BY CURTIS WOODWARD

@woodward_curtis

Kyle Flanagan walked into NRL HQ on Tuesday night quietly confident the judiciary would find in favour of the five-eighth or at the very least slap him on the wrist with a one or two-week suspension.

The rugby league community was split, smack-bang, right down the middle when it came to whether Flanagan had actively and intentionally bitten down on the nose of Canterbury-Bankstown captain Stephen Crichton.

Many believed Flanagan had little choice but to react to Crichton’s smothering tackle where the Bulldogs centre’s nose ended up in his opponent’s mouth.

Others saw it as a black and white case of a bite.

Rival fans on social media went at it long into Saturday evening and it didn’t look like slowing down as Flanagan and Dragons officials walked into Moore Park on Tuesday.

“Shattered,” Flanagan told media after the decision.

“Upset. Disappointed. I didn’t see myself being in this situation.

“The first time I felt the pressure it was an overwhelming pressure.

“I tried to create separation with my left arm to play the balI – felt defenseless in this time.

“Crichton moved his head forward to suffocate my face with a smothering feeling.

“I felt trapped and locked in.

“I felt like I had nowhere else to go and then I used a crocodile technique to roll over and play the ball for my team.”

Whether you thought Flanagan deserved four weeks or you thought there was extenuating circumstances and the pivot had a strong defence, the fact is, the entire thing has taken away from some home truths that came to light as the dust settled on Kogarah Oval.

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The biggest and most obvious being that the Bulldogs are firing toward September and flexed against a fellow finals contender.

Too good.

Too fast.

Too committed.

It’s also easy to forget the Dragons lost tearaway centre Mosese Suli and big prop Hame Sele during the match with the latter rushed to hospital and will now miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a serious heart condition.

Then there’s Suli, never fitter and never so hungry, in the form of his career.

He too left the field against Canterbury and may not play again this season after injuring his knee.

The Dragons may have thrown their last haymakers on Saturday night against a better team – headed the other way on the premiership table.

The loss of Suli and Sele, on the back of the energy and time put into the Flanagan case and you might have to wonder how the next few weeks go for the Dragons and how this season will be remembered.

If you bookmark it at the 80th minute of their victory at AAMI Park against the first-place Storm, you’d be a pretty happy fan.

Unfortunately, there’s still four games to play.

If Shane Flanagan hadn’t earned his pay cheque yet, he certainly will in the coming month.

@woodward_curtis