Tuesday 5 April 2016 10:56, UK
Canterbury Bulldogs playmaker Josh Reynolds has attempted to play down his 'bottom-grabbing' actions during his side's 22-8 home defeat to the Canberra Raiders on Monday.
Television footage showed Reynolds grabbing the bottom of Raiders' Aidan Sezer as he fed a scrum during the NRL match.
Australian media heavily criticised Reynolds' stunt and compared it to a 2001 incident involving John Hopoate, who was found guilty of inserting his finger into the anuses of three opposition players and banned for 12 weeks.
However, Reynolds insisted on Tuesday that it was just a joke between friends.
"Just want to clear up the incident with Aiden Sezer last night. We're good mates and it was just a bit of a joke. I hope no harm done," he wrote on Twitter.
Monday's match was also tainted by a fan being ejected from the ground for throwing a glass bottle towards the Raiders players sitting near the field of play.
The bottle did not hit any of the players and instead smashed on an exercise bike. The man was ejected from the ground and the Bulldogs condemned his actions.
"It's not acceptable, absolutely not acceptable," said Bulldogs chief executive Raelene Castle.
"We'll be doing all we can to make sure that we communicate with our fans that that behaviour is not acceptable.
"I can only assume that person has snuck it in. We believe we know who the person is."
