a jury of murdering Mr Gibbins and inflicting grievous bodily harm against Mr Swindell.

His lawyers argued he was acting in self defence because he was very protective of his smaller brother, who he claimed was pushed first by Mr Swindell.

But the jury took less than 48 hours to find him guilty after they could not accept his evidence given he had taken a knife to the dance party.

Barry Gibbins said extended family had come down from Queensland and he could not thank them, their friends and the community enough for their support.

“It’s been the same during the whole ordeal,” he said.

“It’s been great. Without them I don’t think we could have got through it.”

Mr Gibbins described his son as a “quiet achiever” who’s popularity was apparent by the number of supporters who have followed the case from the beginning.

“Right from the start people rallied and grew and grew and even people who never knew him, we’ve had comments coming on Facebook and other areas, they’re just touched by it,” he said.

“It just shows what sort of a bloke he was.”

Mr Gibbins said his son was his best mate who he worked with every day in their family’s spray painting business.

“Being a dad you think you know your son but yeah, he really surprised me,” he said.

“I mean being a footballer playing for different clubs you make lots of friends but in saying that he must have been a decent enough bloke for those friends, these acquaintances, to want to keep in touch with him. It just goes to show what sort of a person he was.”

Greg Gibbins’ family told the Express Advocate this week that during the four-week trial they were subjected to taunts from Brooks’ supporters who would wink at them, blow kisses or make derogatory comments.

Barry Gibbins said their pain was made worse given Brooks showed no remorse throughout the trial and had refused to take the witness stand.

Brooks will be eligible for release on October 5, 2029.

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