"That's just footy."
There was plenty of controversy in Friday night's match between the Brisbane Broncos and South Sydney Rabbitohs, but Josh McGuire was quick to pour cold water on suggestions of ill feeling between the two clubs.
Brisbane may have won the match 30-8, but it was a number of fiery encounters between the two sides that stole the show.
Rabbitohs enforcer Sam Burgess was warned twice for unnecessary conduct, with the second occurrence involving a hit on a defenceless Joe Ofahengaue that sparked an all-in fracas.
Not long after, Brisbane forwards Joe Ofahengaue and Adam Blair both ended up on report, with Blair's late shot on Souths halfback Adam Reynolds resulting in a suspected broken jaw for the 25-year-old.
McGuire said the incidents were just an example of the amount of passion both teams players have when they put on their respective jerseys.
"It was a physical game where both forward packs wanted to push forward and get their hold on the game," McGuire said.
"It was all played in good spirit. At the end of the day it's just football.
"There's a lot of testosterone going around out there, it's part and parcel of the game. It's in the spare of the moment. I enjoy it and it was a good game.
"It was physical and that's the type of game I like to play. If you're playing in the middle you come to expect that because it's just part of the game."
Burgess's hit on Ofahengaue has divided opinion, with some saying it was a fair shot and others saying it was against the spirit of the game.
Ofahengaue dived on a loose ball and had not been touched before Burgess came in with a swinging arm that collected the 20-year-old in the ribs.
Referee Jared Maxwell penalised Burgess for unnecessary contact, but the 27-year-old lock forward argued that he had done nothing wrong.
McGuire didn't have a problem with Burgess's actions, instead suggesting that the England international was just trying to inspire his team.
"Burgess is the leader in their team. He had great line speed and I thought he played very well tonight," he said.
"Sam's a very tough competitor, but we face off against great forwards every week, every team has at least one and this week was no different.
"The Rabbitohs were just unlucky. We had a lot of opportunities to score points and our backs really took their chances when we needed them to."
