Kyle Flanagan has been hit with a four-game NRL ban after he was found guilty of biting Canterbury captain Stephen Crichton’s nose by the judiciary.
A gutted Flanagan was told of his fate after a two-hour process on Tuesday night, meaning the St George Illawarra five-eighth will not play again this season unless the ninth-placed Dragons reach the finals.
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.
The Dragons playmaker was adamant he was the initial victim in the incident, 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 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.
“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.”
The verdict came despite Crichton not making himself available for the hearing, which drew a strong rebuke from McLeod.
“It’s extraordinary and something that should be taken into account,” McLeod told the panel.
“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 is 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”
Flanagan’s father and Dragons coach Shane was not in attendance, with Kyle flanked by St George Illawarra CEO Ryan Webb and football boss Ben Haran.
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.
