Detective Inspector Rod Smith said the 26-year-old woman is suffering from serious bruising and has welts on the lower half of her body.She was with her 21-year-old female friend outside a house on Fernleigh Road at 10pm when they became involved in a verbal argument with two passing males.The men left the scene but returned about 40 minutes later with up to eight friends and were wielding bats and a tree branch.The woman was putting her children inside her car when she was set upon with a bat.“A 23-year-old male intervened and he too was assaulted with a tree branch. He was then set upon by several members of the group ... he suffered a laceration to his right arm, bruising and grazing to his upper body,” Det Insp Smith told the Advertiser.“Police spoke to a number of people on the night but are yet to identify who was involved. We are asking for the public’s help.”The attackers are described as black African and aged in their late teens or early 20s.The initial argument which appears to have sparked the attack was not of a sexual nature and police do not believe alcohol was involved. Information can be given to police by phoning 6921 0510.