- A Penrith Panthers star has highlighted the vile social media abuse sent to him
- It came after the Panthers couldn’t find a winning point against the Cowboys
Penrith Panthers star Mitchell Kenny has revealed the vile abuse he received on social media in the wake of Penrith’s 30-30 draw against the Cowboys on Saturday.
Ivan Cleary’s side are currently enduring one of their worst starts to an NRL season, with the defending champions having slumped to second-bottom on the ladder, having lost six of their opening 10 matches this year.
Following Saturday’s match, both the Cowboys and Panthers may be thinking about what could have been, with both sides missing opportunities to win the match.
Jake Clifford and Scott Drinkwater both failed to convert shots at match winners for the home side, while Cleary had a shot at goal himself in extra time charged down.
Kenny, meanwhile, could have given the Penrith halfback a shot at goal in regulation time. But the hooker had instead opted to shift left on the last tackle and found contact.
Following the match, Kenny took to Instagram to reveal the disgusting abuse he has copped on social media from some fans.
NRL star Mitch Kenny has revealed the disgusting social media abuse he was subjected to following Penrith’s 30-30 draw against the Cowboys this weekend
Late in the game, the footy star had an opportunity to pass the ball back to Nathan Cleary for a shot at goal, but Kenny opted to take the ball into contact
Kenny (centre) subsequently blasted the abuse on social media and joked that he’d pay the fan back the ‘trillion dollars’ he’d lost
One appeared to have been incensed by his decision not to pass the ball to Cleary in the dying embers of the game, claiming Kenny had lost him ‘a trillion dollars’.
‘F*****g useless ****, you’ve f*****g cost me a trillion dollars cause your a f*****g hog,’ the social media user had said to Kenny.
‘Imagine having the greatest ever player and not using him so the most f*****g mid **** on the planet can scoot on the last play of the game instead of kicking a field goal.
‘What could of possibly been going through your f*****g thick head.
‘Moron. F*** you.’
Kenny clapped back with a funny response.
‘Send us your bank details, I’ll send you the trillion sorry legend,’ he added.
He then added: ‘These things happen aye! Have a good weekend, everyone.’
Scott Drinkwater (pictured) also missed several opportunities to seal the victory for the Cowboys
It is not the first time an NRL player has been lambasted by a fan over a bet with Josh Morris having once copped flak from a fuming fan.
He replied to the supporter: ‘I don’t care about your multis’.
North Queensland, meanwhile, will be ruing their missed chances following Saturday’s game.
As Todd Payten put it after the match, it’s ‘two weeks on the trot they had been in winning positions and couldn’t get it done’.
‘I’m sure I’ll feel a little bit better about it tomorrow but right at the moment it’s just frustration,’ Payton added.
The four-time reigning premiers also regretted giving up a 12-point lead twice in the game, the second time when the Cowboys scored twice in two minutes late.
‘Whenever that happens you feel a little bit disappointed,’ said Panthers coach Ivan Cleary.
‘I feel like we should’ve definitely closed it out in the second half but having said that, once it was 30-all, I think we did quite well to not lose.’
The four-time reigning premiers also regretted giving up a 12-point lead twice in the game, the second time when the Cowboys scored twice in two minutes late
Talagi continued his rise to help the Panthers in the fight to salvage their slow-starting season, while the Cowboys moved into the top eight to finish the round.
Prized recruit Talagi was unable to break into the team when Penrith fell to the Cowboys in round five but had a hand in all five of their tries this time around.
Talagi managed a one-handed offload to help in-form Isaiah Papali’i open the scoring inside five minutes, with the five-eighth then throwing the last ball for Luke Garner’s first.
With his boot, Talagi threaded a grubber kick for Garner to complete his double in the first half and then channelled Cleary by sending a perfect kick over the defensive line for Tom Jenkins to score.
Talagi then put the Panthers ahead by 12 points by scoring a try of his own following a knock-on in the in-goal from Cowboys winger Robert Derby, who had a hellish night.
‘He’s certainly on the right trajectory,’ coach Cleary said of Talagi.
Isaiah Papali’i (left) got the Panthers off to a flying start, scoring in the first five minutes of the match
Penrith boss Ivan Cleary (pictured) admitted he was disappointed his sidecould not get the victory
‘He’s a bit like the moment Blaize, when he gets the ball, both coaches hold their breath. But that’s what we love about him, he just comes to the game, gets better all the time.
‘I’m really enjoying him being part of our team.’
The Cowboys locked the scores at 30 scoring twice in quick succession in the final 10 minutes, with Derby first redeeming himself on the right before Drinkwater found Tom Dearden in support.
Fighting to hold his NSW fullback jersey from in-form James Tedesco, Penrith’s Dylan Edwards had a quieter performance than he’d have liked, notably dropping a Dearden kick to put the Panthers under early pressure.
He finished with 190 metres and one tackle break in his final game before State of Origin teams are picked, with the Panthers on the bye next weekend.