Daine Laurie called out by Wests Tigers legend amid 'disgraceful' act
The club great was less than impressed with the dropped fullback's act.
Wests Tigers great Garry Jack has called out Daine Laurie for liking a social media post of Selwyn Cobbo scoring against his own club amid the Tigers' ongoing drama. The Tigers are the only team yet to win an NRL game so far this season after crashing to a 46-12 defeat to the ladder-leading Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
In their heavy defeat, Cobbo scored an intercept try after snatching a loose pass from Tigers forward John Bateman. The NRL posted a video of Cobbo's effort and fans noticed Laurie had liked the try on the account.
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This caused a huge stir and backlash from fans of the club. “It’s disgraceful, disloyal and shows his (lack of) love of the club and teammates,” one fan wrote in response to Laurie's social media move. Another added: “He’ll never play for us again. Mid-season switch likely, surely.”
One fan posted in response: “It’s against his team. Not a huge deal but not good.” Another Tigers supporter added: “It is a minor thing but also a hint that he’s not happy at the club.”
Laurie's season appears to be going from bad to worse, after the youngster started the season at fullback but has since been replaced by Adam Doueihi. And now, Tigers great Jack has called out the dropped star for his move.
The Daily Telegraph reports Laurie isn't impressed with the attention that has been made over him liking a video of his good friend's try. However, Jack said it wasn't a good look for the player.
“It wasn’t a smart thing to do — he just didn’t think properly,” Jack told The Daily Telegraph. “Daine didn’t think it through or think about the repercussions of liking something online. It’s just a perception thing, given he’s not playing first grade.” The Tigers have said they would deal with the Laurie incident internally following the social media uproar.
Fans will also be reminded of a previous Laurie's incident, which sparked backlash. The 23-year-old was forced to apologise in 2021 after being pictured in a Penrith jersey after the Panthers' grand final triumph over South Sydney. Laurie - who spent five years at Penrith coming through the club's junior system - called it a "silly mistake" at the time.
In an already embarrassing start to the season - in which the Tigers have become the first team since 1969 to lose the first five games in consecutive seasons - it was a terrible look from Laurie. The fact it came in the same week that he was relegated to reserve grade made Laurie's actions even more questionable.
Wests Tigers season spirals after horror start
In another drama that emerged from the weekend, the Tigers' CEO managed to find himself mired in controversy. Justin Pascoe was spotted on the field at Suncorp Stadium before the match wearing sneakers and carrying a football, and also in the change-rooms at half-time while coach Tim Sheens was speaking to the players. Curiously, Pascoe could be seen looking at his phone and not even paying attention to what Sheens was saying.
Leading journalist Phil Rothfield described both moments as 'embarrassing' for Pascoe and the Tigers amid their dreadful start to the season. But Pascoe has since fired back. “This is ridiculous. I was in the team polo we wear to travel,” he told Rothfield.
“The photo was taken two hours before the game. It’s very different to a home game when we’re entertaining our corporate clients. I always chip in and help when we travel.
“I unload bags from the bus. If people want help putting out the cones, I’ll help. I was just walking around, talking to Benji (Marshall) and Alex Clarke from high performance. I actually watched from the sideline behind the bench. It’s no big deal.”
The Tigers faithful hoped 2005 premiership-winning coach Tim Sheens and his title-winning heroes Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah as assistants would be the dream team to turn the club around after 11 years of missing the finals, but a porous defence and stuttering attack have left long-suffering fans with little hope after the first five rounds.
"They are a quality group of guys, and they have got talent individually. We have just got to put the 17 individuals together and make sure it works," Sheens said. "That's my job...and as a coaching group we've got to put them together. Not pick them apart or get over-anxious about it because it is only going to make it worse for them."
with AAP
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