“Really happy for my little boy watching Daddy score two tries,” Horsburgh posted on Instagram as a caption to a doctored photo of him cradling a baby-sized Hunt.

Hunt and Horsburgh spent time together in the system at Canberra, and were teammates at Mt Pritchard in NSW Cup in 2018.

But on Wednesday, Hunt called Horsburgh’s behaviour in the match a “low act”.

He also channelled Ricky Stuart in his response, saying Horsburgh was a “weak-gutted dog”. Stuart made the reference about Penrith playmaker Jaeman Salmon last year.

Stuart was suspended for one match and fined $25,000 for the comment.

Asked on Wednesday if he thought it was poor form from Horsburgh, Hunt said: “Definitely. As Ricky Stuart would say, he’s a weak-gutted dog. We’ll get him next game.”

Hunt said he was frustrated that the jumper punch proved crucial. Horsburgh scored immediately after the altercation and Canberra crossed again while he was off the field in the 24-20 win.

“I was a bit upset we lost,” Hunt said. “I got sent for 10 and put the boys under pressure. I was upset at myself for getting sent for 10 and letting him get under my skin.”

Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon said both Horsburgh and Hunt were in the wrong.

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“You can’t just hold onto someone from the back of a scrum and push them over,” Fitzgibbon said.

“But you can’t do what Royce did. It should have been picked up by someone before Royce retaliated, Royce shouldn’t have retaliated like that. Especially not while we were defending our goal line.”

With AAP

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