‘Nothing to apologise for’: Luai ‘didn’t know’ Cobbo was knocked out… ‘but that’s Origin’

Jarome Luai claims he “didn’t know” Selwyn Cobbo was knocked out when he stood over him, but doesn’t believe he has “anything to apologise for” despite the uproar from fans.

Cobbo was knocked unconscious after crashing into the hip of Maroons teammate Patrick Carrigan in just the second minute of the contest.

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Luai, a fiery character for club and state, said some words as he stood over Cobbo who was in another world.

The Broncos star’s teammates immediately rushed in, with forward Josh Papali’i shoving Luai and sparked an all-in melee while Dane Gagai stood over Cobbo to protect him from further injury.

Luai was completely unaware of Cobbo’s state when he did the act, but conceded it was “heat of the moment stuff”

“I actually didn’t know he was knocked out,” Luai said.

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“But that’s Origin, heat of the moment stuff. I play with a lot of passion.

“I spoke to him (Cobbo) after the game and he was all good, so good to see that.”

However, the Panthers star claimed he had no reason to say sorry to Cobbo after the incident.

“I don’t think I have anything to apologise for,” Luai said.

“There wasn’t any harm. I didn’t touch him.”

Luai’s act was widely condemned from many footy fans on social media, even by some living south of the Tweed border.

The word that often appeared among footy fans was “grub”, a term Luai has almost become accustomed to hearing after games.

But the 25-year-old felt that at the end of the day, he’s the one on the pitch doing the hard yards and not the resident armchair analysts.

“They’ve always called me that (grub),” Luai said.

“So that’s the fans of the sport and you need to take into consideration they’re not out there on the field.”