NRL fans in stitches at ‘cheeky’ junior for proposal joke with Izack Tago

One of the juniors presenting the NRL premiership rings to the Penrith players has won over footy fans around the country for a cheeky act on the dais.

The youngster who presented Izack Tago’s ring had a little joke ready for the Panthers No.4, getting down on one knee as if to propose to him with the ring.

Tago shook his hand and gave over the token premiership ball, only to be met with a joke marriage proposal.

The Panthers star took the ring with a laugh on his face as cameras cut away from the hilarious moment.

Fans watching at home loved it.

“How about the kid proposing to Tago haha,” one said.

“Brilliant! What a character!” another said.

“Gold .. cheeky as,” a third added.

“That’s gotta be stitch up surely,” a fourth laughed.

Tago and his teammates made history on Sunday night, sealing their place in history as the greatest team in the past 60 years to by claiming their fourth straight premiership with a 14-6 triumph over Melbourne.

In a drama-filled grand final that included a biting allegation and bunker controversy, Penrith pulled away late in front of a crowd of 80,156 people at Accor Stadium.

The win makes them only the third team in history to claim four straight premierships, and the first since the great St George side won 11 in a row from 1956 to 1966.

It came as the result threatened to be overshadowed late by claims Melbourne star Cameron Munster had bitten Paul Alamoti’s arm in the second half.

Munster denied the claim, but was put on report by referee Ashley Klein, who said he could not be certain what had happened.

Still, the story from the night was Penrith’s fourth straight title.

Second-rower Liam Martin played close to the best game of his career for Penrith, claiming his maiden Clive Churchill Medal for player of the match.

Nathan Cleary was superb again despite appearing to struggle with his shoulder injury late on, while Brian To’o was powerful in yardage before suffering a knee injury.

Jarome Luai also had a fitting final ride in the Penrith No.6 jersey, playing a hand in the lead up to two tries in his last game before departing for Wests Tigers.

Melbourne desperately missed the suspended Nelson Asofa-Solomona in the middle, while their all-star spine lacked chances with Penrith’s territorial dominance.

But they will also feel unlucky after a crucial bunker call in the 50th minute, when Jack Howarth appeared to go over and make it 10-10 with a kick to come.

Klein initially ruled that Dylan Edwards and Izack Tago had held Howarth up, before the bunker backed the call despite replays appearing to show the ball was grounded.

The 10-6 scoreline remained for another 10 minutes, before Martin gave Penrith a crucial eight-point advantage.

Chasing through on a Cleary bomb, he leapt to challenge Xavier Coates for the ball, claimed possession, then gave the ball off for Moses Leota to put Alamoti over.

The Panthers then repelled five straight sets from the Storm on their own line, in what proved to be decisive plays on their way to another grand final win.

“No-one is going to do this again,” a triumphant Luai said after the siren.

“I can’t put it into words. History doesn’t matter. We are soaking up this moment.

“Just to win one grand final is so special. This group of guys, no-one works harder than these boys and we got what we deserved.”

- With AAP