Canterbury captain Michael Ennis got a taste of his own medicine on Saturday night, but he still had the last laugh.
Ennis the Menace has made a career out of getting into the face of opponents and letting them know about their mistakes.
Last week he did it to the Australian captain Cameron Smith and was accused of disrespect.
In an extraordinary sequence of events in Canterbury’s thrilling one-point elimination final win over Manly, Ennis made a complete meal of trying to clean up a kick on his own line and gifted a try to Sea Eagles winger Cheyse Blair which evened up the scores with nine minutes remaining.
Justin Horo was on the ground next to Ennis and was the first to pat him on the head and exchange pleasantries.
Then James Hasson ran from a distance to shove Ennis and let him know what it feels like to be belittled on the field.
Canterbury forward Reni Maitua was sin-binned defending Ennis’s honour when he punched Hasson in retaliation.
But as league legend Peter Sterling observed in commentary, Ennis had no one to blame but himself.
If he hadn’t made such a habit of baiting opponents, Manly players wouldn’t have felt so compelled to rub salt into his wounds.
Maitua’s brain-snap was a by-product of Ennis’s weekly tactics.
When Trent Hodkinson put Canterbury ahead by one, Ennis was off the hook.
Then Daly Cherry-Evans sent the game into golden point and Ennis’s head went down again.
But with a minute and a half left in the first half of extra time, Hodkinson kicked a second field goal, and Ennis, the game’s greatest niggler, breathed his biggest sigh of relief.
“I thought I’d bombed it. I thought I’d bombed it,” said Ennis to Channel Nine post-match.
Asked about the niggle, Ennis feigned ignorance.
“I don’t even remember. Good game of footy though, good game of footy,” he said.
That it was, and the Bulldogs live to fight another day, but Ennis might have learned a lesson.
HarryT
Guest
Des Hasler uses Ennis to keep the public's attention away from his other players. You would have to say he has been successful. Justin Horo thought he was really smart rubbing Ennis' hair after Blair's try, but he looked pretty stupid when Ennis sold him a dummy and picked up 15 metres in the final play that set up the winning field goal. Karma is a bitch.
Ret
Guest
I don't recall Ennis being a niggle merchant in his Knights, Dragons and Broncos days. He was always quite skilful and I seem to remember him kicking goals. I think he crossed the line when he slapped Adam Reynolds in the face (unpunished), but while the rest of his crap is predictable, and not good for the game, it is harmless. When you play that way you have to be prepared to cop it in return. Ennis, to his credit, did cop it and Maitua was rightly binned.
McCow
Guest
He should team up well with gallen
The Barry
Guest
Do you mean no punch rule? Ennis has been playing first grade since 2003 a long time before the no punch rule came in. What does he actually do that's so grubby that no one else does?
up up cronulla
Guest
We arw happy to have him!
Silvertail
Guest
Anyone that thinks ennis is good for this game is kidding themselves , his antics are disgusting , as a result of the one punch rule the ennis ego has grown to what you see today , there's no class about the bloke and I don't care what he does off the field , it's on the field fans and children see his behaviour , his legacy will be one of a grub hand that down to Ya kids mick
Alex L
Roar Rookie
There's a degree of grubbiness and niggle in virtually every top player in the game (especially rakes -- Ennis, Smith, Luke, and Farah all have a fair portion of dirty play in their game).
Trenno
Guest
At least the Bulldogs will be rid of him next year. His constant grubbiness is a bad look for a family club like Canterbury. Reynolds should be cut as well. Defend him all you like but grubs like that dont deserve to win premierships. Corey Parker & Hodges for the Broncos are other examples that fall into the grub category, although they aren't making up for lack to talent like Ennis & Reynolds. Imagine how much better these players could be if the just shut their gobs and put the energy into their play.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
I don't think Sterling is bias against the Bulldogs so much as he dislikes Ennis, I could be remembering it wrong but I'm fairly sure he commented on the no try when Reynolds had the ball stripped that the ball went backwards (so regardless of if he lost it or if it was a strip, it wasn't an issue) while the others rabbited on about the strip/non-strip. Ennis had a good game, stuff up on the try line aside.
The Barry
Guest
Ennis had a great game last night. The difference is when Ennis gets patted on the head he doesn't let it put him off and he doesn't cry about it after the game. Sterling can get stuffed. He's so biased against the bulldogs it's not funny. He'll call against the dogs on every 50/50. Whenever another commentator says something good about them he'll slip in a little negative comment. He needs to take a position and stick to it. Horo's head pat was fine. Hasson doesn't have the right to come running in 20 metres and shove Ennis.