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Phil ‘Buzz’ Rothfield has clapped back at one Brisbane star who branded him a ‘sack of potatoes’ after the Broncos ended their 19-year wait for a premiership title.
Second row Jordan Riki was a tackle machine during the Queensland club’s 26-22 NRL Grand Final victory against Melbourne on Sunday night, but as the celebrations began, the 25-year-old quickly turned his attention to one of his side’s biggest critics this year.
As the players sat down on the centre of the pitch to enjoy a few cold beverages, Riki took to Instagram live to shed a light on the celebrations.
He turned to the camera and said to the stream: ‘Someone send me Buzz Rothfield's number, I’ll call him!
‘Someone send me Buzz’s number!’ he added, repeating the phrase multiple times before adding: ‘Sack of potatoes that fella, man.’
As the celebrations continued, Riki handed the camera over to star fullback Reece Walsh, who also had a message for Rothfield.
Brisbane star Jordan Riki shot a funny dig at Phil 'Buzz' Rothfield after the Broncos claimed their first premiership in 19 years
Rothfield (pictured) had been critical of the Broncos earlier this season, when they slumped to 11th in the ladder in June
‘Hello Buzz!’ Walsh said, before the clip cut off.
Rothfield, though, appeared to enjoy the banter from the Broncos stars, with the veteran footy journalist dishing a cheeky jibe back to Riki, adding that he was going to fly to Brisbane to sit down for an interview with the 25-year-old second-row next season.
The barbs from the triumphant Broncos stars appear to have come following Rothfield’s criticism of Michael Maguire and his side this season.
The footy journalist had claimed in June that Maguire was ‘feeling the pressure’ and that the Broncos were the ‘flops’ of the season, after they plummeted down the table to 11th place, following a mid-season blip in form.
While the Broncos squad appear to have kept their receipts, Buzz laughed at Riki’s sledge on Triple M NRL on Tuesday.
‘I liked it, apart from the fact he called me a sack of potatoes or whatever,’ the News Corp journalist said, laughing.
‘Hey you know what... I love banter. They’ve had a million drinks.
‘I doubted Madge’s coaching at a number of stages during the year. I looked like a genius at round 12 when they were 11th [in the ladder]. He did a great job and I’m paying the penalty for it now,’ he added.
But during Triple M NRL's broadcast on Tuesday, the reporter shot a barb back at Riki but said that there was no 'nastiness' behind the footy player's comments
However he took Riki's (righ) dig in his stride, stating that there was no 'nastiness' in the footy star's Instagram barb
‘You know what, I don’t think there’s any nastiness in it whatsoever.’
It was a great response from Rothfield, who then explained that he wanted to do an interview with Riki.
‘I’ve never met Jordan Riki... I wasn’t sure who it was when I first saw it,’ he said.
‘No drama. I like seeing them have a good time - they deserve it.
‘I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do next season. I’m going to fly to Brisbane and I’m going to sit down with Jordan Riki and say: “Here I am! You were looking for me...”’
Maguire has certainly copped plenty of criticism during his first season in charge at the Queensland club, not only from Rothfield, but from several other journalists too.
His colleague Paul Crawley claimed that Madge ‘had to change’ earlier in the year, adding he believed there was ‘unrest among the playing group’.
But after the Broncos boss guided his side to premiership glory on Sunday, he was questioned on what he thought about his players calling out their critics.
MIchael Maguire (right) has meanwhile spoken out on the criticisms he and his side have copped this season, stating: 'we're gonna have some fun with this'
‘We’re gonna have some fun with this,’ Maguire told SEN Breakfast.
‘Everyone has got an opinion, and people are paid for them.
‘It’s not the opinions I care about, it’s the people I'm fortunate to be with. They look at the past and come up with things, but we came up with something that the right people talk about.
‘The right people know what goes on to create what we did. They're the people you want to hang around so that’s why I stick with them.’
