Sydney Roosters officials lodged a complaint with the NRL ground manager on Thursday night after they spotted former Panthers player Josh Mansour giving unsolicited advice to Penrith players during the game.

Mansour was working at CommBank Stadium as a ground announcer, but dropped the microphone and shouted advice towards Panthers players including winger Tom Jenkins.

Under NRL rules, only trainers can pass on coaching messages during stoppages in play.

One NRL official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the Roosters had approached the ground manager about Mansour’s actions. The same official said Mansour was being “over-exuberant and encouraging” rather than tactical, and stopped when asked to do so.

Mansour, who spent nine seasons at the Panthers culminating in the 2020 grand final, said he had been playing it for laughs, though some members of the Roosters bench did not see the funny side. The NRL felt no need to take the matter further.

“It was no big deal, I actually thought it was comical when they asked me to stop,” Mansour said.

“It’s not like I was sitting there with some big tip sheet of information about the Roosters players. I was calling out stuff like any fan would.

“The reason the Roosters may have piped up when they did was because their side started to look like they were on the ropes. They thought I was giving them an edge. I thought it was hilarious. It was all fun.”

Jenkins was glad to have an experienced former winger like Mansour giving him feedback in real time.

“‘Sauce’ [Mansour] is funny, he’s such a competitor, he always has been, and you can obviously see he still is that [competitor]; I love him,” Jenkins said.

“They thought I was giving them an edge. I thought it was hilarious.”Josh Mansour

“He’s got a lot to tell me, he was a great winger. He was doing exactly what your teammates or trainers would do, and that’s tipping you up on little things, and seeing things you maybe don’t see.

“In saying that, the boys are good at communicating with each other, seeing what’s coming, and how they’re looking. It’s part of the game. [You welcome] any advantage you can get.”

Mansour had been impressed at how Jenkins had held his own against the aerial threat of Roosters opposite Mark Nawaqanitawase. “He knew when to contest, and backed off when he didn’t have the momentum when he had to catch,” Mansour said.

He also believed Nawaqanitawase “had the wheels starting to fall off late in the game”, which is why the Panthers attacked down that edge, and Jenkins came up with some crucial tackles.

The NRL was reviewing a number of contentious calls from the game, including the decision to force the Panthers to drop the ball out after five-eighth Daly Cherry-Evans appeared to have knocked the ball on in the in-goal. Referee Adam Gee asked bunker official Ashley Klein to review the matter more than once.

The12-6 victory saw the Roosters move to the top of the ladder, and raised further questions about Penrith’s ability to go all the way with co-captain Isaah sidelined due to a pectoral injury.

“We know there will be a narrative about us not being able to do it [without Yeo], but that was a high-quality game against the Roosters,” Jenkins said. “We’ve got full confidence we can still do it.

“‘Yeoy’ is such a good player, you’d love him on the field, but one player doesn’t make a team, and Lindsay [Smith] was unreal stepping into the lock role.”

The only injury concern for Penrith was Paul Alamoti [hamstring], who is unlikely to play against Melbourne on Thursday.