Russell Crowe slams Crown Casino boss over support for Bulldogs in NRL grand final against Rabbitohs

SOUTH Sydney owner Russell Crowe has posted a tweet calling the boss of his club’s major sponsor a “pelican” and saying he needs to start looking for a new job.

SOUTH Sydney owner Russell Crowe has posted a message on Twitter calling the boss of his club’s major sponsor a “pelican” and saying he needs to start looking for a new job.

The tweet at 6am this morning came after Crown Casinos boss Rowen Craigie spent the night before barracking for the Bulldogs as they lost 30-6 in the NRL grand final.

The Gladiator star tweeted: “Rowen Craigie needs to start looking for another job. You pelican.”

Rowen Craigie needs to start looking for another job . You pelican.

— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) October 5, 2014

In the Legends Room at ANZ Stadium last night Craigie was one of the few voices cheering for Canterbury.

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He told The Daily Telegraph’s business columnist Scott Rochfort before the game: “This is going to be a repeat of the Sydney Hawthorn upset. So we’re going to see two in two weeks.’’

That was in dramatic contrast to the enthusiasm he expressed in May when Crown announced it was going to pump $3 million into sponsoring the club.

Sam Burgess and Russell Crowe after the match.

In response to the tweet, that Crowe has now deleted, Mr Craigie said “I was barracking for Souths on the night and all of us at Crown are delighted about the grand final result. Comments I made before the match about a Canterbury upset were just a reference to a possible upset given Hawthorn’s victory over the Swan’s last week in the AFL.”

Russell Crowe has called the boss of Crown Casino Rowen Craigie a ‘pelican’.

Crown owner James Packer jumped on the chance to sponsor Souths in May when rival casino The Star decided not to renew its sponsorship deal at the end of the season.

At the time Craigie said: “Crown is “extremely excited about partnering with the Rabbitohs in 2014.”

Clearly when Gladiator star Crowe heard about Craigie’s support for Canterbury he was not happy and he fired off the tweet calling Craigie a pelican.

The insult “You Pelican” is seen as a gentle gee-up among mates. But when your boss, James Packer, is best mates with the man delivering the insult, Russell Crowe, it could be considered something to worry about.

Originally published as Russell Crowe slams Crown Casino boss over support for Bulldogs in NRL grand final against Rabbitohs