Cronulla Toyota Cup player Daniel Moroko facing long ban for alleged bite on Warriors opponent

A CRONULLA Toyota Cup player is facing a seven-match suspension if charged today for biting a Warriors opponent in Saturday night's match at Toyota Stadium.

Shark bite

A CRONULLA Toyota Cup player is facing a seven-match suspension if charged today for biting a Warriors opponent in Saturday night's match at Toyota Stadium.

Sharks centre Daniel Moroko was placed on report for allegedly biting Warriors prop Ligi Sao.

Cronulla head coach Shane Flanagan said the incident "didn't look real good".

Sao made an on-field complaint which will be reviewed this morning by the NRL match review committee.

If proven, Moroko would face a suspension of at least seven matches, The Daily Telegraph understands.

Fox Sports yesterday ran clear vision of the incident, and the evidence looked damning."We will have a good look at it (today) and assess it," Flanagan said.

"Daniel is a good kid. This is out of character for him.

"He hasn't done anything wrong before.

"I haven't spoken to him just yet about it. It didn't look real good but there are circumstances for everything."

There was confusion on the field after Sao made his complaint. It appeared the match officials could not identify which Sharks player was involved in the incident.

After plenty of finger pointing, referee Gavin West found Moroko and said: "The whole incident is on report."

Warriors players later said there were four indentation marks in Sao's left arm.

The last NRL player to be suspended for biting was Canterbury forward Brad Morrin, who was banned for eight games in 2007 for biting then Eels centre Timana Tahu.

It was a stain that stayed with Morrin for the rest of his career.

Sharks chairman Damian Irvine preferred not to comment yesterday.

Daniel Moroko is related to George Moroko, a former Wests and Cronulla forward.

There is a chance the match review committee may refer Moroko directly to an NRL judiciary hearing on Wednesday night.

The vision does show Moroko's mouth around the arm of Sao, who immediately blew up.

Asked if Moroko was a prospect, Flanagan said: "He goes well. Daniel is in his second year of Toyota Cup.

"Like every under-20s player, he has hopes of reaching the NRL. As I said, we will have a look it on Monday and assess it."

NRL officials believe that biting and eye-gouging are among the game's most unsavoury acts.

If charged, Cronulla have until noon tomorrow to decide whether to fight the charge.

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