AFL great Nicky Winmar was defending himself from a woman who punched him during the alleged incident that saw him charged with assault, a court has heard.
Police allege the former St Kilda star, 60, attacked the woman at Cohuna in northern Victoria on May 14, 2025.
The woman, who cannot be identified, made the accusations at Bendigo Magistrates Court on Monday as Winmar fought four assault charges in a contested hearing.
She has told the court that Winmar dragged her by the hair and smashed her head against a door during a ‘petrifying’ attack.
On Tuesday, Winmar’s lawyer Dermot Dann KC told the court that the woman attacked Winmar first.
‘He was trying to protect himself and fend off your punches,’ Dann said to the woman.
Nicky Winmar (pictured at court in 2019) was defending himself after being punched in the face by a woman who has accused him of assault, a court has heard
The St Kilda great (pictured in 2023) has been accused of dragging the woman by the hair and slamming her head into a door on May 14, 2025
‘One of the punches caused a cut to his face, which was observed by police.’
Dann also told the court that the woman had made several false claims about the alleged assault to ‘make [the] incident sound as bad as possible for Mr Winmar’.
The woman denied punching the footy great and told the court she failed to tell police about some parts of her evidence because it was too difficult for her to relive.
She previously told the court that Winmar unexpectedly became angry that evening and started yelling at her.
‘Just complete ranting and screaming at me – none of it made sense,’ the woman said.
‘We hadn’t been arguing or anything like that. I couldn’t work out what was going on. I was in absolute shock.’
The woman alleged Winmar grabbed her arm and twisted it hard before pulling her by the ponytail and dragging her into another room.
She said Winmar then pushed her against a wall, before yelling and spitting in her face.
The barrister acting for Winmar (pictured outside court in July last year) told the court that the woman had made several false claims about his client
‘He turned off the light and wouldn’t let me out,’ the woman told the court.
‘He physically overpowered me so I couldn’t get out. He knew I was scared.’
The woman told the court he eventually let go of her and she ran to grab her mobile phone but he took it off her.
He only passed the phone back after she said she wanted to call a friend instead of the police, the court was told.
The woman said she spoke to her friend before passing the phone back to Winmar and running from the room.
He allegedly chased after her and grabbed her head before bashing it repeatedly into a wooden door.
