Wests Tigers centre Joey Leilua has hit out at former NRL player Michael Ennis, claiming the Fox League commentator was dishing out criticism laced with double standards after an ill-tempered incident during Sunday's loss to the Canberra Raiders.
Ennis hit out at the controversial 29-year-old for his reaction to a late hit on his younger brother Luciano, with Leilua running in to remonstrate with Hudson Young as tempers threatened to boil over.
According to Ennis, from that moment on the blockbusting centre lost focus and became a liability as the Tigers lost their grip of the game.
"Young got one on (Luciano) early and Joey came over pointing the finger and from that moment he then came up with that play where he clipped James Tamou — who had to leave the field," Ennis told Fox League.
"He came up with some really under-pressure passes, one for James Roberts — that was never on — and defensively George Williams sliced through him and another one when Bailey Simonsson picked up a kick from George Williams which ended up being Hudson Young's try. There was very minimal effort to get back."
Having clearly heard the comments made by Ennis, Leilua hit back this morning, taking to social media to point out that the focus of criticism should have been on Young's hit, rather than the reaction to it.
"So that's play on?? Bruh wonder what would happen if it was me that ran in with a closed first, forearm and clip someone in the head!! #Ennisstoptalkingsh-- and baldy stop holding his pocket," Leilua's tweet said.
The 29-year-old's Instagram story screenshotted the tweet and tagged the NRL asking, "let us know if that's okay??"
"Seems like 'it's not what you know it's who you know'".
Leilua has a history of losing focus and getting involved in off the ball incidents over the course of his career and has admitted that this season is a big one for him after underperforming in his first season on a big money deal at the Tigers last year.
Most recently, the Tigers centre was slammed by voices across the NRL for a "dog shot" on Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards, which resulted in a four-match suspension last season.
Leilua hit Edwards with a high swinging arm off the ball, sparking a scuffle and earning a sin-bin, which led to scorching criticism led by Fox League commentator Warren Smith.
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