Jarome Luai has done little to endear himself to State of Origin fans by seemingly calling them “idiots” on social media.
The Penrith five-eighth failed to ignite New South Wales in the absence of his halves partner Nathan Cleary as the Blues slumped to a 32-6 loss at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday.
The Blues have now lost two of the three series Luai has been involved in, and the latest defeat looks likely to cost coach Brad Fittler his job.
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The No.6 caused uproar last year when he stood over a concussed Selwyn Cobbo, infuriating Queensland.
He again stood over a Maroons player on Wednesday night, bizarrely after tackling opposition captain Daly Cherry-Evans late in the game and then not allowing him to stand up.
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A few minutes later Luai was sent off for head-butting Reece Walsh. The Queensland fullback was also sent off, while Blues winger Josh Addo-Carr was sin-binned for striking.
In the early hours of Thursday morning, Luai took to Instagram to insult fans.
“Chill, all you idiots have work tomorrow morning,” he wrote on a photo of himself leaning on a goalpost, followed by several laughing emojis.
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He added at the bottom, “We go again”.
Luai caused controversy on his Instagram account following last year’s grand final, when he used a racial slur over a photo of himself with Panthers teammate Jaeman Salmon.
He later defended the post, saying, “I’ve got a saying for myself: if you’re not hated you’re not doing it right. So I’ve sort of embraced that a bit”.
The NRL integrity unit investigated that incident, but Luai was permitted to head to England to represent Samoa at the World Cup.
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Speaking on his show on Thursday morning, 2GB radio host Ben Fordham had a harsh message for the playmaker.
“Jarome, put down your phone and get off social media. Give it a rest,” Fordham said on Thursday.
“It’s landed you in trouble before, and it’s going to be landing you in more strife today.
“Saying ‘all you idiots have to work tomorrow morning’ – well yes we do, Jarome, and you have to get back to work too, because your form has not been fantastic.
“All you’re doing is attracting more haters. Just give social media a break.”
Prominent long-time rugby league commentator Andrew Voss called out Luai’s latest social media post.
“What does this mean? How do fans take this?” Voss wrote on Twitter.
“Surely doing a post on Instagram after defeat and series loss is not on your to-do list.”
Blues coach Brad Fittler brushed off questions about the last-minute brouhaha by saying “no one got hurt”.
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