Steve McNamara questions Mikey Lewis’ actions after bite allegation in loss to Hull KR

Catalans Dragons head coach Steve McNamara has questioned the actions of Hull KR star Mikey Lewis after the half-back made an allegation that Cesar Rouge bit him during the Robins’ 36-4 Magic Weekend victory.

It was a win that saw Hull KR return to the top of the Super League table and they looked good value for the win throughout the full 80 minutes, however, they kicked on massively in the second-half at Magic Weekend.

In fact, had it not been for Mikey Lewis seemingly forgetting his kicking boots then it could have been a far worse scoreline for Catalans given that Lewis missed six of the eight conversions he took, hitting the post on three occasions.

Catalans only trailed 12-4 at the half but an early second-half score from Man of the Match Elliott Minchella seemed to trigger a collapse, something that Steve McNamara spoke about on Sky Sports.

“It was a terrible second half, but the first half, we got a couple of soft tries scored on us, but the start of the second half was woeful from us. We got to take that one on the chin and we have got to get ready for Friday night.

“We looked flat and we had no energy whatsoever, we looked like the team that was really, really tired. I need to really look into why that was the case. We just started terribly in the second half and it got worse.”

“Why’s he got his hand in his mouth?” – McNamara blames Mikey Lewis for alleged bite

After assessing his side’s collapse in the second half, McNamara was asked about the incident that had fans talking with Mikey Lewis making an allegation that Cesar Rouge had bitten him. Referee Tom Grant put the incident on report and it will be looked at as part of the Match Review Panel today, however, for McNamara there was very little blame on Rouge’s part.

The Catalans boss said: “Well, I know as much as what you saw, but from what I saw there, they were both stood up and Mikey Lewis put his hand in his mouth and moves him around. I don’t know where you get a biting allegation from that.

“I’ll go in and ask Cesar directly about it now but it’s not like a tackle on the floor where someone’s got his arm around you. Mikey has put his arm in his mouth. So, let’s see where that goes to. But I’d be very surprised if he has.”

Pushed further on whether he was concerned about the allegation and what it could mean for Rouge in terms of disciplinary action, McNamara was blunt before flipping the situation and questioning why Lewis did what he did.

“I’m obviously concerned there’s an allegation there but I’m more concerned about why he’s stood up and he’s got his hand in his mouth so, let’s see what happens.”

Lewis had earlier given his version of events on Sky Sports, claiming that he would “let the RFL deal with it”.