Former NRL player Tristan Sailor has told a court he asked a woman for consent twice before an alleged sexual assault and she didn't want him to leave after intercourse.
Mr Sailor, 23, appeared calm and composed in the witness box in the NSW District Court, detailing how he met the complainant at the Beach Road Hotel in Bondi on October 3, 2020 before they headed back to her apartment with one of her friends and Mr Sailor's teammate Eddie Blacker.
The former Dragons player, and son of rugby league and union great Wendell Sailor, told the court NRL training on respectful relationships prompted him to ask the complainant for consent more than once.
"From the age of 14 through the Dragons system we've had yearly if not bi-yearly education classes and seminars that specifically talk about alcohol, drugs and consent because they are such important issues," Mr Sailor told the court.
"We've always been taught to make sure consent is given."
The woman he had intercourse with, who cannot be identified, sustained injuries to her genitals from the alleged assault and claims she couldn't have consented as she was asleep, unconscious or too intoxicated.
The next day, she sent Mr Sailor messages asking "what happened last night?" and explaining she was too intoxicated to remember if they had had sex.
But Mr Sailor maintains he was mindful of the "general climate" about sexual consent and believed men needed to be more accountable, so decided to check consent had not been withdrawn.
Mr Sailor said when the pair entered her bedroom after playing drinking games with the other guests he asked "are you sweet?" to which she replied "yeah".
Shortly afterwards he says he asked her friend if the complainant was talking to any other romantic interests to which she replied: "She's fine, she's wanted to do this all night."
He then checked with the complainant one more time that she was "sure" and she wasn't "talking to anyone".
When his lawyer, Richard Pontello SC, asked him why he asked about other potential partners, he said he was cautious to avoid a repeat of a past situation where he had sex with a woman who said she was single, when in fact she was in a relationship with someone who eventually played football with Mr Sailor.
There is no dispute Mr Sailor had sex with the complainant but the trial hinges on whether he believed she did not consent or was reckless when considering consent.
The 23-year-old disputed the woman was too intoxicated at the time, giving evidence she was never too drunk to walk or talk properly and seemed "happy and energetic".
"To me she was completely fine. I didn't see any signs of intoxication … [she was] completely conscious."
The pair had previously exchanged messages over Instagram in 2019 that he described as "flirtatious" but they had not met before the night at the Beach Road Hotel.
He said after sex, Mr Blacker called an Uber so Mr Sailor told the woman he had to go.
"She said 'don't go' and I said 'sorry I have to' … I got dressed and kissed her and said goodbye."
The Crown prosecutor Jeff Tunks later questioned why Mr Sailor, an intelligent man with two university degrees and NRL training on health and sex, did not wear a condom during intercourse.
"Did you stop to think about using a condom?" Mr Tunks asked.
"No," Mr Sailor replied.
The trial continues.
