Manase Fainu: Manly Sea Eagles star set for trial over church stabbing
Rugby league young gun Manase Fainu will have to wait almost 12 months to stand trial over a stabbing during a wild brawl at a Mormon church dance. The Sea Eagles star’s career remains in jeopardy as he fights the allegations.
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Manly Sea Eagles star Manase Fainu will stand trial after pleading not guilty to stabbing a man at a Mormon church dance.
A trial date for the 21-year-old rugby league gun was set down for July 2021 after he was arraigned on a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm on Friday.
Fainu appeared via video link with his defence solicitor at Parramatta District Court, dressed in a black suit and pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The talented hooker has been sidelined under the NRL’s no-fault stand-down policy since his arrest in October last year after police allege he stabbed a 24-year-old man with a 10cm knife.
Police have accused Fainu of intentionally wounding the man during a brawl at a Wattle Grove church on October 25, leaving him with a punctured lung after allegedly stabbing him in the back.
The court heard Fainu would fight the charge on the grounds that he was not responsible for the stab wound.
“The issue is who occasions the wound, effectively,” solicitor Najee Makhoul said.
The Crown prosecutor estimates the trial could take up to three weeks and would be dependent on the number of defence witnesses called to give evidence.
Several other males have been charged over the melee, with three co-accuseds already sentenced in the local court on affray charges.
It was not yet known if the convicted men would be called for evidence.
The court also heard that the prosecution would rely strongly on witness evidence and CCTV footage during the trial.
Fainu remains on bail after spending two weeks at Parklea jail following his arrest last year.
His bail conditions have effectively placed him on house arrest and he is only allowed to leave the home with supervision from his parents.