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
Martin had appeared to shout and celebrate in front of Howarth as he walked back to the half-way line
But Martin was seen walking back towards the half-way line shouting at 21-year-old Howarth, who had failed to close a 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.’
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.
Paul Alamoti would go on to score again in the second-half, with Penrith holding out to the advances of Melbourne to secure their fourth successive premiership title, winning 14-6.
Some fans hit out at Martin after he appeared to shout in Jack Howarth’s face after scoring
Some fans hailed Liam Martin for his performance during the game, claiming ‘the guy is an undersized beast’
After the match, Martin was awarded the Clive Churchill medal for his excellent performance throughout the game.
Speaking on the victory, he told Channel Nine: ‘I don’t know it’s just unspoken I guess. That was tough that was so hard but we just kept turning up for one and other and it’s so special to be part of a group like that.’
