Rather than savour the sight of Brisbane teammates fighting at training, North Queensland prop James Tamou admits it is not a good sign for the Cowboys ahead of Friday night's NRL semi-final in Townsville.
NRL finals tensions sensationally boiled over on Tuesday when Test prop Josh McGuire and Broncos squad member Salesi Funaki came to blows at training at Red Hill in full view of a stunned media contingent.
Some rivals would see it as a chink in the Broncos armoury ahead of a sudden death final but Tamou reckoned it was a show of force before the NRL grand final re-match.
"I think that shows the passion they have," Tamou said.
"In a league team it is a dog eat dog world. You are striving for a position.
"But I think coming into the finals it may be just passion - they can't wait to play."
The incident was sparked by an overzealous tackle from McGuire on reserve grader Funaki.
McGuire had to be dragged away by teammates while other second-string Broncos, including Herman Ese'ese, tried to calm Funaki down.
Brisbane hooker Andrew McCullough claimed the players - and the club - had moved on from the incident.
"It was very hot and a pretty intense session. It was two young forwards going at it, things got a bit heated but nothing major," he told Fox Sports TV.
"It was blown out of proportion - the boys have moved on.
"Those two guys were not going to back down but that is good for the club."
The Broncos will fly to Townsville after their final training session of the week on Thursday.
