Representative hooker Michael Ennis, tipped to officially finalise a new deal next week tying him to Canterbury until 2014, believes he has become an easy target when things blow up on the field.

The father of three has strongly refuted claims he crossed the line in sledging respected Parramatta forward Nathan Hindmarsh last week.

Hindmarsh, who uncharacteristically reacted but later declined to publicly reveal what Ennis said, retaliated by labelling the 27 year-old NSW Origin hooker a "grub".

"It was absolute rubbish what people have tossed up about it being about his family," Ennis told AAP on Friday.

"I have family of my own. I'm a father of three and I would never go down that road."

Ennis said it was not nice being called a grub, especially by someone as prominent as Hindmarsh.

"Nathan is entitled to his opinion, especially with the stats he's got in the game," said Ennis.

"His opinion is pretty well respected too, so that was pretty disappointing."

Ennis made no apologies for being a fierce competitor but admitted he was a little surprised by his former NSW teammate's comments after a fiery and spiteful clash with Parramatta in which four players were sin-binned.

"I've certainly respected Nathan Hindmarsh as a footballer and as a person from the first time I stepped out with him in Origin and that hasn't changed," he said.

"All I said to him was if he wanted to throw one (punch), he could, that was basically it."

Ennis felt some people had "run amok" with his sledging antics.

"The minute anything happens on the field, I'm the first one to cop the brunt of it," he said.

"I put my hand up and say I compete hard, that's the way I play.

"But I'm a rugby league fan as well as a player.

"I've got enormous respect for guys in our game that hold repertoires like the Hindmarshs, Lockyers and the Civonicevas."

He said for anyone to question his respect for those players was "ridiculous" and to be regularly singled out for sledging unfair.

"Rugby league is a man's sport, it's a brutal game," he told AAP.

"It's men out their competing and when I get on the field I do what I have to do for the team to win."

After recent speculation Ennis would return to Newcastle to be coached by Wayne Bennett, the Bulldogs are expected to formally announce his re-signing next week to a long term deal.

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