NRL: Duelling pair may miss Origin clash

Fans look set to be denied one of the NRL's most bitter rivalries on rugby league's biggest stage with duelling fullbacks Jarryd Hayne and Billy Slater facing being banned for the second State of Origin clash.

A simmering feud which had been bubbling along all night finally exploded just after the hour mark at Parramatta Stadium on Friday night when Hayne appeared to headbutt Slater in Parramatta's 24-10 win over Melbourne.

Hayne was put on report for the "Liverpool kiss", and while the force would have struggled to bruise a grape, there is little doubt he will have a case to answer at the NRL judiciary on Wednesday night.

Slater will most probably find himself alongside Hayne at NRL headquarters after his retaliatory elbow to the head of Hayne sparked a brawl minutes later.

While teammates in the Australian side, Hayne is forced to play second fiddle for the fullback jersey they both covet, despite the Eels ace appearing to usurp Slater's standing as the most dynamic player in the game when he scooped the player of the year awards during a stellar 2009 campaign.

The pair were set for their first Origin showdown as rival No 1s in Brisbane on June 16, with Hayne seemingly assured of being moved off the wing for a NSW side desperate to avoid a fifth straight series win.

Now, neither is likely to be there at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday week, with Storm captain Cameron Smith admitting the battle had been brewing for much of the match.

"They were sort of at each other all night. They compete for the No 1 jersey, they play big matches against each other in Origin and obviously this one tonight - that's the way footy is sometimes," Smith said.

"They've got a pretty good rivalry going. It's good to have that sort of stuff out on the field, it's good for the fans and I'm sure it was a pretty entertaining match for the crowd."

It was almost a pity only 7572 fans were on hand for the grand final rematch, though the Eels faithful made sure the Storm knew of their anger at being robbed of last year's premiership by a Melbourne side which had been assembled illegally.

Coach Craig Bellamy and Slater seemed to cop the brunt of the fans' angst, Smith fuelling the rivalry between the two sides after the match when he taunted the Eels fans for their lack of support.

"It was talked about all week in the media how they were going to come here and abuse us - we were a little bit disappointed there was only seven and a half (thousand) here - we were expecting a fairly big crowd," Smith said.

"They were into us when we ran out and it continued all match and obviously their team got upon the scoreboard so that made them a bit more vocal."

While Slater and Hayne are in doubt for Origin II, Smith said the elbow injury which kept him out of Origin I had come through the game unscathed.

"It was a good night to test it out - they've got some big forwards," Smith said. "I tackled Fui (Fuifui Moimoi) a couple of times, Nathan Cayless a couple of times."

- AAP