Dragons five-eighth Kyle Flanagan will miss the rest of the regular season after he was found guilty of biting Bulldogs skipper Stephen Crichton and banned for four matches at a marathon hearing at the NRL judiciary on Tuesday night.
NRL counsel suggested a 4-6 match ban while the defence said anything more than two games would be excessive, saying the incident wasn’t as serious as Jack Wighton’s three-match biting ban last year.
But the judiciary panel of Greg McCallum and Henry Perenara said that case was irrelevant and that they wanted to send a “clear message” to players of just how serious biting was.
Watch every game of every round this NRL Telstra Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today >
“Disappointed with the result, my focus turns now to the Dragons and how I can help them over the next couple of weeks,” Flanagan said after the hearing.
“I didn’t bite Stephen Crichton. But I thank them for a fair hearing and my focus is on the Dragons for the next four weeks.”
Flanagan was referred directly to the judiciary after allegations on Saturday night that he’d bitten Crichton which left the star centre with several cuts and will only return if the ninth-placed Dragons make the finals.
Crichton didn’t give evidence – something which the defence team pointed out – but the judiciary panel unanimously found the playmaker guilty after a 95-minute hearing and a short deliberation.
Veteran Jack Bird is expected to come into the halves for Sunday’s must-win game against the Titans in what will be his first NRL appearance since round 19 as the Red V look to fight their way back into the top eight.
Flanagan was accompanied by Dragons chief executive Ryan Webb and general manager of football Ben Haran, with the trio initially entering NRL HQ through an underground carpark and were forced to go back outside so cameras could film them.
The Bulldogs provided four still photos of Crichton’s injuries from the ground and then in the sheds at Netsrata Jubilee Stadium which showed several cuts and some dried blood on his nose.
Flanagan said he “definitely did not” close his mouth nor intend to make contact with Crichton’s nose while he was pinned down and that he was simply trying to roll to the left to free himself of his much heavier opponent to get a quick play the ball.
“Shattered. Upset. Disappointed. I didn’t see myself being in this situation,” he replied when asked to describe how he felt the day after the incident.
“Stephen Crichton put overwhelming force on my face so I tried to free myself to get a quick play the ball for my team.
“The first time I felt the pressure, it was an overwhelming pressure. I tried to create separation with my left arm to play the ball…I felt defenceless in this time.
“Crichton moved his head forward to suffocate my face with a smothering feeling.
“I felt trapped and locked in. I felt like I had nowhere else to go and then I used a crocodile technique to roll over and play the ball for my team.”
The five-eighth played three seasons at Canterbury but didn’t cross paths with Crichton who arrived this year and has them on the verge of qualifying for the finals for the first time since 2016.
Flanagan was adamant that his eyes were closed and that he wasn’t looking at the Bulldogs skipper, but he did concede there was a “partial” closure of his mouth.
“I definitely did not bite Stephen Crichton,” he repeated several times.
“I partially closed my jaw but I did not bite Stephen Crichton.”
Gyles used an additional video from the 66th minute which saw the rival players come together as they waited for a goal line dropout, but Flanagan says Crichton didn’t accuse him of anything and that the pair merely told each other to “f–k off”.
“The injuries we see are consistent with the mechanism of biting,” Gyles said, arguing that Crichton pointed to his nose when speaking with a touch judge while waiting for the dropout.
“There is no suggestion these marks came from anywhere else.”
MORE NRL NEWS
‘I WAS TERRIFIED’: Hunt opens up on GF blunder.., and act he’ll never forget
‘CAN’T GUARANTEE IT’: Worrying Moses refusal ramps up Eels exit rumours
RESSIES WRAP: Rugby ace’s explosive halves switch; exiled star’s message
‘WILD MOMENT’: Manu explains miracle baby act after teammate’s reveal
Hunt reflects on infamous Grand Final | 07:19
Defence counsel James McLeod argued that there was no clear evidence of a “clamp down, clench or bite” and that Crichton’s decision to not give evidence was a telling admission that he wasn’t convinced of the case.
“There is no bite here and no evidence of a bite,” he said, pointing out that the Bulldogs centre didn’t act like he’d been bitten and that the cut looked like a “shearing wound”.
“You have to mean to do it. You have to form an intent to clamp or clench your mouth around something to bite.
“It’s extraordinary (that Crichton isn’t here) and something that should be taken into account.
“When you’ve got footage that is inconclusive and you’ve got a complete absence of evidence from the complainant when it’s clear he able to give some insight into what has occurred, then it’s a matter that highlights the lack of supporting evidence that you would need for this charge.”
There was a bizarre moment late in the hearing when judiciary chairman Geoff Bellew asked the panel members to step out for a few minutes, but you needed more than two years of legal studies at high school to understand what was going on.
FOLLOW ALL THE ACTION FROM THE JUDICIARY HEARING IN OUR LIVE BLOG BELOW FROM 6PM. CAN’T SEE IT? CLICK HERE.
