‘Bit of banter’: To’o stands by Instagram comments
Jasper Bruce |
Brian To’o has no regrets making lewd comments about teammates’ girlfriends on social media, remaining unsure why his remarks caused such outrage.
Senior Penrith officials asked To’o to explain himself following the Panthers’ awards night earlier this month, when the winger made several comments on Instagram photos posted by the club’s official account.
To’o called co-captain Nathan Cleary “The Fowler slayer” in reference to his partner, Matildas superstar Mary Fowler, alongside similar comments relating to the partners of teammates Matt Eisenhuth, Tom Jenkins and Scott Sorensen.
The 27-year-old, who has become known for his larrikin persona across the Panthers’ premiership dynasty, triggered widespread condemnation in week one of the NRL finals.
The Panthers impressed upon To’o in the aftermath that the comments were not a good look, with the State of Origin star telling the club he would be more careful in future.
But on Tuesday, To’o felt as long as his teammates were not offended, he had no case to answer.
“It was always a bit of fun and banter,” he said.
“I actually don’t know what the problem was unless I’m talking about your wives or anything like that.
“It was a bit of banter, all the boys already knew. I always check up on them and see if they’re all right. They were pretty sweet with it.”
The media backlash did little to sway one of Penrith’s most important and potent players, either.
“I was laughing about it. That’s pretty much it,” he said.
After an injury-hampered year, To’o enters Sunday’s preliminary final against Brisbane on the back of his best game of the NRL season.
He and fellow winger Paul Alamoti combined for 499 run metres, five tries, seven line breaks and two try assists in the Panthers’ 46-26 semi-final demolition of Canterbury.
With his yardage carries and try-scoring abilities, the nuggety Alamoti has played like a To’o clone since his recall from reserve grade just before finals.
But To’o says he’s the one learning from Alamoti.
“I actually want to be like Paul. If we can have more Paul Alamotis in our team then we’ll go a long way,” To’o said.
“‘Brandy’ (Alamoti) has been a massive part of our team and he inspires me to be a better player.
“It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster for him this year. ‘Brandy’ has done a lot of hard work to get himself back in the team so I’m really proud of him.”
AAP
