A footy coach, accused of glassing a woman and knocking her unconscious in a pub, claims he was "quite scared" when she slapped him during an argument.
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The alleged glassing is said to have occurred after a few drinks following a rugby game between the Jindabyne Bushpigs and the Bungendore Mudchooks.
Stuart Cameron Ryan, 33, faced Queanbeyan Local Court on Tuesday.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges of reckless wounding, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray, arguing self-defence.
The alleged victim, Amy Elizabeth Robinson, has pleaded guilty to a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm which had arisen from the same incident.
The court heard in July 2022, Ryan and Robinson went to Bungendore with a group to watch the Bushpigs play the Mudchooks. Ryan was a coach for the Jindabyne team.
After the rugby union game, the group went to the Lake Jindabyne Hotel where the alleged crimes are said to have occurred.
Giving evidence during a hearing on Tuesday, Robinson said she did not remember much of the night.
She said after a heated conversation about ex-partners with Ryan, the next thing she recalled was "waking up on the floor with blood on my face".
"I was carried out to the back portion of the pub and I woke up out there," she said.
She told the court blood was coming from a cut behind her left ear.
Video of the incident, tendered to the court, shows the pair arguing before the woman slaps Ryan. Ryan then appears to slap her back.
The woman can be seen throwing a drink at the man, before he strikes her on the head with a glass of beer in his hand.
They can then be seen falling to the ground, where the woman loses consciousness. The incident is said to have occurred about 10.30pm.
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During cross-examination by barrister Jack Pappas, the alleged victim agreed cuts to Ryan's face had been caused when she threw the drink.
Giving evidence, Ryan recalled getting into an argument with Robinson and then "being attacked".
The shattered glass caused injuries between his nose, the edge of his right eye and down to his jawline, Ryan told the court.
He admitted he pushed the alleged victim with his left hand and struck her with his right hand while holding a glass of beer.
The 33-year-old claimed he didn't attempt to strike the woman again when she was on the ground.
"My face was dripping blood onto my hand," Ryan said.
Ryan admitted he moved the beer from his left hand to his right hand before striking the woman with the glass.
A police prosecutor argued Ryan had hit the woman with an "overhand right strike" to the head.
The defendant accepted he was taller and larger in stature than the alleged victim. The security guard and footy coach told the court he was "quite scared" of the woman at the time.
In closing submissions, Mr Pappas argued his client had acted in a "classic flight or fight response".
The barrister said Ryan was "not in any way motivated by malice or desire to punish".
"There was little time for what is described as calm reflection," Mr Pappas said.
"He had just had a glass shattered on his face, he retaliated in a single combined effort of pushing and striking."
The prosecution argued Ryan was not acting in self-defence and his actions were "deliberate, unreasonable and excessive".
Earlier, magistrate Roger Clisdell called a 15-minute adjournment "to recover" after a disagreement with Mr Pappas.
When Mr Pappas was cross-examining the alleged victim, Mr Clisdell had said the barrister was "over-egging the pie".
Mr Pappas replied: "It is my pie" and "it's my recipe".
He then said the magistrate had made "fatuous" comments.
The magistrate left the courtroom, slamming the door.
Mr Clisdell is set to give his verdicts in Cooma Local Court on May 4.
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