The victim of an alleged bashing with a baseball bat in Civic has denied that he was planning a ''hit'' on his attackers after they broke the jaw of his friend earlier in the night.
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Srbko Borovina and Petar Dimic, both aged 29, are on trial over the attack on Genge Street outside the Tongue and Groove bar, in Civic, in January 2011.
The alleged victim told the court he suffered serious injuries, requiring about 30 stitches to the back of his head.
The man, who was left in a coma, and whose blood was splattered across the road, claims he did not know his alleged attackers, and that he did nothing to provoke them.
The court heard that earlier that night the complainant had been drinking at the now-closed Holy Grail bar in Civic with a group of friends.
There was a fight outside, and one of the complainant's friends was punched, leaving him bleeding from the mouth and with a broken jaw.
The alleged victim took his friend to hospital, saying he then left to go back to Civic when doctors told him the patient would be required to stay longer for surgery.
He told the court by video link that when he arrived in Civic, he parked near the Tongue and Groove bar, and saw a group of six to seven men arguing among themselves.
The alleged victim says he was then bashed without warning.
But in cross-examination, defence barrister Jack Pappas suggested to the alleged victim that he had gone back to Civic to get revenge for the earlier fight.
''You were out for revenge this morning, weren't you … because of what happened to your friend,'' he said.
Mr Pappas suggested a series of phone calls was made as the alleged victim and a friend came back from the hospital.
The defence said he then followed the men, and that his friends in a white ute had pulled up on Genge Street.
Mr Pappas suggested to the alleged victim that he then said ''They're the men, get them!''
But the man rejected claims that he was seeking revenge as untrue, saying he had never seen the men who punched his friend earlier that night.
The defence also pointed to what the complainant had told hospital staff after the alleged attack, saying he told them he was being followed before the attack, and was hit a number of times on the back of the head with a bat.
The alleged victim said he could not remember what he had told hospital staff, and had little memory of that night.
The trial continues.