Reece Walsh's brilliant response for Broncos as Kyle Flanagan learns fate over 'biting' claim

There was drama aplenty in the NRL on Saturday, with gun fullbacks Reece Walsh and Tom Trbojevic shining for the Broncos and Sea Eagles respectively. But an ugly biting allegation marred the Bulldogs' victory over the Dragons, and Kyle Flanagan has now been referred straight to the judiciary.

The Dragons could be without Flanagan moving forward after the five-eighth was accused by Stephen Crichton of biting. The Bulldogs brought the Dragons back to earth with a 26-10 victory, and ugly scenes marred the end of the match when Crichton lodged an official complaint.

Replays showed the moment Crichton reeled out of a tackle with Flanagan after the Bulldogs captain pushed his face into his Dragons opponent's on the ground. Crichton's nose ended up in Flanagan's mouth - and while it wasn't particularly clear whether Flanagan intentionally bit down - the Bulldogs centre came reeling away in pain.

Crichton could be seen with blood on his nose after the match and lodged an official complaint with the NRL. The captain didn't attend the post-match press conference and was replaced by Viliame Kikau.

On Sunday, the match review committee referred the case directly to the NRL judiciary. "His nose is a bit swollen there but (we haven't spoken) in great detail," Bulldogs coach Cameron 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."

Reece Walsh shines as Broncos keep NRL finals hopes alive

The biting allegation came after the Broncos produced an extraordinary fightback to keep their faint finals hopes alive, and much-maligned fullback Walsh got back to his best. Walsh ran for 209 metres and had two try assists as Brisbane won 42-18 after trailing 18-12 at the half.

The fullback has been at the centre of controversy all week after spraying teammate Corey Oates in the Broncos' loss to the Titans in Round 22. But on Saturday night he silenced some of the critics, producing three line-break assists and four tackle breaks in an attacking showcase.

The win sends the Broncos to 22 points, just four outside the top-eight with four games to play. And if Walsh was brilliant, Kotoni Staggs was superb.

The centre scored two tries and made four line-breaks in a blistering display to give Kevin Walters' side sone hope. The Broncos had lost eight of their previous nine matches, but have the bye next week and three home games at Suncorp Stadium to finish the season.

"There was always faith from the coaching staff that we could turn it around," Broncos coach Walters said. Walsh played most of the match with an injured right hand but had key moments of sheer class in a brave display.

"I thought it was Reece's best team game for us in a long time," Walters said. "Our captain (Adam Reynolds) led us beautifully."

Tom Trbojevic masterclass as Sea Eagles keep firing

And Trbojevic continued his sensational form with two tries and an assist, running for 214 metres as Manly thrashed the Raiders 46-24. Trbojevic scored his 99th and 100th career four-pointers in a lethal attacking display on Saturday afternoon.

It was as complete a performance as we've seen from Trbojevic since his return from a lengthy hamstring injury in round 18. "It's all about getting confidence and playing footy again," he said. "Sometimes s*** happens, you get injuries and you've just got to get it out of your head, build confidence and go back out there and do what you know you can do."

Skipper Daly Cherry-Evans believes there's plenty of improvement left in the team ahead of finals. "We put ourselves in some silly positions when it comes to errors and penalties and six-agains (in the first half)," he said. "So we addressed that at half-time, I felt like we came out better prepared for the second half, and our execution and discipline was far better."

with AAP