Former NRL player Nick Bradley-Qalilawa was called a "dog" and a "pussy" before being attacked by then Rooster hooker Jake Friend in a Sydney nightclub, a magistrate has been told.
Bradley-Qalilawa was giving evidence on Wednesday at the Downing Centre Local Court hearing of charges against Friend and his then teammate Sandor Earl, both 19.
Friend has pleaded not guilty to common assault, while Earl has denied two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The charges arose from an incident at Tank nightclub in the early hours of June 28 last year, when Bradley-Qalilawa and his cousin were allegedly assaulted.
Bradley-Qalilawa told the court the two Roosters were seated with one or two other people near him in the club when they started throwing ice at him.
He said that after he involved a security guard in the matter the group became aggressive.
"(They said) You are a dog, why would you go and tell someone? You are a pussy," he told the court.
"I turned around and said are you guys serious? You are carrying on like f***wits."
The group then rose from their booth and came towards him with their chests puffed out, he said.
He told the court Friend hit him twice in the face and he was punched by someone else who he was not able to identify.
Bradley-Qalilawa's cousin, Kristy Bradley, was also injured in the attack, he told the court.
"(She said) 'I don't understand why they kept stepping on me'," he said.
"She looked dazed ... she had tears coming out of her eyes."
Friend was sacked by the Roosters in December, while Earl did not have his contract renewed for the 2010 season.
The hearing is continuing before Magistrate John Favretto.
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