Fans slam Liam Martin for shocking NRL Grand Final act as they blast Panthers star for ‘pretty s*** behaviour’

NRL fans have lashed out at Liam Martin after Penrith’s second row appeared to celebrate in the face of Melbourne’s Jack Howarth after he crossed the try line to give the reigning premiers a 10-6 lead in the NRL at half-time Grand Final.

It was a tense start to the match, with both sides trading blows in the first twenty minutes of the match.

Storm got first blood when Harry Grant crashed through the Panthers’ defense to give them the lead, but Ivan Cleary’s side showed their class and fought their way back into the match with Sunia Turuva in the corner.

Nathan Cleary would then create space for Martin in the second row, who has been locked in a war of words with Storm’s Cameron Munster all week, to crash through and give the Panthers the lead. Cleary would kick the resulting conversion to give the Panthers a 10-6 lead at half-time, with emotions running high on the pitch.

Martin let out a huge roar after dodging several tackles to score, but was criticized by fans online after appearing to celebrate in Jack Howarth’s face.

Fans have lashed out at Liam Martin (right) online after he appeared to celebrate in front of Jack Howarth’s face

Howarth (left) was pulled out of position, allowing Martin to sneak through a gap in midfield and score Penrith’s second try

Martin appeared to shout and celebrate in front of Howarth as he walked back to the halfway line

But Martin was seen walking back to the halfway line and shouting at 21-year-old Howarth, who had failed to close a gap allowing the Penrith star to crash through.

“Gosh, that’s some pretty nasty behavior from the Krusty the Clown lookalike. You have the chance. Don’t act like ad*** after #NRLGF #Storm.”

Another wrote: ‘Liam Martin big sled at Howarth after letting the boy try that… that will hurt…’

But others went to X to praise Martin for what was an excellent first half. The second row showed his physical tackling ability and helped Penrith weather Melbourne’s attacks.

Paul Alamoti would score again in the second half, with Penrith holding on to Melbourne’s advance to secure their fourth consecutive premiership title, winning 14–6.

Some fans hit out at Martin after he appeared to shout in Jack Howarth’s face after scoring

Some fans praised Liam Martin for his performance during the match, claiming that ‘the man is an underpowered beast’

After the match, Martin was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for his outstanding performance throughout the match.

Speaking about the win, he told Channel Nine: “I don’t know if it’s just unspoken, I guess. That was tough, so tough, but we just kept coming together and it’s so special to be part of a group like that.”