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“I would say it’s out of character. It’s going through the channels with the NRL now so everything is being investigated. We’ll see where it leads, but I would say it’s out of character.”
It comes after former premiership-winning winger Lote Tuqiri accused Roosters coach Trent Robinson of gaslighting Mam in his comments after the game.
“He obviously made the complaint, but that doesn’t mean it’s right,” Robinson said after the win.
“It’ll go through the formal process, as it should.”
But Tuqiri wasn’t having any of that.
“If a player says he’s been racially vilified on a footy field, it’s happened!!’ Tuqiri posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“You can mask it & say it’s in the heat of the battle, etc etc. But I don’t get how Trent Robinson sits in a post match press conference & accuses Ezra of not being right.
“‘Doesn’t mean it’s right’ is some sort of gaslighting rubbish I didn’t think would come out of Trent Robinson’s mouth. Especially after the great way he handled Latrell’s abuse from his own fans last year. I’m behind Ezra all the way calling this stuff out.”
Meanwhile, star five-eighth Jarome Luai is expected to face the Storm in Friday’s blockbuster clash in Melbourne.
Luai missed the World Club Challenge loss to Wigan due to a shoulder injury that plagued him last year, but has trained well and is set to be named.
“He’s doing really well, so at this stage we expect him to play,” Cleary said, with Sunia Turuva (knee) in doubt with new recruit Paul Alamoti in line to make his club debut.
“He’s a big part of our team so I’m really excited about what him and ‘Nat’ (Nathan Cleary) and the rest of the team can do together this year with another year’s growth and combinations, and with that little bit extra of it being his last year.”
The upcoming season will be Luai’s last before he joins the Wests Tigers on a lucrative five-year deal in 2025, and the Panthers are keen to send him out a winner just like they did with Matt Burton, Viliame Kikau, Api Koroisau and Stephen Crichton in recent years.
“I’ve definitely noticed that (he wants to go out on a high),” Cleary said.
“We’ve got a bit of history with the boys that have left, and a lot of them have had that little something to drive them a little bit more.
“There have been three or four of them that have had their best seasons in their last year. I hope that trend continues.
“It’s hard to articulate exactly what that is (sending someone out a winner) but they’re all so close. Everyone understands why they leave, and they just love playing together, so it’s channelling a lot of energy into making the most out of every opportunity we get.”
