Jarrod Leonard Frank, 43, is standing trial in the Supreme Court for the alleged murder of 49-year-old Scott Bury on January 3, 2018.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

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On Tuesday, Crown prosecutor Grant Hayward told the court that Mr Frank and an associate, Andrew Lentjes, ran into Mr Bury in Bendigo on the morning of January 3, 2018.

The court heard Mr Frank and Mr Bury began discussing what calibre of Luger pistols German officers used in WWII, and made bets over the type of ammunition.

The three men then drove to Mr Bury's King Street unit in Mr Frank's car, before both men used a computer to look up information to settle the bet.

The jury heard Mr Lentjes would likely give evidence that Mr Frank said to Mr Bury something along the lines of, "Hey bitch, here you go", before Mr Bury got two knives and said something like, "You called the wrong bloke 'bitch' in the wrong house".

The court heard the two men approached each other while Mr Bury held a knife in each hand, with the points of the blade facing forward.

Mr Hayward said Mr Bury then struck Mr Frank in the chest, causing a small cut.

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Mr Lentjes left the unit, and Mr Hayward said he was expected to give evidence he then heard a bang, glass breaking, and the deceased saying, "You're really f***ed now, c**t".

The jury was played CCTV footage, which showed Mr Frank leave the unit a short time after Mr Lentjes.

Mr Frank got into the driver's seat of the car while Mr Lentjes lifted the bonnet, and the jury heard Mr Lentjes was expected to give evidence there was a problem with the car and Mr Frank had told him Mr Bury had the keys.

Mr Hayward said he anticipated Mr Lentjes would also give evidence that Mr Bury came out of the unit holding the knives, then picked up a metal bar.

The CCTV showed Mr Bury hit Mr Frank inside the car, before a wrestle ensued on the ground.

The two broke apart and Mr Bury went inside his unit, while Mr Frank walked away.

Later that afternoon, Mr Frank told Mr Lentjes he was going to pick up his car, saying something like, "Hopefully he's woken up to himself and will give me the keys back", but instead went home.

Meanwhile, after the altercation, Mr Bury went to the house of his neighbour, a nurse, who saw he was bleeding extensively.

She and another neighbour administered aid until an ambulance took Mr Bury to hospital, but despite emergency surgery, he died a short time later.

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He had suffered a fatal stab wound to his abdomen, as well as non-fatal cuts to his abdomen, back, and hands.

Mr Hayward said he anticipated the forensic pathologist would tell the court that the injuries Mr Bury sustained to his hands were defensive wounds.

Mr Frank was arrested the day after the stabbing, the jury heard, and told police Mr Bury hit him with a knife and threw chairs at him.

Mr Hayward said Mr Frank told police he went outside and Mr Bury hit him with a metal bar, and when they had wrestled on the ground, "I've turned what he's had in his hands and it's hit him".

Mr Frank told police he expected Mr Bury to be in hospital for a week or two, the jury heard, and that the prosecution relied on that statement as an admission that Mr Frank intended to cause really serious injury.

The court heard Mr Frank said in the police interview that Mr Bury was going to kill him.

But the prosecution argued that Mr Frank did not believe it was necessary to stab Mr Bury to protect himself from death or really serious injury, Mr Hayward said, and the non-fatal wounds demonstrated an ongoing intent on Mr Frank's part to injure the deceased man.

However, defence counsel David Gibson described the matter as "a classic case of self-defence".

Mr Gibson said the altercation was not a fight Mr Frank started, nor was it once he intended to continue.

He said Mr Frank was in a "life or death struggle" that day.

Mr Frank repeatedly asserted to police he was acting in self-defence, Mr Gibson said.

He questioned how the prosecution could rule out that Mr Frank did not believe his actions were necessary to defend himself in those circumstances.

Mr Gibson asked the jury to consider how Mr Bury came to suffer all his injuries and in what order, and told them that if they had to speculate as to what had occurred, they would have reasonable doubt and would have to acquit Mr Frank of murder.

The trial continues before Justice Michael Croucher.

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