Payton Henrich Robert Reiri, 23, of Darling Street at Heywood and Daniel Ronald Hollands, 28, of Finn Street at Portland pleaded guilty in the Warrnambool County Court to aggravated burglary while armed with a baseball bat and a machete respectively, intentionally causing serious injury and assault.

Hollands also admitted to trafficking amphetamine, possessing ice, ecstasy and cannabis and possessing a sword.

Crown prosecutor David O'Doherty said a home invasion and violent assault targeted a 36-year old man at a Waratah Crescent house about 5pm on May 28 last year.

He said Reiri and Hollands knew the victim, who had been dealing cannabis and ice for about nine months.

They told the victim to stop dealing drugs because he was taking their business. The victim heard there was an $18,000 bounty on his head.

On the day of the home invasion, the victim and a 16-year-old girl travelled to Portland to visit family and friends.

They relaxed at the Waratah Crescent home, drinking and eating with a number of people. About 5pm the victim finished having a shower.

A woman heard cars pull up, looked outside and yelled to the victim to, "Hide – it's PK (Reiri)".

The victim looked outside and saw several men armed with baseball bats, axe handles and machetes.

The girl tried to block the back door but Reiri forced his way in before hitting her to the back with a black-and-chrome baseball bat. She suffered a compound fracture.

The victim was hiding behind a bedroom door, which was forced open and partially ripped off its hinges.

He was dragged from behind the door and hit to the lower right leg, falling to the floor.

Reiri repeatedly hit the victim to the arms, legs, face, head and back while the victim was screaming. A nine-year-old boy witnessed the attack.

Demands for money and drugs were made and the victim was taken to the backyard where the baseball bat assault resumed.

At one stage the victim tried to run but his leg "crumbled" and "felt like it was broken".

The victim was dragged to the kitchen where Reiri hit him multiple times with the bat.

While lying on the kitchen floor, Hollands leaned over the victim holding a large 30cm carving knife and stabbed him to the face causing a 10cm to 15cm gash, which bled profusely.

The victim was taken to the back of the house, hit again with baseball bats and the assault ended with Reiri saying he would be back soon to collect money.

Police arrived at 5.19pm, provided first aid to the male victim and covered his cheek wound with a towel.

He was taken to Portland hospital and then airlifted to The Alfred in Melbourne.

He had fractures to fingers on both hands, breaks to his cheek and jaw, his right leg was smashed and the large laceration to his left cheek involved facial nerve damage.

When arrested on June 4, Hollands was found to be carrying six zip lock bags of ice and an ice pipe.

In an impact statement, the victim said his life had been changed forever.

He walks with a limp, can't kick a football, has no feeling in the left side of his face and has reduced control of his face which droops.

The man said he regularly suffered flashbacks, could not return to live in Portland, has panic attacks and has moved to the Top End of Australia which has left him financially broke as he tries to restart his life.

Barrister Daniel Cash, for Hollands, said the confrontational aggravated burglary was towards the top end of the scale.

He said his client had been selling small amounts of ecstasy to support his ice habit after getting involved in the drug about five years prior.

Hollands’ prior convictions include intentionally causing injury in 2009 when he came to the aid of his brother. In 2013 he was jailed for unlawful assault and in January 2015 he got three months' imprisonment after he slapped his girlfriend.

Reiri's barrister Con Mylonas said his client had not previously served a jail term and his previous assault by kicking charge involved kicking his mother during a domestic dispute.

He said while the May 2015 home invasion involved serious injury, he claimed the injuries were not life-threatening.

Mr Mylonas told the court there were claims the victim had threatened to burn down Reiri's home and kill his family.

He said Reiri believed that threat was credible.

The barrister said Reiri had been using significant amounts of ice at the time and he has since had nightmares about his offending.

The crown prosecutor said the offending involved a vigilante group smashing its way into a house to steal what was inside, there had been no previous mention of any threat to Reiri, permanent injuries had been caused and only a significant jail term was appropriate.

Reiri has spent 327 days in pre-sentence custody while Hollands has served 238 days.

Hollands was prosecuted for breaching a community corrections order last year and was resentenced to serve 90 days in jail.

Judge Gavan Meredith said a term of imprisonment for both men was inevitable.

He said the defendants were part of an armed gang, they were involved in the drug culture and serious injuries were caused.

Previous court hearings have heard that the victim was bashed 200 times with baseball bats and that the knife was run down the side of his face, exposing his teeth and requiring 60 internal and external stitches. 

The judge is expected to impose sentences during the next month while the county court sits in Warrnambool.