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A defiant Kyle Flanagan maintains he did not bite Stephen Crichton despite being banned for four matches over the incident by the NRL judiciary.
A gutted Flanagan was told of his fate after a two-hour process on Tuesday night, leaving St George Illawarra to attempt to make the finals without their five-eighth.
Flanagan maintained on several occasions during the hearing he “definitely did not bite Stephen Crichton”, while also claiming he did not know a nose was in his mouth.
He then repeated his argument to awaiting media outside of the hearing, while also insistent he was not a dirty player.
“No doubt [I’m not]. I didn’t bite Stephen Crichton,” Flanagan said as he left NRL headquarters.
“But I thank them for a fair hearing and my focus is on the Dragons for the next four weeks.”
Kyle Flanagan has been found guilty of biting 'Dogs skipper Stephen Crichton. Photo / Getty Images
Dragons CEO Ryan Webb also reiterated his disappointment with the verdict, in a statement afterwards.
The ban came after Flanagan was adamant he was the initial victim in the tackle, feeling pressured by Bulldogs defenders and poked in the eye by Crichton’s nose.
“Crichton moved his head forward to suffocate my face with a smothering feeling,” Flanagan told the panel.
“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.”
Flanagan also claimed his eyes were closed at the time of the incident, and he had an involuntary partial closing of his mouth.
“I partially closed my jaw. I did not bite Stephen Crichton,” Flanagan said.
“I didn’t cause those injuries.”
His lawyer, James McLeod, argued Crichton had caused the “sheering-like” cuts on his nose when he brushed it against Flanagan’s teeth as he tried to remove it from the mouth.
McLeod pushed for a two-match ban after the guilty verdict, arguing the bite was not as serious as the one that netted Jack Wighton a three-match suspension last year.
But the panel of Henry Perenara and Greg McCallum sided with NRL counsel Lachlan Gyles, who argued the bite was intentional and Flanagan’s mouth was fully closed around Crichton’s nose at one point.
Gyles also suggested Flanagan had been responsible for putting Crichton’s nose inside his mouth.
“At a point in time when Crichton’s head was moving upward, his nose is held back and compressed in your mouth and is then released,” Gyles said to Flanagan.
Crichton is putting pressure on your face and acting aggressive to you, in a way you didn’t like.
“The reason his nose came into your mouth was because you moved your head to the left. It was your move that put his nose in your mouth.
“You clenched your jaw, so what was between the bottom teeth and mouthguard was Stephen Crichton’s nose.”
In a lengthy 95-minute initial hearing, McLeod also claimed the NRL’s case was significantly weakened by Crichton’s refusal to attend the case and give evidence.
McLeod took aim at the fact he also could not cross-examine Crichton, labelling his non-attendance as extraordinary.
The NRL has indicated they could consider making rules to compel players to give evidence in future seasons.
Flanagan’s father and Dragons coach Shane was also not in attendance, with Kyle flanked by St George Illawarra CEO Ryan Webb and football boss Ben Haran.
The ban means the Saints must now find another five-eighth to attempt to steer them into the finals, with Jack Bird named on the bench to face Gold Coast on Sunday.
Ranked ninth on the NRL ladder, the Dragons have only one more game against a team ranked above them this season.
Flanagan will be able to return for the first week of the finals, if the Dragons qualify.
