NRL fans have hit out at Liam Martin after the Penrith second-row appeared to celebrate in the face of Melbourne’s Jack Howarth after he crossed the try line to give the reigning premiers a 10-6 lead at half-time in the NRL Grand Final.
It was a ripping start to the match, with both sides trading blows in the opening 20 minutes of the game.
Storm took first blood with Harry Grant crashing through the Panthers’ defence to give them the lead, but Ivan Cleary’s side showed their class, battling their way back into the match with Sunia Turuva dotting down in the corner.
Nathan Cleary would then create space for second-row, Martin, who has been locked in a war of words with Storm’s Cameron Munster all week, to crash through and put the Panthers ahead. Cleary would kick the resulting conversion to give the Panthers a 10-6 lead at half-time, with emotions running high on the field.
Martin let out a huge roar after evading several tackles to score, but was blasted by fans online after he appeared to celebrate in the face of Jack Howarth.
Fans have lashed out at Liam Martin (right) online after he appeared to celebrate in front of Jack Howarth’s face
Howarth (left) was pulled out of position allowing Martin to snipe through a gap in midfield and score Penrith’s second try
In a rather unsportsmanly showing, Martin walked back towards the half-way line and was seen shouting at 21-year-old Howarth, who had failed to close the gap that allowed the Penrith star to crash through.
‘Geez that’s pretty s*** behaviour from the Krusty the Clown look alike. You’ve got the try. Don’t act like a d*** after it #NRLGF #Storm.’
Some fans hit out at Martin after he appeared to shout in Jack Howarth’s face after scoring
Another wrote: ‘Liam Martin big sledge on Howarth after the kid let that try in… that will hurt…’
But others took to X to laud Martin for what was an excellent first-half. The second-row showcased his physical tackling ability throughout and helped Penrith weather Melbourne’s attacks.
More to follow…
