Flanagan referred to NRL judiciary after biting claim

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Flanagan referred to NRL judiciary after biting claim

Kyle Flanagan has been referred directly to the NRL judiciary after being accused of biting Stephen Crichton during St George Illawarra’s loss to Canterbury.

The five-eighth will front the panel at the NRL’s Sydney headquarters on Tuesday night charged with dangerous contact and risks being rubbed out from the Dragons’ bid for finals qualification if found guilty.

NRL players are typically referred to the judiciary when accused of a very serious offence, or one that is unable to be ruled on without testimony from players involved.

Bulldogs captain Crichton lodged an official complaint with referee Gerard Sutton on Saturday night, claiming he was bitten on the nose when attempting to tackle Flanagan.

The centre emerged from the second-half contact bleeding from his nose but played out the remainder of the Bulldogs’ 28-10 win at Jubilee Oval.

Crichton did not attend the post-match press conference, his coach Cameron Ciraldo saying he was seeing medical staff, and refused interviews from the media later on.

“His nose is a bit swollen there but (we haven’t spoken) in great detail,” Ciraldo said.

“He’s getting a few things checked.

“I don’t know what to say about it, really, so we’ll leave it there.”

Dragons coach Shane Flanagan was unaware of the matter immediately after full-time but has since been reported as saying his son had denied the allegation.

The club later advised staff not to comment on the incident publicly given a judiciary hearing had been confirmed.

The last NRL player charged for biting, Jack Wighton, received a three-match ban for lashing out at Newcastle five-eighth Tyson Gamble during last year’s finals series.

Gold Coast forward Kevin Proctor received a four-game ban for biting during the 2020 season, while James Graham (12 games) and Brad Morrin (eight) received longer suspensions for the same offence in the 2012 and 2007 seasons, respectively.

Any ban for Flanagan would create problems for a Dragons side that likely needs to win three of their remaining four games to guarantee a first finals berth since 2018.

New recruit Flanagan has played five-eighth in all 20 of the Dragons’ games this season and his most logical replacement, Jesse Marschke, is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Utility Fa’amanu Brown could partner Ben Hunt in the halves against Gold Coast next Sunday if Flanagan is unavailable.

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