Former AFL star fined over SA road crash

Former Melbourne and Port Adelaide AFL star Jack Watts panicked, fearing bad publicity for himself and his club, when he left the scene of a road crash, a court has heard.

The case against Watts came before Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday where the 30-year-old entered guilty pleas to three charges through counsel.

He admitted driving without due care and failing to provide his details to police and the owner of a parked car he hit at suburban Fulham.

The incident occurred in September last year, just days before he retired from Port Adelaide and the AFL.

Defence counsel Darren Russo told the court that Watts was extremely embarrassed by his actions and was deeply remorseful.

"In relation to the offending, the defendant was not paying adequate attention ... he collided into the right-hand side of the vehicle," Mr Russo said.

"The long and short of it after that is that he simply panicked.

"He was immediately fearful of bringing adverse publicity to the football club. He was also fearful of bringing adverse publicity to himself.

"He then made a foolish, spur-of-the-moment, decision not to report the matter at that time."

However, Mr Russo said Watts went to police the next day and also contacted the owner of the car.

The court was told he had since paid for the damage he caused.

It also heard that at the time of the crash he was struggling with what to do with his football career after suffering a severe injury in 2019 when he broke a leg.

He had played 152 games for Melbourne after being selected as the number one draft pick in 2008 and then played 21 games for Port Adelaide after being recruited in 2017.

Watts, who now lives in Melbourne, was not in court for Tuesday's hearing because of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

He was fined $600 but had no conviction recorded and did not have his licence suspended.

Magistrate Karim Soetratma said while Watts had broken the law in not providing his details immediately after the crash he had "eventually, albeit belatedly" obeyed the spirit of the law by going to police and contacting the owner of the car.