A controversial witness says a "flashback dream" prompted a memory of Jack de Belin's rape accuser pointing out the "hot" football star, saying that she wanted to "get with him".
Callan Sinclair, 23, and De Belin, 30, have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of aggravated sexual assault that allegedly took place at a North Wollongong unit in December 2018.
Jared Barnes testified on Monday in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court that he first told police a conversation took place downstairs at Wollongong's Mr Crown bar when an acquaintance from school sat down to chat.
"Did you see Jack de Belin is here?" she allegedly said.
"And then we said 'oh nah' ... that's when she said, 'he's so hot I want to get with him'."
He was later informed that CCTV footage showed the St George Illawarra forward had not yet arrived at the bar when this occurred.
In the last two weeks, a "flashback dream" in the morning prompted his memory of another interaction with the then-19-year-old woman on the dancefloor upstairs, Mr Barnes said.
"You had a dream about it being in reverse order and then you woke up and did you remember the dream?" crown prosecutor David Scully said.
"Yes," Mr Barnes said.
Mr Barnes made two police statements in March and April this year about the conversation he first told detectives he was 100 per cent sure happened the way he first remembered.
Mr Scully asked why he did not update police about the change in recollection, to which Mr Barnes said he thought he could not change his statement.
Mr Scully asked the witness if he was wrong or just plain lying to the jury.
"Disagree," Mr Barnes said.
The woman earlier denied the conversation with Mr Barnes occurred, saying everybody from her Wollongong hometown "talks and makes up rumours".
She says it was a non-consensual sexual encounter that she was crying and repeating "stop" multiple times but was ignored as de Belin cheered his friend on.
The trio was supposedly headed to the nearby Fever Nightclub but instead travelled together in a tuk-tuk to the unit, she said.
Afterwards, the footballer told the woman to "keep your mouth shut", she said
Mr Barnes denied lying under oath but did admit he misled police about a friend being too drunk to remember anything from that evening.
"I wanted to cover for him, I didn't want him to get dragged into this."
Mr Barnes described the woman was "not sloppy," but "bubbly and energetic" and had been flirting with de Belin on the dancefloor by removing his wide-brimmed hat.
Defence barrister Sharyn Hall asked him about mentioning this conversation to a local journalist who told him she would pass on the details to detectives.
"Did you expect if anything was important to say you would get a call back from police?" Ms Hall said.
"Yes," he said.
Police first contacted him this year regarding those details.
The trial continues.
