A footballer accused of forcing an 18-year-old woman into a threesome at a Hunter home has given evidence in his trial that the allegations against him were "just not true".
Ryan Matthew Hawkshaw and his "good friend" Hayden Charles Topliss are facing a joint trial in Newcastle District Court on charges stemming from the early hours of Saturday, April 22, 2023.
Hawkshaw took to the witness box on Friday, September 11, where he repeatedly disagreed with the allegations Crown prosecutor Charisse Hodgeman put to him during cross-examination.
Hawkshaw told the court he was having consensual sex with the woman in the spare bedroom of Topliss's house in Scone when he asked if she wanted "Toppa" to join.
"It was a suggestion to which she agreed," Hawkshaw said.
Ms Hodgeman put to Hawkshaw that the woman had said no.
"I disagree with that," he replied.
Ms Hodgeman asked him if he continued to try to convince the woman that she would enjoy it, and that she had responded about three times saying she did not want to have a threesome.
"That's not right, no," Hawkshaw replied.
Ms Hodgeman suggested to him that it became very clear that a threesome was not something the woman wanted.
"That's just not true," he said.
Hawkshaw gave evidence he suffered an injury playing for the Scone Thoroughbreds rugby league side, requiring surgery, and had no movement in his left hand on the night of the alleged assault.
He said the woman had helped him dress after the alleged sexual acts and dropped him home.
Hawkshaw told the court he was overseas in July 2024 when another man messaged him saying a detective had called about a night in 2023 involving Hawkshaw, Topliss and the complainant.
Hawkshaw gave evidence that "we obviously had the threesome" but he did not believe there was anything police should be calling about because it was all consensual.
"I thought it was a poor joke, to be honest," he said.
The trial earlier heard evidence that Hawkshaw had sent a message to Topliss saying he remembered "f--- alllll" from their night out drinking beers and vodka cokes before the woman gave them a lift back to Topliss's and the alleged assault took place.
He described that message in court as "a bit of an exaggeration".
Hawkshaw and Topliss have each pleaded not guilty to four counts of having sexual intercourse without consent while in the company of each other.
Topliss has pleaded not guilty to a further count of having sexual intercourse without consent.
He has also denied one charge of sexual touching without consent after the 18-year-old woman alleged he grabbed her hand on a dance floor about a year after the alleged assault, in April 2024, and made her touch his genitals through his shorts.
The woman went to police after that incident, sparking an investigation. Hawkshaw and Topliss were arrested in September 2024 and charged.
Their trial continues in Newcastle District Court.
