BULLDOGS star Ben Hannant was left deeply upset last night, with Canterbury insiders claiming the Mormon prop was the target of a religious slur from his Tigers opposite Bryce Gibbs.
The pair exchanged heated words immediately after the fulltime siren sounded on Canterbury's desperately needed albeit untidy 24-4 win at the SFS. They had to be separated by Bulldogs team manager Fred Ciraldo, and Gibbs raced-up the tunnel before any of the other 33 players even had left the field.
Hannant was too upset to reveal what was said, but Bulldogs staffers told The Daily Telegraph an insult was directed at Hannant's faith.
"We believe it was about Ben's religion and he's very upset," one Canterbury insider who declined to be named said.
"We also think it was happening in the scrums and during the game, not just at fulltime."
When asked about the incident, an emotional Hannant shook his head and replied: "I'll keep it to myself ... he [Gibbs] knows what he said. I don't want to comment on it."
Gibbs refused to comment, but his skipper Robbie Farah who finished the game with his left elbow on ice after a painful first-half blow acknowledged that heated words were exchanged.
"I saw Chris Heighington and Ben Hannant and one of their team managers ... he [Hannant] was running his mouth off," Farah said.
"I grabbed Heighno and got him out of it."
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