Photo: © 2010 AAP/JOE CASTRO
Hobart's Tim Redmond was in Melbourne to catch some AFL on the weekend.
On the way back to his accommodation, his train came under siege from a group of up to ten teenagers.
When the train pulled up at one station, a passenger was dragged from the train and threatened with broken bottles by four of the attackers.
When Redmond stepped in, he was smashed in the head with a rock, a blow that left him with a brain clot.
His father, Mark, has described him as son as "hero".
“He decided to step in … and make a stand. He’s a pretty compassionate guy,” Mark Redmond told the Herald Sun.
While his son is in a stable condition, his father says he is angry about what happened.
