I bit him and was shocked when I saw the mark it left
http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/news/why-i-bit-tahu-morrin/2007/08/04/1185648204697.html
Adrian Proszenko | August 5, 2007
Remorseful Bulldogs forward Brad Morrin has talked for the first time about his "brain snap" against Parramatta and apologised for letting his teammates down with an act he fears will forever tarnish his career.
Morrin admitted to biting Timana Tahu in an ugly incident that overshadowed the Eels' brilliant 34-22 win against the Bulldogs on Friday night.
The 25-year-old said he had only meant to give Tahu "a nip" to try to force the former Kangaroos three-quarter off him after being headslammed into the Telstra Stadium turf just before half-time.
"It's a bit unfortunate, I didn't think I did it that bad," Morrin told
The Sun-Herald. "I had my hands caught underneath and I more or less did it to get him off me.
"The main thing is that I got slammed into the ground. When I was in that position I had both my hands underneath and if I had my hands free I would have pushed him off me.
"More or less I gave him a nip to get him off, but I was more shocked than anything when I saw the mark it left. I didn't think I could do it that hard with my mouthguard in.
"I did go and apologise to him after it, it was a bit of a brain snap. I haven't done it before and I don't think I'll do it again."
There were suggestions Morrin may have been mildly concussed in the tackle but the no-nonsense back-rower refused to make excuses.
"I do have a bit of a short fuse - it was in the heat of the moment," he said. "My head was slammed to the ground and I felt a bit defenceless down there. I was annoyed by that because I did hit my head pretty hard with the ground.
"It still doesn't condone what I did. He accepted the apology and said 'it's fine, don't worry'."
The Canterbury local junior feared his achievements on the football field would forever be tainted due to his biting indiscretion.
"My dad pointed that out to me," he said. "A lot of hard work goes into getting to first grade and I'd hate to think I would be remembered as a biter.
"I have to make sure the next time I play I go well and put it behind me. I feel for the team at the moment, we've got a few crucial injuries and it's a stupid thing to do and leave them another man down. I'm more worried about them than me.
"I apologise to everyone for what I did and hope to make it up to them and put it behind me. I feel sorry for the club and the fans for leaving them another player down."
The NRL will ask Tahu to provide a statement over the incident, which is almost certain to be referred straight to the judiciary. Although he has yet to discuss the matter with club officials, Morrin admitted he had little choice but to plead guilty should charges be laid.
Bulldogs teammate Reni Maitua said the club would rally around the embattled forward.
"Our club cops a lot of crap and it brings us close together," Maitua said. "We'll let the judiciary deal with things like that and concentrate on playing footy.
"I didn't see the incident at the time, but Brad Morrin is a great guy and a great player.
"He's one of those passionate players and maybe it was a bit of a brain explosion, we'll just have to see what happens at the judiciary.
"We're a pretty close-knit bunch, especially me and 'Moz'.
"We came through the grades together, he's a local junior and been great for the club. Hopefully this won't tarnish his reputation too much."
Eels club doctor Michael Johnson said Tahu's arm was "quite swollen" after the incident.
"It was so blatant, everyone could see it," he said. "He doesn't need stitches or antibiotics, he just needs the bruising to go down. "If he hasn't already been immunised with tetanus we'll consider that."
In further bad news for the Bulldogs, a rib injury will sideline former Test centre Willie Tonga for two weeks.
