biting allegation

[Berkeley_Eagle]

Leed's sink teeth into Storm

                              By David Riccio | March 02, 2008
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,23304057-5006066,00.html

                   
Ugly incident ... Will Chambers has accused a Leeds player
of biting him during the World Club Challenge. / The Sunday Telegraph
                                 
 

INTERNATIONAL rugby league is sporting a black eye after a biting allegation in the showpiece World Club Challenge yesterday.                                        Young Melbourne Storm centre Will Chambers pointed to his arm midway through the second half and yelled to a touch judge: "He bit me!''
Chambers, 19, later confirmed through a Storm official that he had been bitten in the Storm's 11-4 loss to Leeds at Elland Road.
Leeds winger Lee Smith has been fingered as the alleged culprit after Chambers reeled away from tackle. Biting is one the most deplorable acts in rugby league.
"Someone bit me, someone bit me. I told the touch judge straight away,'' Chambers told a Storm official after the match.
Footage of the 63rd-minute incident shows Chambers' arm wrapped around the chest and neck of Smith during a three-man tackle with team-mates Russell Aitken and Dallas Johnson.
                                              Chambers rips his arm clear, before screaming and pointing at his left hand.
Clearly shaken, Chambers mouths what appears to be: "He bit me. He bit me.''
The ugly incident is the last thing rugby league needs as the NRL battles to stave off the AFL's expansion plans by winning over parents across the country.
It was also the first official match to celebrate the Australian rugby league's centenary season.
Chambers was unwilling to file an official complaint after the match but it remains an unsavoury moment in a tough match played in deplorable conditions.
The game's rulers are powerless to take further action because there was no official complaint.
"They've got half an hour after the game to lodge a complaint,'' NRL chief operating officer Graham Annesley said.
"It's similar to an international match, where teams get an opportunity to make a complaint after the game if they want to.
"If there's a complaint, there's a judicial process with representation from each team plus a chairman to decide whether there's a case to answer.
"Because both clubs are involved in the process, it can only come from the complaint before action can be taken.''
Melbourne Storm chief executive Brian Waldron confirmed Chambers was approached by a WCC official at the end of the match and asked if he wanted to take a formal stand against the incident.
"He (Chambers) felt something definitely happened,'' Waldron said.
"But at the end of the day it would've been a long process.
"They came to us about 40 minutes after the game.
"We've got a season to prepare for now.''
The most recent similar incident saw the Bulldogs' Brad Morrin suspended by the NRL for eight matches after he bit former Eels star Timana Tahu.
The shameful act overshadowed an absorbing and at times spiteful encounter played at a rain-soaked Elland Road.
Chambers earned his start in the World Club Challenge after playing just six previous matches for Melbourne.
Storm officials have long touted the teenager as the heir apparent to the departed Matt King.

 

[fLIP]

If the grapple tackle that melbourne like to employ is being left to go, what other option does a player have when there head and neck is put in such a dangerous position.