Cowboys to fight Bolton biting charge

North Queensland officials are considering travelling to Sydney to front the NRL
judiciary to fight a biting charge against Cowboys backrower Scott Bolton on Monday.
Bolton has been accused of biting Gold Coast Titans centre Clinton Toopi during the
Cowboys' 37-18 defeat on Saturday.
After initially indicating he had been bitten on the finger, former New Zealand back
Toopi declined to make an official complaint to the referee.
But that did not stop the NRL match review committee from charging Bolton, who has
been one the Cowboys' few shining lights this season.
Committee chairman Greg McCullum confirmed the decision to review the case was taken
after studying video footage of the incident.
The Cowboys and the Warriors are the only two clubs in the NRL not required to front
the judiciary in person due to the length of time it would take to travel to Sydney
and back in the middle of the week.
The Townsville-based club have used a video-link ups for hearings in the past, but
privately believe Bolton will be better served by fronting up in person due to the
severity of the accusation.
"Scott is concerned about the charge, but we're not going to make any decisions
until tomorrow (Tuesday)," Cowboys football manager Dean Lance told AAP.
"But I would like the think we will defend our player and contest he didn't bite.
"He has got a clean slate and done nothing wrong in the last three years he has
played."
Lance also said the club would consider using the services of Townsville-based
lawyer Colin White, who produced one of the most colourful defences in judiciary
history to get Johnathan Thurston off a detrimental conduct charge in June.
"That is something we will look at, and I would imagine we will get a third party in
to defend Scott, but that is not a call I can make," Lance said.
"But we will look at our options and avenues available to us and take it from there."
Compounding the Cowboys' woes is a dangerous throw charge that threatens to rub
rookie Dane Hogan out until the early rounds of next season.
Hogan was charged with a grade four infringement after flipping Titans winger Kevin
Gordon on his head.
Titans coach John Cartwright labelled the tackle "scary" in his post-match address.
Even with an early guilty plea, Hogan would be suspended for five games, which would
keep him sidelined until the second round of the 2011 season, with one trial match
allowed to be counted as part of the ban.
Should he contest the charge and lose, Hogan would be out for seven matches, or
until round four next year.
Lance said the Cowboys may try and get the charge downgraded to grade three, but
admitted it is a risk.
"It was an accident and these things happen, but we will look at deciding what we
can for all parties, but right now we are not sure what we are going to do with it,"
he said,
"If we fight the charge and get it downgraded he will get a three-game ban, but if
we lose it could be seven, so we will sit down and watch the incident again and
decide what to do."