Why a bizarre Bunnings joke went viral when footy fans spotted NRL star Herbie Farnworth with his girlfriend at the Dally Ms

Within minutes of Dolphins star Herbie Farnworth arriving at the Dally Ms with girlfriend Lily Pickles on Wednesday night, the words ‘I’ve just seen someone drop to their knees at Bunnings’ were all over social media – and we can explain why.

The 24-year-old won the Center of the Year award at the NRL’s Night of Nights, but all fans online were talking about his turn on the red carpet with his glamorous partner.

They made comments including: ‘I dropped my Snag watching someone fall to their knees at Bunnings’, ‘Somebody help me pick that guy off the floor in Bunnings’ and ‘Why are there so many people at Bunnings on a Wednesday night ?’ many others.

The comments all refer to the catchphrase “just fell to my knees in a Walmart parking lot,” which refers to the huge American retail chain and became a popular post on TikTok.

It was first used in a tweet in 2021 in response to a user who heard that two co-stars from the hit TV show You were dating — and has now evolved into a way to express the shock of finding out your celebrity crush is no longer single. or admiration for how attractive they look.

According to the knowyourmeme website, its popularity on TikTok skyrocketed in 2022, with a video with the phrase as its title gaining millions of views and likes that year.

Footy fans simply replaced ‘Walmart’ with ‘Bunnings’ for the Australian public as they reacted to the couple’s performance at the Sydney ceremony.

Herbie Farnworth and girlfriend Lily Pickles caused a stir online on Wednesday night with their red carpet appearance at Dally Ms

Many footy fans refer to people ‘fell to their knees at Bunnings’ when they saw the pair arrive – and the strange phrase is actually quite a compliment

The Dolphins star and his partner (pictured together) have been an item for years

Pickles – who wore a custom Oglia-Loro Couture dress – and Farnworth also attended the Dally Ms together last year, but didn’t make as much of an impression with fans.

They also walked the red carpet at the Brisbane Broncos’ end-of-year celebrations last October before Farnworth left for the Dolphins.

That evening, the British-born star drew laughter from the crowd when he boldly shouted his new team’s slogan: “Phins up!” into the microphone – only for then-Broncos coach Kevin Walters to take over and add, “Phins down!”

He doesn’t share many photos of himself with Pickles on social media, but she’s been more candid, posting photos of them together as early as October 2018.

Farnworth made his debut for Brisbane in 2019 and played 79 games for the club before transferring to Redcliffe.

He played four games for England, scoring three tries, after moving to Australia to continue his rugby league career after finishing school.

Born in Lancashire, he was such a football talent that he signed for Manchester United around the age of 10 or 11 and also held talks with Manchester City, but decided to concentrate on the league instead.