A furious Kevin Proctor will deny biting Shaun Johnson at the NRL judiciary after his case was sent straight to the panel by the match review committee on Sunday.
Proctor faces a lengthy ban from the NRL if found guilty on Tuesday night, after becoming the first player in the league’s history to be sent off for biting.
The Gold Coast captain’s NRL future could also rest on the decision, given he is off contract at the end of the year and no guarantee of being re-signed.
But he insisted on Sunday he had not bitten Johnson, doubling down on claims he felt as if he was being choked and couldn’t breathe when the halfback’s arm was across his mouth.
“I will be telling the NRL judiciary I didn’t bite Shaun Johnson,” Proctor told the Courier Mail.
“I didn’t bite him, I am 100 per cent on that. I will fight to the death to clear my name.
“I’m so pissed off about this.”
Former players Brad Fittler and Gorden Tallis leapt to Proctor’s defence on Sunday, along with Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga.
In Meninga’s role as the Gold Coast’s head of performance and culture, he insisted it was not in Proctor’s nature to bite Johnson.
“He obviously felt that his life was in danger as well,” Meninga told Fox League.
“So that’s a fair argument to have to actually try to get Shaun’s arm away from his face as well in that situation.
“It’s not in his character, he’s not that type of person to actually go out with intent and do things like that.
“We’ll see what happens.
“Obviously his life felt threatened, he was choking, so he felt that he needed to do something to get Shaun’s arm away to survive.”
It comes after Johnson said he did not want the case to proceed against his close friend and Kiwis teammate.
But that could mean little on Tuesday night at NRL headquarters.
The NRL will still use television footage of the incident, with referee Henry Perenara claiming there was a “definite bite” after conferring with the bunker.
Four players have been found guilty of biting since the Super League war in the 1990s.
James Graham’s penalty of 12 games is the most significant after his infamous 2012 grand final ear bite on Billy Slater.
Slater did not give evidence on the night, but that did little to save Graham.
Melbourne prop Jesse Bromwich was the most recent to front the judiciary on such a charge, found not guilty of biting Josh Dugan in 2015.
On that occasion Dugan offered evidence in the hearing.
NRL PLAYERS CHARGED WITH BITING
Round 2, 2001: Chris Beattie (Cronulla) – guilty, two weeks
Round 21, 2002: Luke Bailey (St George Illawarra) – exonerated
Round 14, 2006: Fuifui Moimoi (Parramatta) – exonerated
Round 21, 2007: Brad Morrin (Canterbury) – guilty, eight weeks
Round 3, 2008: Jarrad Saffy (St George Illawarra) – exonerated
Round 23, 2009: William Zillman (Gold Coast) – guilty, 4 weeks
Round 23, 2010: Scott Bolton (North Queensland) – exonerated
Grand final, 2012: James Graham (Canterbury) – guilty, 12 weeks
Round 21, 2015: Jesse Bromwich (Melbourne) – exonerated
Round 14, 2020: Kevin Proctor (Gold Coast) – referred to judiciary
Source: Fox Sports Stats
