Canterbury five-eighth Josh Reynolds says an incident in which he grabbed Canberra playmaker Aidan Sezer’s backside during Monday night’s NRL clash was merely a joke.

Reynolds escaped a charge from the match review committee for reaching between the legs of Sezer as he attempted to feed a scrum at Belmore Oval.

But it didn’t save him from the ire of those on social media, with some comparing it to John Hopoate’s infamous foul-play finger incident of 2001.

However, Reynolds took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to play down the moment.

“Just want to clear up the incident with Aiden (sic) Sezer last night,” he tweeted.

“We’re good mates and it was just a bit of a joke. I hope no harm done.”

Reynolds and Sezer played together in the under-20s and lower grades at the Bulldogs in 2010 and 2011, before Sezer eventually moved to the Gold Coast.

The incident has largely been laughed off by the NRL community, including South Sydney’s Tom Burgess.

“It’s all part of the game,” Burgess said. “It’s a bit of a joke.

“He just got caught out didn’t he – just don’t get caught.”

Raiders captain Jarrod Croker also hinted that the club weren’t concerned about the bizarre first-half moment, and said he wasn’t aware of it until the end of the match.

“I don’t know what’s going on there,” he told Sky Sports Radio’s Big Sports Breakfast.

“Whether they played a bit too much junior footy together and they missed each other or what the go was, but that was a bit of a laugh as well.”

Bulldogs legend Steve Mortimer also indicated he didn’t believe Reynolds should be sanctioned by the club for the matter.

“I don’t think so,” he told 2UE.

“I guess it’s going to be up to both the coach and the CEO.

“He is a wonderful bloke, he’s got a good attitude and he obviously knew Aidan Sezer.”