Panthers teammates clash in explosive blue

1 year ago 79

Cameras spotted Panthers teammates Jarome Luai and Jaeman Salmon successful a heated statement pursuing Penrith's season-opening decision to Brisbane connected Friday night.

As Panthers players lingered connected the tract astatine Penrith Stadium aft the club's daze 13-12 nonaccomplishment to the Broncos, Channel Nine cameras captured Luai approaching Salmon and venting his frustration.

Salmon deed backmost astatine the Penrith five-eighth arsenic the statement developed into an expletive-laden back-and-forth.

But Sharks large Paul Gallen played down the seriousness of the clash erstwhile it was raised connected Nine's post-match show.

"There's nary issue. It's rugby league, mate. You cognize what? I recognize we emotion it due to the fact that we're portion of the media, we privation to speech astir it, we privation to make hysteria astir it ... but it's rugby league, it's a brutal sport," Gallen said.

"These guys vie for a living, it's what they do, they're truthful competitive, testosterone-fuelled blokes that are trained to vie connected each azygous play for 80 minutes of the game.

"When thing doesn't spell close they privation to cognize wherefore and they person a treatment astir it. Who cares?"

Gallen compared the statement to the brushwood involving Dragons teammates Mikaele Ravalawa and Zane Musgrove, who had a scuffle astatine 6am pursuing the 42-24 Charity Shield nonaccomplishment to the Rabbitohs successful February.

Dragons players had a pre-scheduled nighttime retired successful Mudgee, earlier Ravalawa and Musgrove butted heads aft returning to the squad hotel.

"Yeah, they astir apt shouldn't person been connected the portion astatine six successful the morning, but they've had an statement aft a game," Gallen said.

"Who cares? Let it go! I don't recognize wherefore we've got to delve into it. I cognize we privation to and I cognize it's bully chat, but honestly, who cares? Let it go."

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Cowboys fable Johnathan Thurston suggested the statement betwixt Luai and Salmon was healthy, arsenic good arsenic a merchandise of the Panthers' phenomenal occurrence successful caller years.

"They've excelled the past 2 years, they've played cleanable footy conscionable astir each time, truthful erstwhile idiosyncratic misses their duty you privation to cognize wherefore you weren't there," Thurston said.

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"I deliberation it's conscionable portion and parcel of rugby league. You person those conversations, you're men, erstwhile you person those conversations you hide it and past you conscionable determination on."

Gallen continued to play down the hoo-ha.

"I've seen hundreds (of arguments), I've seen punch-ups astatine training, each sorts of things. Who cares?" helium said.

"It's conscionable portion of the game.

"Let's conscionable get connected with it.

"It means they care, it means they care.

"If I'm a Panthers fan, I don't caput it. Maybe initially you think, 'OK'. But they attraction astir the result, they attraction astir the game.

"So conscionable fto it go."

Penrith has been upstaged successful its past 2 games, with the decision to Brisbane pursuing a 13-12 nonaccomplishment successful the World Club Challenge past Saturday night.

The Panthers are striving to go the archetypal nine successful the NRL epoch to triumph 3 premierships successful a row.

They volition big the Rabbitohs successful Penrith successful the opening crippled of circular 2 adjacent Thursday night.

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