AFL star 'provoked by king-hit'
Warwick Stanley
June 10, 2008
A PERTH man who says he was attacked by former AFL star Andrew Krakoeur has admitted "king-hitting" him when the pair first crossed paths some years ago.
Justin Martin, 24, told the District Court in Perth today that in 2001 he had struck the footballer at a Fremantle nightclub shortly after Krakoeur had joined the Richmond club in Melbourne.
Mr Martin said he had thrown the punch without warning amid a long-standing feud between female members of his own family and the Krakoeur clan.
He said when the pair next met outside a Fremantle nightclub in December 2006, Krakoeur had challenged him to a fight, recalling the king-hit and saying "let's sort it out now".
Andrew Krakoeur, 24, his brother Tyrone Krakoeur, 22 and their cousin Elwyn Colbung, 20, have each pleaded not guilty to a charge of assaulting Martin with intent to cause bodily harm.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years jail.
The prosecution alleges the three carried out a brutal attack on Mr Martin in a Fremantle carpark, kicking him around the head and upper body after the fight outside the nightclub.
The badly injured Mr Martin had a seizure after being taken to hospital, probably as a result of the beating, prosecutor Bruno Fiannaca has told the court.
Cross-examined today by John Prior for Krakoeur, Mr Martin agreed his sister Carly had said "make him pee", which meant take him on, after Andrew Krakoeur had challenged him to a fight.
He said he told Krakoeur "You play AFL", knowing that he played for Richmond, to which Krakoeur had replied "I don't give a f**k".
He said they had then taken off their shirts and that Krakoeur had thrown the first punch, before they exchanged blows to the body and head.
He had tried to flee after he had fallen to the ground and Tyrone had kicked him in the head after what he said to that point had been a "fair fight".
Mr Martin said he had jumped over a railway fence and ended up in a car park, where he had been attacked by the three men.
He said he had struck Andrew Krakouer in the face when he had been trapped between cars and was "left with no option".
"I went into a position on the ground. I felt blows to my body and head. For a while I covered up," he said.
"Then after a while, (when I was on the ground), I could see Andrew."
Mr Martin said he did not remember seeing Andrew strike him before he lost consciousness.
He said he only remembered being taken away in an ambulance and waking up in hospital.
Under questioning by Mr Prior, Mr Martin admitted to convictions for aggravated assault and aggravated burglary.
The three accused remain on bail and the hearing continues.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23842594-5005961,00.html
