The Gold Coast Suns took to Instagram on Thursday afternoon to post a light-hearted joke about their NRL neighbours, the Gold Coast Titans, but the trolling appears to have backfired big time on the AFL club.
Controversy exploded this week in the NRL in the wake of the ‘trainer-gate’ saga, after the Titans suffered a last-gasp 26-30 defeat by Penrith last Saturday.
Nathan Cleary booted a penalty in the 78th minute to send the match to a golden-point winner, with Panthers five-eighth Blaize Talagi bundling his way over the try line to seal the nail-biting win and keep Penrith’s eight-match winning streak rolling.
But the match was overshadowed by a bizarre incident as Titans half Jayden Campble appeared to miss a shot at goal, which could have won the home side the match. It came as Panthers trainer Corey Bocking appeared to run directly across the field and in his eye line.
The Panthers have been handed a prospective $50,000 fine and Bocking has been handed a prospective suspension over the incident.
The Suns, meanwhile, took to Instagram to poke a barb at Des Hasler’s struggling side by publishing images of Suns’ star Ben Long and Titans’ prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard.
An apparent joke published by the Gold Coast Suns’ Instagram account has backfired massively on the AFL side
Bizarrely, the Suns appeared to take a cheap shot at their NRL neighbours, the Gold Coast Titans on Instagram, joking about last weekend’s ‘trainer-gate’ incident
Panthers’ trainer Corey Bocking (right) appeared to run on the pitch when Jayden Campbell was kicking a potentially match-winning shot at goal. The Titans star missed the kick, before Penrith won the match
‘What’s the difference between these two Gold Coast players?’ the first slide on the Instagram post read.
On the second slide, the club posted a picture of Long again, celebrating the Suns’ 84-point gazumping of the Tigers at the weekend.
An piece of text, overlayed on the image, read: ‘SUNS WIN,’ with the club’s social media managers also throwing a cheap shot at their neighbours, writing: ‘(a trainer didn’t wreck us).’
The Suns then captioned the post: ‘Not the trainer’, adding an ‘exploding head’ emoji.
The bizarre and rather impromptu post was slammed by many in the comments, including the Titans themselves, who didn’t find the barb funny.
The Titans posted a ‘raised eyebrow’ emoji, appearing both unamused and perplexed at why the Suns came after them following the match.
Others echoed the sentiment. ‘Coming after the other team in your town is very odd,’ one wrote.
‘Broncos and Lions would never do this to each other,’ another added.
On Instagram, the Suns made light of the agonising moment, asking fans what the difference was between Suns’ star Ben Long and Titans’ prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard. They then posted a shot of Long celebrating the side’s win against Richmond
They also made light of the ‘trainer-gate’ incident, which garnered the scrutiny of the bewildered Titans social media account
‘Wow! Too soon… too soon…’ an Instagram user wrote. Another added: ‘Ahh man, this ain’t the energy. The universe always has a way of humbling us.’
‘Wow, you really gonna do us like that,’ one said, while another added: ‘Still time to delete this.’
Some of the Titans’ NRLW players, including Lauren Brown and Georgia Hale, sarcastically posted a ‘thumbs up’ emoji in the comments.
The bizarre swipe is made even more strange when noting that the titans and the Suns have held a close relationship over the years.
Meanwhile, Panthers boss Ivan Cleary revealed on Wednesday that the coach in the middle of the ‘trainer-gate’ saga has been ‘struggling’ since the incident took place, insisting that it was an ‘honest mistake’.
‘I think the punishment is pretty heavy,’ the four-time premiership-winning coach explained.
On Bocking, he added: ‘I think his suspension is the biggest of anyone in the NRL this year. I think it’s a bit harsh to come and say that his penalty is based on other things.
‘He’s struggling, has been right from the time it happened.
Campbell would go on to miss the kick that could have won his side the game late on
The Suns copped heat from other fans in the comments, who claimed it was a bizarre shot to take against your city neighbours
‘We kind of try to temper that with banter, which he takes in good nature.
‘But yeah, he’s struggling. He cares about his job and understands that he made a mistake and it’s become a big deal.
‘The last thing he would want is any excess attention, that’s his nature. You can see clearly that he was embarrassed and apologised.
‘I just think it’s harsh and I think it’s a little unfair.’
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