- Johnathan Thurston has broken his silence on sideline stoush
- Billy Walters has also been dragged into the controversy
NRL legend Jonathan Thurston has addressed a fiery confrontation with Sydney Roosters enforcer Spencer Leniu that unfolded during and after Friday night’s match at Suncorp.
The sideline drama continued the ugly fall out from last year’s Las Vegas racism saga, where Leniu admitted to calling Indigenous star Ezra Mam a monkey.
Leniu was subsequently handed an eight-game ban, while Thurston at the time called for blanket 12-match suspensions for any player found guilty of a racial slur.
Leniu first clashed with Thurston while being interchanged during the second half of the Roosters’ 26-16 win over Brisbane on Friday night, with Thurston working sideline for Nine.
It is understood Thurston approached Leniu after the match to clarify the issue, prompting a second verbal spray.
Thurston was rattled by the incident, with sources close to the 41-year-old claiming Leniu called him a ‘f***wit’ and The Sydney Morning Herald reporting that Leniu had also referred to him as a ‘f**king c**t’.
NRL legend Johnathan Thurston has broken his silence about the sideline incident
The rugby league great said he was ‘shocked’ by the confrontation
Friday night’s match marked the first time Leniu had played the Broncos since the incident, and was booed as he walked from the field before the spat.
The Samoan international then took to Instagram on Saturday morning to hit out at reporting on the affair, before unleashing further shots at Thurston.
‘I never wanted to talk to the JT, he kept trying to come speak to me,’ Leniu posted in a story on the social media site.
‘I said ‘Lad idc (I don’t care) if that you hate me for what I did. But don’t come up to me asking me questions like we’re Algood (sic).
‘Don’t be two face (sic). Hate me lad I’m eetswa (sweet) with that. But don’t be fake. I hate fake people.’
It’s understood Leniu had been upset by Thurston speaking about the racial slur on a podcast aired during last year’s finals.
He was also reportedly unhappy that Thurston had not called-out Mam about his off-field drama last year when he was involved in a collision while he was driving unlicensed with drugs, including cocaine, in his system.
Speaking to Nine on Saturday, Thurston opened up about the sideline run-in.
Thurston spoke out against Leniu last year when the Roosters forward was charged with the racial villification of Broncos star Ezra Mam
Leniu spoke with Thurston twice at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night, once during the match and once afterwards
Broncos hooker Billy Walters also reportedly copped a spray from Leniu when he attempted to shake the prop’s hand
‘As Spencer left the field during last night’s match he made an abusive comment to me, which took me and those around me by surprise,’ he said.
‘The comment was not of a racial nature but was overly aggressive in tone and unwarranted. After the match I approached Spencer on the field to seek clarity on what he said and why he had said it.
‘Spencer was again overly aggressive and it became clear that he had interpreted the comments I made 12 months ago as a personal attack on him which was not the case.
‘A further conversation took place later with Roosters officials and Spencer outside the sheds. I remain available if Spencer or the Roosters would like to discuss this matter privately.’
On Sunday, News Corp revealed that Broncos hooker Billy Walters also copped a spray from Leniu when he attempted to shake the prop’s hand.
Leniu snubbed the handshake and branded Walters a ‘snitch’.
The Broncos player was at dummy half when Leniu had called Mam a ‘monkey’ in Las Vegas.
Roosters coach Trent Robinson defended Leniu after the match.
‘People are always going to have differences of opinion and you can voice that,’ Robinson said.
‘It is okay to say ‘I don’t agree with you’ both ends. No harm done … so long as people don’t cross the line or say the wrong thing.
‘From what I saw there was no crossing the line.
‘Spencer didn’t approach anybody so I don’t know why you are putting it on Spencer here.’
