NRL fans attacked Liam Martin after Penrith’s second row appeared to celebrate in front of Melbourne’s Jack Howarth after he crossed the try line to give the reigning premiers a 10-6 half-time lead of the NRL Grand Final.
It was an intense start to the match, with both teams exchanging blows in the first 20 minutes of the match.
Storm drew first blood with Harry Grant breaking through the Panthers defense to give them the lead, but Ivan Cleary’s side showed their class, fighting their way back into the match with Sunia Turuva in the corner.
Nathan Cleary would then create space for second row Martin, who has been locked in a war of words with the Storm’s Cameron Munster all week, to step forward and put the Panthers ahead. Cleary would kick the resulting conversion to give the Panthers a 10-6 halftime lead, with emotions running high on the field.
Martin let out a huge roar after ducking several tackles to score, but fans online criticized him after he appeared to celebrate in front of Jack Howarth.
Fans lashed out at Liam Martin (right) online after he appeared to celebrate in front of Jack Howarth’s face.
Howarth (left) was taken out of position, allowing Martin to drive through a gap in midfield and score Penrith’s second try.
In a rather unsportsmanlike performance, Martin walked towards the halfway line and was seen shouting at Howarth, 21, who had failed to close the gap that allowed the Penrith star to pass.
‘Gee, that’s some pretty fucked up behavior on Krusty the Clown’s part. You have the opportunity. Don’t act like an idiot after #NRLGF #Storm.’
Some fans attacked Martin after he appeared to shout in Jack Howarth’s face after scoring.
Another wrote: “Liam Martin’s big sled over Howarth after the kid let him try…that’ll hurt…”
But others took to X to praise Martin for what was an excellent first half. The second row showed their physical ability to attack at all times and helped Penrith weather Melbourne’s attacks.
More to follow…