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A jury has retired to consider their verdict on an alleged baseball bat bashing outside a Civic bar that left a man with about 30 stitches in his head. Srbko Borovina and Petar Dimic, both aged 29, are on trial over the alleged attack outside on Tongue and Groove on Genge Street in the early hours of January 22, 2011, that left the victim unconscious and with serious head injuries. Borovina is accused of hitting the victim in the back of the head numerous times with a baseball bat, while Dimic allegedly punched and kicked him. The defence legal team - barristers Jack Pappas and Anthony Hopkins - argued the men were acting to protect themselves. They argued that the alleged victim and his accomplices were out in Civic for revenge, following a fight at the Holy Grail that left their friend in hospital with a broken jaw and loose teeth. But the Crown - led by prosecutor Anthony Williamson - said the level of force used against the victim was "excessive" and disproportionate to any act of self-defence. In his closing address, Mr Pappas said the accused men were put in a "horrifying" situation" after being set upon by men armed with baseball bats. The defence argued the men feared for their lives, and managed to disarm one of the men holding the baseball bat. He argued the two then acted out of self-defence, and told the jury the Crown was compelled to prove that was not the case. The defence also pointed out deficiencies in the police investigation, inconsistencies, and claimed that three key crown witnesses were "lying through their teeth" about the circumstances leading up to the incident.