The partner of Dane Cordner - older brother of NRL star Boyd - says he was in a "protective mode" when he punched drunk Newcastle Knights prop Jacob Saifiti outside a pub, knocking him to the ground.
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Keira Howard told the Newcastle Local Court on Tuesday that Saifiti "kept coming" at Cordner before the altercation at the Greenroof Hotel in Hamilton in late 2018.
Cordner, 29, of Adamstown, has pleaded not guilty to causing reckless grievous bodily harm to Saifiti. Cordner claims he was acting in self-defence.
Ms Howard said Cordner was not being aggressive when he spoke to Saifiti outside the hotel after 2am on December 2 stating: "You're a nobody. The Knights don't want you. Stay the f*** away from me."
She said Saifiti kept yelling out: "Have a go Cordner, have a go. You're a nobody. I'm protected. Don't try to f*** with me."
"I told him (Saifiti) to stop," Ms Howard told the court on Tuesday.
"Everyone else was on edge. We didn't know what to do. Dane's just turned around and pushed him and hit him with his right hand. It all happened so quickly. He was in a protective mode.
"I don't believe in any way Dane was wanting to get involved in a fight that night."
Ms Howard claimed Saifiti, 23, was the one trying to provoke a fight and kept boasting he was protected by security staff who did nothing to stop the prop confronting Cordner.
Security guard Jared Nott had earlier told the court Cordner and Saifiti had been yelling at each other after 2am before the Knights prop was knocked to the ground by Cordner. He broke his ankle when he fell awkwardly.
Mr Nott did not remember Cordner telling Saifiti to "leave it" and later yelling at him to "f*** off and stay away from me".
He could not explain why he later put down "unknown" in a security incident report for the names of the two men involved in the altercation when he knew both Cordner and Saifiti.
He denied wanting to protect Saifiti and the pub's reputation.
"The Knights get special treatment there (at the Greenroof) don't they?" defence barrister Jack Tyler-Stott asked the security guard.
"No," he replied.
Mr Nott denied Saifiti - a 195 centimetre-tall Fijian international rugby league player - was protected by hotel security staff.
The hearing, before magistrate Robert Stone, continues on Wednesday.
Australian Associated Press
