VIDEO: IT has emerged that the Sydney Roosters were out to get Sharks joker Beau Ryan on Monday night over his Sonny Bill Williams gags.

While the post-match controversy has focused on Paul Gallen and Brian Smith, Sharks winger Beau Ryan went into the game with a target on his head.

Some Roosters players felt The Footy Show prankster had crossed the line with his weekly impersonations of Sonny Bill Williams and wanted revenge.

Coincidentally, Ryan was whacked hard early and sat-out the second 40 minutes with concussion.

Twice Williams conceded penalties to get at Ryan, with a wild shoulder charge just six minutes in and by roughing him up on the ground after 15 minutes.

Ryan was then left groggy after being smashed in a strong tackle from Michael Jennings and James Maloney after about 25 minutes.

And after Monday night’s spiteful encounter - both on the field and Twittersphere - Gallen is no longer a Tri-colours sympathiser.

His father’s remarkable spray at former Roosters coach Smith - the man who thought Gallen was too short to play NRL at Parramatta more than a decade ago - headlines a hatred between the two teams that could explode should they meet again in next month’s finals.



Watch the video of Beau Ryan's antics and the hit above

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media_camera Sonny Bill Williams puts a hit on Beau Ryan, and (top right) Ryan pokes fun at the Roosters star.

The biggest on-field flash point came near half-time when Roosters rookie Dylan Napa squared-up Gallen with a seismic shot.

Asked about the hit at the break on Triple M radio, Gallen replied: “I ran at him (Napa) three times and he got me once, so I’m up!"

That remark triggered a proactive tweet from Smith: “He ran at him once and got smashed next two times he ran away from him to avoid further embarrassment."

Moments later, Smith then replied to a tweet mentioning peptides - the banned substance Sharks players have been accused of taking in 2011.

And it’s not the first time he’s weighed into the drugs debate.

In early February, Smith wrote an online article recalling an unnamed player who had morphed into a superstar after being told to try elsewhere.

"A pretty fair player who fitted the ‘before’ photo in a bodybuilding mag left my club as we did not think he would get ‘the rig necessary to cut it in the NRL’," Smith wrote.

"To our surprise, he bobbed up at another club just a couple of seasons later looking like the ‘after’ photo!

"He has absolutely carved it and is now one of the top line in our sport. Did he cheat to get there? I have no proof.

"Perhaps the latest big investigation will uncover the validity of these types of accusations or innuendos to clear that player or condemn those who have taken the short cut."

Later on Monday night, Gallen’s father Garry used his son’s Twitter account to fire back at Smith with a series of barbs about his coaching record.

Gallen then opened-up on his feelings about Smith during an interview with Sky Sports Radio on Tuesday.

"I won’t be going back and forth with Brian Smith to give his life any significance," Gallen said.

"He can have his time in the sun for the next 24 hours and that’s about all he’s good for. I won’t be getting involved with him anymore.

"Obviously he didn’t like me at Parramatta when I was a kid. I had a meeting with him about 2003-04 to go back there and (since then) I’ve had nothing to do with him."

Gallen also exchanged heated words with Roosters opposite Frank Paul-Nu’uasala late in the game, with Williams appearing by his team mate’s side.

A confrontation between Gallen and Williams would be a marketers dream, given controversial agent Khoder Nasser has started drawing-up long term plans for a super fight between the pair.

Nasser - who manages Williams - has been in touch with Gallen about a post-career move into boxing.

Originally published as Beau knows how to stir up Sonny