Dragons five-eighth Kyle Flanagan has been found guilty of biting Bulldogs captain Stephen Crichton and suspended for four weeks.
The Dragons will need to qualify for the finals if Flanagan is to play again this season.
Flanagan was charged with Dangerous Contact and referred straight to the judiciary after the incident in the 62nd minute of Saturday night's match at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.
Flanagan arrived with St George Illawarra CEO Ryan Webb and GM of football Ben Haran and was represented by Sydney lawyer James McLeod. He pleaded not guilty to the Dangerous Contact charge.
The NRL's legal counsel is Lachlan Gyles SC.
The judiciary panel comprised of chairman, The Honourable Geoffrey Bellew SC, former referee and administrator Greg McCallum and ex-player and referee Henry Perenara.
Follow every moment of the Flanagan case as it unfolds on pan66.com's live blog.
8.35pm
Kyle Flanagan has been suspended for four weeks after being found guilty of biting Stephen Crichton.
8.24pm
Judiciary panel chairman Geoffrey Bellew SC is now summarising for the panel before they adjourn to consider what penalty to impose on Flanagan.
8.20pm
Flanagan's representative James McLeod has shown video of the Jack Wighton bite on Newcastle’s Tyson Gamble and says there is no comparison.
“In my submission it doesn’t make it worse if a person is bitten on the face or certain other parts of the anatomy,” he said.
McLeod said two matches would be an appropriate ban for Flanagan.
The NRL's legal counsel Lachlan Gyles countered by saying Gamble was not injured, whereas Crichton was - and the bite was on the face.
He said the penalty would be higher than Wighton’s.
8.08pm
The verdict is in. Kyle Flanagan has been found guilty of biting Stephen Crichton. The panel deliberated for 15 minutes before delivering their verdict.
The hearing is now debating Flanagan’s penalty. Gyles has compared the case to the Jack Wighton biting incident last season in which he received a four-match ban. He suggested four-to-six match ban, noting that Crichton was bitten on the face.
7.50pm
The hearing has adjourned so the panel can deliberate.
7.40pm
Bellew told the panel not to speculate on what Crichton may have said if he gave evidence or why he chose not to attend.
He said, “Bite is an ordinary English word, you give it an ordinary English meaning”.
“Are you satisfied that there was a bite, are you satisfied that it was intentional,” Bellew said.
7.30pm
Judiciary chairman Geoffrey Bellew has asked the panel members to leave the room. There is legal discussion about the directions that Bellew will provide to the panel about who the onus of proof is on.
Mr Bellew told McCallum and Perenara: “You must be satisfied that it is more probable than not that a bite was inflicted by player Flanagan.”
7.25pm
The NRL's legal counsel is Lachlan Gyles SC said that the onus is on the NRL to establish that there was a bite and once he had done so it was up to Flanagan to prove that it wasn’t intentional.
Flanagan's representative James McLeod has finished summing up and said Flanagan said should be found not guilty.
7.10pm
James McLeod said Crichton did not complain during the game and the only complaint was made after the game. Flanagan said that Crichton did not say anything to him about being bitten during the game.
“That is significant. The captain of the Bulldogs, who is no shrinking violet, not to have made an on-field complaint or said anything at the time, is highly unusual," McLeod said.
6.55pm
James McLeod: “This is a serious allegation, a grave allegation, against someone who has a clean record.
"Kyle is the only one who knows if this was intentional or not. Crichton comes at him at least twice, in our submission Crichton positions his nose so that it goes into his mouth.
"Crichton’s nose gets wedged in and he pulls it out. His head rotates. There is force generated there. We have minor grazing on the bridge of the nose and a mild cut underneath Crichton’s nose, between the two nostrils. That is consistent with what we say occured.”
McLeod said it was an instinctive, involuntary action by Flanagan, who had his eyes closed at the time.
6.50pm
McLeod said there was no evidence of a bite nor did Flanagan intend to clench down, clamp down or close his mouth on the nose of Crichton.
6.48pm
Gyles said a player didn’t have to make an on-field complaint, but the video showed Crichton had walked past the referee about five minutes later and pointed towards his nose. He also suggested that the bite was the reason Crichton had told Flanagan to 'F off'.
6.42pm
Gyles told the hearing that there is no suggestion that these injuries came from anywhere else.
“That is the obvious mechanism for the injury and common sense suggests the incision (on Crichton’s nose) was caused by a bite”.
“If there was a partial movement of the jaw that didn’t cause the injury, how did player Crichton’s nose end up like that?"
6.41pm
Gyles suggested to Flanagan that "the reason Crichton’s nose ended up in your mouth was because he moved his head".
"You didn’t partially close your mouth, you bit player Crichton,” he said.
Flanagan replied: “I did not bite Stephen Crichton”.
6.33pm
Gyles is now cross-examining Flanagan.
LG: You say you did not clamp down and you did not bite Stephen Crichton.
KF: I partially closed my jaw. I did not bite Stephen Crichton.
LG: Do you accept you were responsible for the injuries to Stephen Crichton that we have seen in the still photos?
KF: I did not cause those injuries to Stephen Crichton.
6.30pm
McLeod asked Flanagan if he accepted that part of Crichton’s nose was in his mouth.
KF: After watching the video, yes.
JM: Do you accept that in the sequence we have seen that your mouth closed?
KF: Partially, yes.
JM: Did you make a split-second decision to bite him to get him off you?
KF: No.
JM: Did you bite him at any stage?
KF: No I did not.
6.25pm
JM: Did you bite Stephen Crichton?
KF: Definitely not.
JM: Did you know at any stage that his nose was in your mouth?
KF: No.
JM: Having seen the footage do you accept his nose was in your mouth:
KF: Yes.
JM: How did you feel on Sunday when you were charged?
KF: Shattered, upset, disappointed. I didn’t see myself being in that situation.
JM: What did you say to Stephen and what did he say to you?
KF: There were expletives from both sides. Excuse my language, 'F*^$ off and f&%$ off back.
6.20pm Flanagan detailed the incident while watching the video. “I remember regathering the ball near my line, I got tackled by two Bulldogs players and I was trying to find my ground. I felt a quite overwhelming pressure of two Bulldogs player on me. I was using my forearm trying to create separation so I could rolled over and play the ball. Crichton’s force was suffocating me. I felt trapped, locked in.” Flanagan said Crichton had not accused him of biting during the match or made any mention of being bitten.
6.15pm McLeod had called Flanagan to give evidence. Flanagan said he has played 99 NRL matches and had two previous judiciary charges for dangerous contact and a dangerous throw. He said he had never been previously charged or accused of biting.
6.05pm NRL legal counsel Lachlan Gyles SC has advised that he will be submitting as evidence two videos and four still photos supplied by the Bulldogs.
The first video shows Bulldogs captain Stephen Crichton and second-rower Jacob Preston tackling Kyle Flanagan about 10 metres from the Dragons tryline.
Gyles shows another incident involving Crichton and Flanagan in the 66th minute.
He also shows still photos of Crichton’s bloodied nose, taken by and submitted by the Bulldogs.
