Titans’ Proctor armed to beat bite charge
KEVIN Proctor has a doctor’s report he hopes will give him a double chance of beating a biting charge at the NRL judiciary tonight.
Titans forward Proctor, who will be represented by leading sports lawyer Tim Fuller, faces a lengthy ban if he is found guilty of biting Cronulla’s Shaun Johnson.
Johnson has promised to give Proctor a statement in which he is expected to say he was not bitten by him.
Once he provides the statement Johnson can be summoned to the hearing to, if need be, be cross-examined by the NRL’S legal counsel.
Proctor will also submit evidence by sports physician Dr Geoff Chapman claiming it is impossible to prove the red mark on Johnson‘s forearm was caused by the alleged bite.
It is expected Proctor’s counsel will point out that referee Henry Perenara initially gave the Titans six more tackles after the exchange between Proctor and Johnson which would indicate he initially saw something illegal from Johnson rather than Proctor.
It is likely Proctor will produce another extract of Dr Chapman’s report which claims his chronic sinus condition which has been complicated by a series of broken noses makes it extremely difficult for him to breathe through his nose.
That being the case, the report will claim the instinctive reaction when acting in self defence is to try to eliminate one of the “destructive mechanisms‘’ causing air blockage, Johnson’s arm, but Proctor’s reaction was still minimal.
The issue of whether it was a bite or not has polarised the rugby league world.
Fox League analysts Braith Anasta and Ben Ikin are adamant it was a bite but Kevin and Kerrod Walters and Laurie Daley disagree.
“I didn’t think it was a bite,” Daley told the Big Sports Breakfast.
“I didn’t see a biting action. I see an open mouth and I see some pressure, but I don’t see a bite.
“I just didn’t think it was a classic bite.
“If I’m sitting on that panel, I can’t justify giving him 8-12 weeks for that.
“And there’s no point giving him a guilty charge and giving him a two-week penalty.
“It’s either you bite or you don’t bite, and I’m erring on the side of no bite because I don’t think there was a biting motion.
“I don’t think he was clamping down on his arm. “I didn’t see that.
“I saw pressure, I saw an open mouth, but I didn’t see a clench.”
I DIDN’T SEE A BITING ACTION. I SEE AN OPEN MOUTH AND I SEE SOME PRESSURE, BUT I DON’T SEE A BITE.
LAURIE DALEY