Spencer Leniu locks horns with Roosters hard man Jared Waerea-Hargreaves as tempers boil over with Penrith star forced off the field in ugly brawl
- Spencer Leniu and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves were sin-binned on Saturday
- Referee Adam Gee struggled to get Leniu off the field after the incident
- Waerea-Hargreaves appeared to splash Leniu with water
Spencer Leniu and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves were both sin-binned as tempers flared late in the second half of Penrith’s 30-6 win over the Roosters at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.
With only minutes left in the game, an off-the-ball incident threatened to develop into an all-in brawl as players of both sides got involved and referee Adam Gee struggled to regain control of the situation.
Replays showed Waerea-Hargreaves splashing Leniu with his water bottle, eliciting a furious reaction from the Penrith star, who looked to grab the Roosters enforcer by the neck.
With neither player willing to let go, their teammates had to intervene to separate the two as Waerea-Hargreaves sarcastically smiled towards Leniu, which appeared to enrage the latter even further.
Gee sin-binned both players, but Leniu, who will join the Roosters next season, stood his ground and initially refused to leave the field before eventually being escorted off the pitch by a teammate.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (left) and Spencer Leniu (right) were sin-binned on Saturday
The duo had to be separated after a controversial incident late in the second half
As he walked off the pitch, the Samoan star made a rude gesture towards the fans and exchanged words with some of them.
There was more controversy surrounding Waerea-Hargreaves earlier in the game, with Liam Martin coming off second best after attempting to tackle the Tricolours enforcer.
The New South Wales star got his head in the wrong spot and collected Waerea-Hargreaves’ hip flush on his head, staggering away from the hit with blood pouring from his temple.
Martin was ruled a Category 1 concussion and now faces an obligatory 11-day stand-down period, which puts his availability for Origin II on June 21 in doubt.
Just minutes later, Waerea-Hargreaves delivered a huge hit on Moses Leota, which forced the Panthers man off the field for an HIA and was subsequently ruled as Category 2 concussion.
More to follow
More Stories
Furious Lions star Dayne Zorko claims AFL has legalised attacks on players’ genitals after rival who left him with ‘bruised’ groin got off with just a fine
Manchester United 2-3 Borussia Dortmund: Errors in defence lead Ten Hag’s men to defeat in Las Vegas
LeBron James ‘kept telling diners how grateful he was’ to be at dinner with son Bronny, 18, just four days after his cardiac arrest in basketball practice