Spencer Leniu locks horns with Roosters hard man Jared Waerea-Hargreaves in ugly brawl

Spencer Leniu and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves were both sin-thrown as tempers flared late in the second half of Penrith’s 30-6 win over the Roosters at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.

With only minutes to play, an off-the-ball incident threatened to develop into an all-in brawl as players from both sides got involved and referee Adam Gee struggled to regain control of the situation.

Replays showed Waerea-Hargreaves splashing Leniu with his water bottle, prompting a furious reaction from the Penrith star, who wanted to grab the Roosters enforcer by the neck.

With neither player willing to let go, their teammates had to step in to separate the two, while Waerea-Hargreaves smiled sarcastically at Leniu, which seemed to further enrage the latter.

Gee sin-bind both players, but Leniu, who will join the Roosters next season, stood his ground, initially refusing to leave the field before eventually being escorted off the field by a teammate.

The duo had to be split up late in the second half after a controversial incident

As he left the field, the Samoan star made a rude gesture to the fans and exchanged words with some of them.

There was more controversy surrounding Waerea-Hargreaves earlier in the game, with Liam Martin finishing second after attempting to tackle the Tricolors enforcer.

The New South Wales star misplaced his head and collected Waerea-Hargreaves’ hip on top of his head, staggering away from the hit as blood gushed from his temple.

Martin suffered a Category 1 concussion and now faces a mandatory 11-day postponement, putting his availability for Origin II on June 21 in doubt.

Just minutes later, Waerea-Hargreaves delivered a huge hit to Moses Leota, forcing the Panthers man off the field for an HIA and subsequently assessed as a Category 2 concussion.

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