'Threw it out straight away': Phil Gould whacks 'flawed system' after Viliame Kikau found not guilty

Phil Gould has taken a swipe at the referees and match review committee after Bulldogs star Viliame Kikau was found not guilty at the NRL judiciary.

Kikau was originally facing an $1800 fine with an early guilty plea for dangerous contact on Mitchell Moses, but opted to contest the charge on Tuesday night and risk a more substantial financial punishment of $2500.

The decision to challenge the sanction paid off for the Dogs and the incident will not go on Kikau's record. He also won't have to pay a fine.

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In a tense opening half in front of a boisterous crowd at Accor Stadium, Kikau was given his marching orders by Gerard Sutton for dangerous contact on the Eels halfback.

Replays showed the Dogs back-rower ran straight into the kicking leg of Moses and despite his desperate plea, Sutton sent the Fijian international to the bin.

The commentary team on Fox League at the time were split on the call, with former Panthers halfback Greg Alexander conceding it was "a little bit dangerous" but Cooper Cronk claiming that Moses "milked" the penalty that led to Kikau's dismissal.

Gould has now given his verdict on the events that unfolded early in the week and believes Kikau was hard done by to be binned in the first place.

"He was penalised, he was sin binned, he was charged by the match review committee - only to go down to the judiciary and they threw it out straight away," the Canterbury boss said on Wide World of Sports' Six Tackles With Gus.

"It makes you wonder why he was penalised on the weekend and then sin binned, which are both very big penalties during the course of a game.

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"He didn't deserve to be off the field and that was later proven at the judiciary.

"It just goes to show again that our system is flawed and that our referees, Bunker, match review committee and judiciary are way too harsh in this game.

"I don't think it's fair on the players and I don't think it's fair on the game itself." 

Earlier in the year, Canterbury paid the price for not contesting smaller charges, with Jacob Preston ending up copping a four-game ban for a grade one crusher tackle due to his prior record with the match review committee.

And in this most recent match Canterbury conceded a try with Kikau off the field, which saw their long-time rivals go level at 12-12 on the scoreboard.

It mattered little at full time however, with the Dogs racing away with a 30-12 victory to cement their spot on top of the NRL ladder.