More details have come to light about the court case involving stood-down Manly dummy half Manase Fainu, with the 24-year-old denying accusations he had stabbed someone with a knife in October, 2019.
Fainu is currently on trial in Parramatta District Court, where he has pleaded not guilty to one count of wounding a person with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He took to the witness stand this week to fight the allegations.
Fainu denied stabbing accuser Faamanu Levi in the back with a knife at the incident outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Wattle Grove. He claimed that he backed away from an intense brawl the moment he heard someone yell “knife, knife”.
Levi and a number of others were attacked by a group of men in the church parking lot after the youth leader had addressed two men following an altercation on the dance floor. Fainu insists he played no part in the attack.
According to Fainu, he went to the dance with a number of friends – one of whom was attempting to recover money owed to him from another party. Fainu saw his friends being escorted from the grounds later that evening and claims he apologised to security on their behalf.
CCTV footage revealed Fainu climbed over a fence at the neighbouring Coles supermarket to get back into the parking lot, despite the fact he hadn’t been kicked out of the original gathering and could have re-entered through the gate. When asked why he jumped the fence, he said that his indebted friend was growing impatient and hostile.
Last week the court heard from an alleged witness, who claims he witnessed Fainu stab Levi in the back and could identify him from his sling. Fainu was at the time recovering from a shoulder operation.
CCTV also showed Fainu with a white towel over his head, which the prosecutor suggested was an attempt to hide his identity. Fainu denied that claim, saying he had soaked the towel in cold water as per a technique he had learned at Manly.
The trial is ongoing.
Nearly three years since the incident.
Regardless of whether he is found innocent or guilty, the sheer time for which he has been prevented from working should be accepted as a reason for the NRL abandoning the stand-down policy.