Penrith back Spencer Leniu has stated he regrets snubbing Souths forward Jai Arrow on Friday night after the pair went toe-to-toe on the full-time hooter.
After the pair's heated words led to some push and shove at the cessation of the Panthers' 26-12 victory at BlueBet Stadium, Leniu, 21, opted out of shaking the Queenslander's hand.
However, after the dust began to settle on his side's grand final rematch win, the Samoan second-rower claimed his bout with the Rabbitohs enforcer began due to the latter's loose lips.
“I thought he [Arrow] spoke too much about [Nathan] Cleary,” Leniu divulged to The Sydney Morning Herald.
“It was a bit of banter. I showed some bad sportsmanship by not really shaking his hand.
“That’s on me. I regret it [now]. I’ve got nothing against Jai. I wish him the best throughout the year. What happens on the field stays on the field."
Prior to the highly-anticipated clash, Arrow had claimed that he held a desire to test out Cleary's hampered shoulder - a move that incensed Leniu and the rest of the Panthers' pack.
“Every week teams try their best to get Nathan out of the game. As a pack, we know that, but we’ve always got his back," Leniu said of his bodyguard duties.
“If anyone tries to do anything to him, I’m in there straight away. After losing that 2020 grand final, it gave us some ruthlessness, and we didn’t want to take a backward step with anyone.”
Despite his claims that he would act as an amateur physiotherapist, Arrow failed to lay much more than a hand on Cleary, with the Clive Churchill medallist racking up 506 kick-metres, 66 run-metres and a trifecta of tackle breaks.
Leniu and Cleary will be afforded a chance to extend the Mountain Men's unbeaten streak next Sunday evening against the Bulldogs, while Arrow and the Bunnies will look to bounce back when they face the Dragons on Saturday evening.
