CommBank Stadium officials are investigating ugly scenes that followed Saturday night’s fiery All Stars game.
A group of drunken fans hurled hundreds of bottles onto the field after the fulltime siren and two people were arrested, as well as 14 more kicked out of the ground.
And on the field, brawling players twice spilled over the sideline, coming dangerously close to fans sitting on the fence.
READ MORE: Australian world champion falls agonisingly short
READ MORE: US fumes as controversial Russian is cleared to compete
READ MORE: Drugs saga threatens to rock Russia beyond Olympics
Match officials had their hands full, with three sin-binnings and two players placed on report.
In a frantic affair, the Indigenous All Stars trailed by six points with moments left on the clock and were attacking the Maori tryline but the Kiwis held firm as the siren sounded.
That resulted in the shower of missiles, but fortunately no player was hit by the projectiles.
“It’s a shame that there were a bunch of fans that felt like they needed to pelt bottles onto the field at full time. In 25 years of going to footy games I’ve never seen something so disgusting,” one fan posted on social media.
Stadium security is examining video of the incident in a bid to identify the culprits.
“It’s standard procedure to do that after every game,” a stadium official told Wide World of Sports.
“We will pass on any footage of incidents to police if we deem it necessary.”
Lucky escape for Titans staffer
The Titans high performance manager Klint Hoare is lucky to be alive after an horrific crash on his bicycle two weeks ago.
Onlookers estimate Hoare – coach Justin Holbrook’s right hand man – was thrown some 30 metres after he came off second best in a smash between his bike and a fast-moving car on the holiday strip.
Hoare ended up with serious injuries to his pelvis and back and had to undergo several surgeries.
But the highly-regarded official was lucky – and being super fit helped – and he is already back to work, albeit walking a little slowly, at the Titans as they prepare for the kickoff.
Young gun on the rise at Bulldogs
Jeremy Marshall-King will start the season in the number nine jumper for the Bulldogs – but he will be a man under pressure.
I’m hearing that some in the Bulldogs camp believe youngster Bailey Biondi-Odo is a better option as the long-term hooker for the Dogs in 2022.
Biondi-Odo has the explosive pace out of dummy half that Marshall-King lacks and that speed is so crucial in the modern game.
Trent Barrett blooded the 20-year-old last season and he played in nine top grade games – losing them all.
But Biondi-Odo is a talent and he’ll keep Marshall-King honest in the early rounds.
Freddy’s son lets loose
Brad Fittler’s son Zach continues to impress at the Roosters in the Harold Matts Cup.
The 15-year-old back-rower, who bears an uncanny resemblance to his old man, felt his way through his debut against Parramatta in round one of the comp a week ago.
But last weekend, he cut loose, scoring a try double as the Roosters thumped Souths 38-8 in Wyong.
Zach is a kid with plenty of pressure on his shoulders, but at this early stage he looks up to the hype.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
Backstories and controversies behind all the Clive Churchill Medal winners of the NRL era
