The Canberra Raiders are unhappy with comments Joe Tapine's wife made that were critical of how much game time coach Ricky Stuart gave her husband in the loss to South Sydney.
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While the Raiders weren't commenting on Sunday, it's believed they weren't impressed with the comments Kirsten Tapine made on social media.
She questioned why the Canberra lock only played 32 minutes, including a second stint that was just the final eight minutes of the game.
"You have an international player warming your bench for 50 minutes... Your interchanges are killing us," she posted to her Instagram story.
"Refs call count means jak (sic) when coaching decisions are [rubbish]."
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Tapine returned to the Green Machine 17 for the 34-20 defeat, after being dropped for the round-seven clash against North Queensland.
The 26-year-old made 90 run metres, made two tackle breaks, had one offload and made 27 tackles.
But it's believed there were question marks over some of his effort areas.
Not that Tapine's alone there.
He's part of a highly rated Green Machine forward pack that's underperforming at the moment and has been soundly beaten during their four-game losing streak.
State of Origin star Josh Papalii was rested for the Rabbitohs game to try and help him recover some form.
He's set to be recalled to face the Newcastle Knights in a massive game at Wagga Wagga on Saturday.
Sia Soliola also missed the Cowboys loss and only played nine minutes against the Rabbitohs - after being a late inclusion due to George Williams suffering a hamstring injury in the warm up.
As a pack, the Green Machine forwards have been soundly beaten in the run-metre count the past four weeks.
The Souths forwards out ran them by 269m on Thursday night, while the Raiders' engine room was also outmuscled against the Cowboys (100m), Parramatta (252m) and Penrith (201m).
But it's not just hit-ups Stuart's looking for, having put his team on notice after the loss to the Eels.
"There's individuals there that are leaning on others. Individuals there waiting for someone else to do it," Stuart said after the Parramatta game.
"Individuals there that are happy to put on an NRL jumper and thinking they're an NRL player."
Those comments don't apply to everyone, with Ryan Sutton one of the notable exceptions.
Sutton (108m) was one of only two Raiders to run for more than 100m against the Rabbitohs, along with Emre Guler (124m) the other.
Meanwhile, the Raiders were hoping Sebastian Kris's ankle injury might not be as bad as first thought, with more known Monday morning.
Similarly, Williams was a chance to play, while co-captains Josh Hodgson (calf) and Jarrod Croker (shoulder) could also be in the selection mix.
NRL ROUND NINE
Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Newcastle Knights at Wagga Wagga, 3pm.