Stephen Crichton called out over 'disgusting' act that 'contributed' to Kyle Flanagan incident

Dragons five-eighth Kyle Flanagan has copped widespread backlash over a biting incident on Stephen Crichton over the weekend but veteran NRL journalist Phil Rothfield has tipped the argument on its head after insisting it was the the Bulldogs player's actions "that actually caused the incident". Replays showed the moment Crichton reeled out of a tackle after the Bulldogs captain pushed his face into Flanagan's while he lay 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 and could be seen with blood coming out of his nose. The Bulldogs skipper lodged an official complaint with the NRL and didn't attend the post-match press conference, with the match review committee referring the Dragons five-eighth directly to a judiciary hearing.

Such an action is typically only taken for serious offences or those unable to be ruled on without testimony. Flanagan will front the panel at the judiciary on Tuesday night as the first player this season accused of biting - an offence that normally carries a ban of between three and six weeks.

League greats Mal Meninga and Cooper Cronk both spoke about the incident during Fox League's coverage and said it didn't look good for Flanagan. “That was hard to watch and it’s hard evidence,” Meninga said. “There’s no doubt that he’s bitten him. And obviously the repercussions of that is Stephen’s nose is bleeding. A pretty hard one to disprove to be honest with you.”

RELATED:

• Walters failure called out as damning detail about Broncos training

• Reece Walsh 'kept away' amid reveal about club probe for Broncos star

• Dragons coach lifts the lid on most astonishing stat of 2024 season

After watching several replays of the incident, Cronk described it as “damning evidence” of biting against Flanagan. “Whoa… Yes, Stephen Crichton’s face is up against Kyle Flanagan’s, but you can actually see the white of Kyle’s mouthguard at some stage here,” Cronk said. “We’ve seen other players receive long suspensions when that’s happened, that’s the first I’ve seen of it, but that is damning evidence. Stephen Crichton has put that complaint in so he’s obviously going to back that up and the footage there is hard to separate from, so Kyle Flanagan might be in some trouble.”

Stephen Crichton blamed for incident with Kyle Flanagan

However, Rothfield argued that the blame for the incident lay with Crichton after the Bulldogs player pushed his own face into Flanagan's. The veteran league reporter described it as disgusting that Crichton's nose ended up in Flanagan's mouth and questioned what the Dragons player was supposed to do in while struggling in that scenario.

"It’s not Flanagan’s fault, it’s Crichton’s," Rothfield wrote for The Daily Telegraph. "At no stage does Flanagan lift or move his head towards Crichton’s nose or snap at it... Crichton gets to his feet and his nose is bleeding, no doubt as a result of Flanagan’s teeth. But what would you do if someone shoved their nose into your mouth in these days of Covid, various influenza strains and the horrible viruses that are getting around? I’d be disgusted."

Shane Flanagan believes son Kyle was not guilty of biting

Rothfield's view was backed up by many fans on social media and it will certainly give the judiciary plenty to think about when deciding Flanagan's fate. The five-eighth's coach and father Shane Flanagan told The Sydney Morning Herald that his player was innocent, further backing up Rothfield's argument.

"Kyle said he didn't do it. I believe him, 100 per cent," the Dragons coach said. "I've watched the footage, Kyle showed it to me, he (Crichton) is pushing his face into him while Kyle is on the ground." Jack Wighton was the last player charged with biting and received a three-match ban for an incident with Tyson Gamble during last year's finals series. Gold Coast forward Kevin Proctor was given 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 2012 and 2007 respectively.

A ban would come with terrible timing for a Dragons side that likely needs to win three of their remaining four games to guarantee a first finals berth since 2018. The Dragons are currently ninth but equal on points with the eighth-placed Dolphins - albeit with an inferior for-and-against.

with AAP