Daine Laurie has infuriated fans by liking an Instagram video of Broncos star Selwyn Cobbo scoring against the Wests Tigers on Saturday night.
The video, posted by the official NRL account, shows Cobbo pouncing on a loose ball before sprinting 85 metres to score during Brisbane’s emphatic 46-12 victory at Suncorp Stadium.
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Besides a caption that reads “Cobbo cruises through,” a like from the axed Tigers fullback’s official Instagram account is still visible as of Monday morning.
It is undoubtedly a poor look for Laurie after a spiritless Tigers outing in Brisbane.
It’s the second embarrassing storyline surrounding the club on Monday as CEO Justin Pascoe also comes under fire over images of him scrolling on his phone in the dressing room during halftime.
Laurie’s bizarre social media move comes after the 23-year-old was relegated to reserve grade by coach Tim Sheens.
The veteran Tigers mentor is currently experimenting with Adam Doueihi at fullback and Luke Brooks in the five-eighth jersey in a move that has so far reaped few rewards.
The Tigers are the only NRL team with zero wins in the 2023 season, while rumours have emerged that Laurie may make a mid-season switch to the Eels.
A Wests Tigers spokesman told news.com.au the club would deal with Laurie privately over the matter.
“It will be handled internally and no further comment will be made,” the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, The Daily Telegraph is reporting Laurie is angry at being condemned for his social media actions, given he was just liking a try from Cobbo given he is a personal friend.
However club great Garry Jack had a different view about the incident.
“It wasn’t a smart thing to do — he just didn’t think properly,” Jack told the paper.
“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.”
Meanwhile, Tigers fans were blowing up at Laurie over the weekend, with The Telegraph reporting a number of furious social media comments from fans.
“It’s disgraceful, disloyal and shows his (lack of) love of the club and teammates,” one angry fan wrote.
Another posted: “He’ll never play for us again. Mid-season switch likely, surely.”
“Just another reminder he has never been committed to the club,” wrote another, hinting at a 2021 controversy in which the Tigers star celebrated the Panthers premiership while wearing a Penrith jersey.
Laurie apologised at the time for what he called a “silly mistake” after he was featured in a premiership celebration video filmed on the streets of Penrith after the Panthers defeated the Rabbitohs to win the 2021 Grand Final.
The speedster, who spent five years at Penrith in the junior system, made a brief appearance in the video, celebrating while wearing a Penrith jersey.
One Twitter user described Laurie’s appearance as “a kick in the balls”, while another suggested the Tigers should “tear his contract up immediately”.
The Tigers face Parramatta on Monday and are currently paying $151 to win the NRL Grand Final at the TAB.
Rugby league legend Mal Meninga suggested the Tigers struggles could be due to the playing group not believing in the messages from the coaching team.
“There could be this trust factor where they don’t quite believe what Tim (Sheens, coach) or the coaching staff are telling them, to be really bluntly honest. (Or) they don’t want to play to that plan,” Meninga said on Fox League.
“They seem to be playing as individuals, whether that is belief in what they are actually doing or belief in each other. They have to find this commonality and togetherness.
“They don’t come out and work together, they don’t control possession and get to a kick, they don’t want to grind games out.
“Every time they make an error or get a penalty against them, they’re not a resilient side. As a group, they have to come out of it and find a way collectively to start winning football games.
“’Sheensy’ is an excellent coach. I was coached by Tim Sheens for many years and he is a winner. He’s got Benji (Marshall) and Robbie Farah, they are winners as well. That little bit of winning has to rub off somehow.”
