Wesley Dates, now 21, was at a friend's apartment in Miller, western Sydney, drinking and gathering around the annual rugby league blockbuster on the night of October 1, 2023.
Shortly before 9pm, 18-year-old George Woods and 19-year-old Joshua Ratu happened to stroll by the party and struck up a conversation with Dates and his brother Peter, now aged 23.
Mr Woods would suffer two fatal stab wounds fewer than 10 minutes later.
The chat between former football teammates Mr Ratu and Peter Dates exploded into a fist-fight.
Peter's younger brother Wesley intervened, stabbing bystander George Woods twice before turning on Mr Ratu, kicking him in the ribs and head as he lay on the ground.
Peter was in February found not guilty of wounding Mr Ratu with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
But Wesley Dates pleaded guilty to wounding Mr Ratu with the intention of causing him grievous bodily harm and to the manslaughter of Mr Woods.
NSW Supreme Court Justice Dina Yehia described his attack on Mr Woods as "catastrophic and tragic, which resulted in the death of a young man who had done nothing to provoke the violence."
She imprisoned the former apprentice plumber for 21 years on Friday at Sydney's King Street courthouse, to be eligible for parole in January 2037.
A jury sided with the Crown in rejecting his second plea, finding him guilty of murdering Mr Woods in February.
Justice Yehia took into account Dates has had an extremely difficult life and "a background of deprivation and disadvantage", with both brothers routinely experiencing abuse together as teenagers.
"The relationship (Dates) had with his brother Peter became a highly protective one developed in a context of shared exposure to abuse and unstable care," she said.
She respected the brothers' bond affected Dates' actions when he intervened in the deadly brawl.
Psychological assessments also showed Dates' behaviour was consistent with PTSD, major depressive disorder, anxiety and substance use disorders, Justice Yehia said, significantly reducing his moral culpability for the offences.
But she recounted a victim impact statement prepared by Mr Woods' father, George Woods Sr, which described the victim as "the type of person who would feed me before himself" and "more of a man than anyone" he had ever met.
Mr Woods said his son had been his "rock" around the time his mother died, the judge relayed.
"He has chosen healing and peace despite the trauma he has experienced," Justice Yehia said.
"No jail term of any length can return a loved one."
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