Jarome Luai and Jaeman Salmon got into a brief but expletive-laden argument on the field after full-time in Penrith's 13-12 loss to the Broncos on Friday night, and now it can be revealed as to what the pair said.
The Panthers were in the contest until the death, scoring through Soni Luke late in the match and going within a point of Brisbane, however left a host of scoring chances gone begging, resulting in a frustrated playing group.
Channel 9 cameras caught Luai approaching Salmon over something that occurred in-game, before Salmon fired back at the five-eighth, however it was unclear what the pair were arguing about.
The Sydney Morning Herald obtained the original audio from the broadcast, and deciphered what the duo were discussing.
“Am I blaming you for that pass [expletive],” Luai said to Salmon.
“You did on that [occasion]," Salmon replied.
“Because you weren't leading [expletive]. You said you couldn't make it because you were too tired," Luai responded.
“That one time I couldn't make it,” Salmon responded.
While the incident was quick to attract attention, the vast majority of fans have defended the pair, putting the flare up down to frustrations after a tight 80 minute contest, especially following the World Club Challenge against St Helens, where Penrith lost with the same scoreline.
It was just the tenth loss the Panthers have suffered since the beginning of the 2020 NRL season.
Channel 9 commentators Paul Gallen and Jonathan Thurston were quick to defend the heated argument.
“I understand we love it and we're part of the media and we're going to talk about it … but it's rugby league. It's a tough, brutal spot,” Gallen said on the network post-match.
“These guys compete for a living, it's what they do, they're so competitive, testosterone-fuelled blokes that are trained to compete on every single play for 80 minutes of the game – and when something doesn't go right they want to know why and they have a discussion about it. Who cares?
“They care about the result, they care about the game, so just let it go.”
“They excelled the last two years, they played perfect footy about every time. So when someone misses their assignment, you want to know why you weren't there," Thurston added on-air.
“I think it's just part and parcel of rugby league, you have those conversations… bury it and move on.”
Luai and Salmon will have a chance to redeem themselves on Thursday when the face South Sydney at BlueBet Stadium, and are expected to low on troops with Jai Arrow suffering a hamstring injury, while Latrell Mitchell has a PCL issue.
