For the first time since that infamous State of Origin concussed sledge, Selwyn Cobbo will confront Jerome Luai in the opening NRL round of the 2023 season.
The Brisbane fullback has already come out on a rugby league podcast and called the Penrith five-eighth a "grub" in the days leading into their clash on Friday night.
The controversy stems from a spiteful third game of the 2022 series when Queensland teammates Cobbo and Pat Carrigan collided in a tackle after just two minutes of play.
Trainers spent minutes on the ground concerned over the Wakka Wakka man's head, neck and spine until a precautionary neck brace was fitted for the medicab ride to the sidelines of Suncorp Stadium.
But it was the reaction from a leering Luai, who stood over a knocked-out Cobbo that caused a stir last July.
The Blues playmaker bellowed out to his motionless opponent in an unsporting act of gamesmanship.
"I don't know why (Luai) did that," Cobbo told the Back of the 135 podcast.
"He's just a grub.
"It was pretty disappointing. It was in Brissie, so all my family was there, too. Two minutes in, I get knocked out."
Luai, for his part, had since stated after the Origin decider that Queensland won 2-1 to clinch the series that he was not aware that Cobbo was out cold and had spoken to the first-year Origin rookie after the final siren.
The 20-year-old, who may have been suffering from the ill affects of concussion, has no recollection of the conversation.
Cobbo repeated his grub claims in the podcast that should add a spark when the pair cross paths in front of a hostile Penrith crowd.
"I was pretty upset in the sheds when the doctor said I couldn't go back on," he said of missing the remainder of his last Maroons appearance.
"Luai is a grub."
It is not the first time during the offseason that Cobbo's words have raised eyebrows.
Cobbo remarked on the same podcast that Broncos coach Kevin Walters was a "good bloke but not the best coach".
The favourite son of the Aboriginal community of Cherbourg infamously labelled his Broncos boss Kevin Walters as "a good bloke but not the best coach" and that skipper Adam Reynolds was coaching the team on the field.
