Johnathan Thurston has been caught dropping an apparent F-bomb during the Kangaroos' historic acknowledgment to country before their World Cup opener against England.
The Kangaroos have been widely praised for delivering an iconic moment in Australian sport as they mixed a traditional welcome to country with an Indigenous Australian cultural presentation and an ode to the key values the team has come to represent under coach Mal Meninga.
But, Thurston had an unfortunate moment where he appeared to forget the words to the ode he was delivering during the live international broadcast of the Rugby League World Cup opening ceremony.
The team began its historic cultural performance by gathering into a circle with their arms around each other as captain Cameron Smith knelt down within the circle, hidden from the AAMI Park crowd and the English team - which had formed into a line on the other side of the half way line.
Smith then jumped up to his feet as his teammates took a knee around him before declaring: "We as kangaroos acknowledge and pay respect to our traditional owners".
