Jurrah pleads not guilty Former AFL footballer Liam Jurrah assaulted his cousin with a weapon and continued hitting him when he was on the ground, causing serious facial and skull lacerations, witnesses are expected to tell his trial. Jurrah, who has pleaded not guilty, is alleged to have caused serious harm to his cousin Basil Jurrah during a violent incident at the Little Sisters Town Camp on the edge of Alice Springs on March 7 last year. In his opening address in the trial of Jurrah, crown prosecutor Stephen Robson outlined the case, saying there was a longstanding friction between two family groups. "Basil Jurrah fell to the ground and the accused and Christopher Walker continued to strike him," Mr Robson said witnesses would testify. His (Basil Jurrah's) injuries included skull and facial fractures. Mr Robson told the Alice Springs Supreme Court that witnesses were expected to testify that the former Melbourne football club player was involved in two incidents at the camp. The first occurred about 10pm in which some fighting took place and the second incident took place about an hour later when Jurrah and a group of people returned carrying weapons. It was during the second incident that Basil Jurrah was attacked, prosecutors allege. Mr Robson said witness Philomena White was expected to say that she saw Jurrah hit Basil Jurrah twice on the head with a weapon during the night in question. Another witness, Ingrid White, would likely testify that Liam Jurrah hit her with a nulla nulla, he said. The prosecutor said that even if jurors could not be certain that Jurrah was responsible for inflicting the particular blows that caused the injuries to Basil Jurrah, the former footballer would still be guilty if he aided and abetted someone else who caused the injuries. Mr Robson said different witnesses had described the type of weapon Jurrah alleged used differently, including calling it a machete, an axe or a nulla nulla - a type of traditional Aboriginal club - and the prosecution could not be precise as to what sort of weapon was used. Mr Robson said Jurrah had told police that he had not hurt his cousin Basil Jurrah or anyone else, but was at the incident to stop a younger cousin of his from becoming involved. Jurrah said he stood above Basil Jurrah while the injured man was on the ground, but threw away weapons he had been holding, Mr Robson said. Defence lawyer, Jon Tippett, QC, said the jury needed to determine whether what people said they saw was reliable. "Just because 10 people say it is so doesn't mean it is so," Mr Tippett said. He said Jurrah was a "big man" and the two family groups involved in the incident didn't like each other very much, giving one group a motive to try and bring down the former star. Mr Tippett also said jurors should also take into account that during the night in question some people had been drinking and poor light and other factors could have made it difficult for people to know what had happened. If found guilty Jurrah could be jailed for up to 14 years.The trial continues in Alice Springs on Tuesday.