Zac Lomax claims his post-try celebration that riled Tyson Frizell was just a joke between mates and he was surprised by the rough reaction he received from the Newcastle forward.
Lomax was involved in one of the more bizarre scenes in St George Illawarra's win over the Knights on Sunday, jumping on former teammate Frizell after the Dragons scored a crucial try.
It came just after Frizell had fumbled a Ben Hunt kick, allowing the Dragons to regain the lead midway through the second half.
A former Dragons star, Frizell reacted angrily by grabbing Lomax by the jersey and rag-dolling him to the ground, slamming the Dragons centre into the turf.
David Klemmer also gave Lomax a serve after the match, visibly angry with him after the siren.
But Lomax insisted there was no ill feeling between himself and Frizell, and his celebration had been in good fun.
"I am good mates with Friz," Lomax said.
"You have seen how vital he is to the team so I just tried to get him off his game as much as possible.
"It was a bit of friendly banter. It's all fun and games."
The incident has also hit Lomax in the hip pocket, with the NRL judiciary issuing him with a grade one contrary conduct charge on Monday.
Lomax is facing a $1000 fine with an early guilty plea or a $1500 fine if he contests the charge and is found guilty.
It's not the first time a player has been fined for bringing an opposition player into a try celebration after Penrith centre Stephen Crichton received a grade one contrary conduct last year for an incident involving Canberra's Joseph Tapine.
Dragons coach Anthony Griffin said he would speak to Lomax about the matter, admitting it was not at all needed.
Regardless, it was Lomax who had the last laugh when he nailed a 25-metre field goal to win the match with two minutes to play after earlier coming up with a vital one-on-one steal.
"It was definitely the win we needed," Lomax said.
"We get belief out of that and wanting to play for each other. We were lacking that, a bit of belief in each other (previously)."
Dragons prop Francis Molo is also facing a fine after being charged with a grade one careless high tackle on Newcastle's Jacob Saifiti in the first half of Sunday's game.
