Former NRL star Chris Sandow has been sentenced to prison after being caught with a rifle in public and throwing rocks at cars.

The ex-Rabbitohs and Eels playmaker pleaded guilty to several offences in Ipswich Magistrates Court last Friday, including one count of unlawfully possessing a category H weapon in public, one count of assaulting and obstructing police officers, two counts of wilful damages and other offences.

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The court heard that complaints over Sandow’s behaviour were made in March after he caused damage to two vehicles when throwing rocks at passing by cars on a road in the Ipswich suburb of Riverview.

Police located Sandow and found that he possessed a rifle, a hunting knife, ammunition, methamphetamine and two glass smoking pipes.

The 36-year-old resisted arrest, striking one of the officers in the chest.

Magistrate Virginia Ellen Sturgess sentenced Sandow to 12 months jail and also reactivated a 15-month suspended sentence for previous offences.

That punishment counts the 179 days in pre-sentence custody as time served. Ms Sturgess set Sandow’s parole eligibility hearing for March 3, 2026.

“Certainly in your background, you’re apparently a very talented footballer in your younger years, and unfortunately, there’s been this deterioration, drugs clearly being part of that,” Ms Sturgess said.

“It’s clearly a dangerous thing to be out in public with a weapon, and of course, the court treats that very seriously.”

Sandow played 159 NRL games across eight seasons for the Rabbitohs and Eels.

Debuting in 2008 for Souths, he’d play 84 games for the club before signing with Parramatta on a big money deal, appearing in 75 games for the Eels.