NRL rising star Manase Fainu has denied plunging a steak knife into the back of a church youth leader, saying he backed away from a wild brawl after he heard someone yell “knife, knife”.
Mr Fainu, 24, is standing trial in the Parramatta District Court where he has denied stabbing Faamanu Levi in his back near his shoulder during a bloody brawl outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Wattle Grove on October 25, 2019.
Fainu has pleaded not guilty to one count of wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and he on Monday took the witness stand as he fights the allegations.
The court has heard that Mr Levi had earlier in the night spoken to two men who were involved in an altercation on the dance floor.
Mr Levi and his friends were later attacked by a group of men inside the church parking lot in a brawl in-between two parked cars but Mr Fainu said he played no part.
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The Manly Sea Eagles hooker on Monday told the jury he went to the dance with his friends, including Uona “Big Buck” Faingaa, who the court heard was attempting to recover money he was owed from a man.
Mr Fainu said he saw two of his mates including “Big Buck” being escorted off the church grounds and followed them, apologizing to a security guard for his friend’s behavior on the way out.
CCTV played during the trial has shown Mr Fainu jumping the fence from a Coles car park back into the church grounds shortly before the brawl.
Mr Fainu has told the court he told his friends he would go inside to collect Big Buck’s money by himself, however his friends followed him over the fence.
He said he was walking through the car park to the chapel when he saw a brawl erupt about 10 to 15 meters away.
“I just saw something, like a brawl going on,” Mr Fainu said.
“I started, like, back-pedaling and walking backwards,” he said, arguing he knew he couldn’t defend himself.
The court has heard he had undergone shoulder surgery and his arm was in a sling at the time.
Asked by his barrister Margaret Cunneen SC if he had a knife that night, he said “no, mam”.
He said he never saw a knife in any of his friends’ possession and ran away when he heard someone yell “knife, knife”.
“I just saw (the brawl) for, like, a minute or two and then I ran away; I was scared for myself,” he said.
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He said he took his sling off to jump back over the fence and while in the parking lot, he talked to his friends about the brawl.
Mr Fainu told the court he heard “Big Buck” say he “dropped someone” and none of his friends told him about someone being stabbed.
Mr Levi has previously told the court he did not see who stabbed him.
Witness Tony Quach last week told the court he saw Mr Fainu stab Mr Levi in the back during the brawl and could identify him from his sling.
“Sir, you were the one who plunged the knife into the back of Faamanu Levi on the 25th of October, 2019, weren’t you?” crown prosecutor Emma Curran asked
“No, mam,” Mr Fainu replied.
CCTV played to the court showed Mr Fainu in the parking lot with a white towel on his head.
He denied it was an effort to hide his identity, saying he had soaked it in cold water because he had a headache, adding it was a common practice at Manly training
The video showed him scaling a fire hydrant to get over the fence about 11.20pm.
He said he climbed the fence because it was the quickest way to get back into the church, despite telling Ms Curran he could have walked back in via the front gate because he wasn’t kicked out of the dance.
He said he thought he was going by himself but after he had got over the wall he realized his friends had followed.
“Why did you jump over?” Mr Fainu claimed he told his friends about him.
He said he told “Big Buck” and his other friends to “wait there” but “Big Buck” was angry and said “f*** that, I’ll go get it.”
“Why did you feel such a responsibility to Big Buck to go and get the money for him?” Ms Curran asked.
“Because I was the driver, I was just a good friend,” Mr Fainu said.
The trial continues.
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