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Melbourne star Cameron Munster has been cleared despite a biting complaint against him in the grand final, with no charges arising from the game.
Munster is now clear to represent Australia at the upcoming Pacific Championships.
Munster was adamant he did not bite Panthers centre Paul Alamoti despite his opponent making an on-field complaint late in the Storm’s grand final defeat to Penrith.
The NRL said via statement on Monday that there were no charges from the NRL Match Review Committee from the game.
As the decider wound down with Craig Bellamy’s side looking unlikely to get back into the contest, referee Ashley Klein stopped the game by saying “an allegation has been made”.
Vision showed the Penrith centre’s arm around Munster’s mouth before it was ripped away in the 74th minute at Accor Stadium. The five-eighth protested his innocence: “I swear I didn’t bite him.”
Klein halted play and turned to Munster and said: “It can’t be certain, it’s on report. They (the match review committee) will deal with it later … I just saw saliva.”
Speaking following the grand final defeat, Munster was convinced he’ll have no case to answer.
“I spoke to Ashley about the allegation and he pretty much told me that when someone alleges a certain thing, they have to put it on report,” he said.
“There was no malice or anything in it. I’m very confident that I will get off. I spoke to Paul Alamoti after the game and there’s nothing bad there. He said he felt pressure but I told him I didn’t bite. I’ve got nothing to worry about.
“I’ve done a lot of silly things in the game and put my hand up for it, but I put my hand on my heart that this one is definitely not (true).
“In certain grand finals like 2018 … I put my hand up with certain things I do in the games. There was no malice or even trying to bite. I’m pretty disappointed because I’m trying to get that out of my game, those little grubby incidents. For that to come out is disappointing, but we’ve just got to let the judiciary decide.”
Bellamy was non-committal when asked about the alleged bite, saying he had not yet spoken with his five-eighth.
“I don’t know, if (Alamoti) thought he was bit, well, I don’t know,” the Storm coach said.
“I haven’t spoke to Munster about it, I’m sure (the MRC) will work it out.”
Melbourne captain Harry Grant, who scored their only try of the grand final, shared a similar sentiment.
“I don’t need to make a comment on it. They’ll sort that out themselves,” Grant said.
“I don’t think it didn’t look like it. You guys can make your own opinion and judgement on it. I get the same look as what you guys do. I don’t need to comment on it. They’ve put it on the report and they’ll look into it.”
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Dragons five-eighth Kyle Flanagan was suspended four matches late in the season after Canterbury captain Stephen Crichton claimed he had been bitten by him in a similar incident.
The incident was a sour note in the closing stages of an enthralling grand final with the Panthers holding on for a 14-6 triumph.
Dally M Medallist Jahrome Hughes’ brilliant 2024 campaign wasn’t fated to end with a premiership ring, as the halfback struggled to make an impact on the decider.
“Yeah, it was a tough game, obviously,” Hughes told Nine post-game.
“They’re a great team. They’ve been the best the last couple of years for a reason. They’re the best. We’ve seen that the last couple of years. It’s so hard to beat them. You need to be on your game for the full 80 to beat them and if you’re not, they’re too good and they showed that tonight.
“Just a bit looser in our contact. They got too many quick play-the-balls and you can’t give a team like that a fair run.”
On the other side of the field, the scenes were understandably a lot more jubilant. Outgoing five-eighth Jarome Luai was mobbed by multiple teammates, interrupting his interview with Brad Fittler.
“It’s not just about (playing the final time with) Nathan (Cleary),” Luai said.
“History doesn’t matter right now, man. We’re soaking up this moment and just to win one grand final is so special. These group of guys, no one works harder than these boys, and we got what we deserved tonight.
“Yeah, no one’s going to do this (win four premierships straight) again, you know, so I can’t put it into words, man. Ask me in a week’s time. Just want to soak up all the emotion and embrace my brothers right now. (Knowing it was my final year) has been good for me. It’s kept me on every day. Even the days I didn’t want to show up, you know, it’s kept me accountable. Hopefully it’s made the boys better as well, so we did it, bro.”
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