Accused of taking a dive in Friday night's controversial NRL thriller, South Sydney hooker Issac Luke says the spray he copped from North Queensland was nothing compared to the dressing down he received from his own mother after the 26-24 win.

At the post-match press conference, Cowboys coach Neil Henry and captain Johnathan Thurston didn't mince words about Luke's reaction to being hit high in golden point extra time, but on the drive home it was mother Sharron who cut the deepest.

"Yeah she said, 'I didn't know you were Russell Crowe's nephew,'" Luke said of being bluntly compared to the Rabbitohs' actor owner, despite nursing a bloodied jaw he initially thought was broken.

Luke said claims by the Cowboys, and his own flesh and blood, that he took a dive were wrong, as he was genuinely stung by James Segeyaro's accidental contact over the top.

However the Kiwi international commendably conceded he might have attempted to get to his feet if the match, and the Rabbitohs' season, wasn't on the line in golden point.

Despite being injured, Luke admitted he stayed down longer than usual at the encouragement of teammates, who could sense they were about to be handed a dramatic win.

"I didn't want to lay down there but a few of the boys were saying stay down but I'm not a big fan of laying down anyway," said an honest Luke at Souths' recovery session on Saturday.

"It was a bit staged that one. My mum and I watched that after and I looked at my mum and I put my head down, and she was just laughing her head off.

"I thought I'd broken my jaw. I'm not a big fan of laying down anyway but I couldn't eat last night. I had to drink soup, my white mouth guard was red with blood. I was going to eat breakfast with my kids but I had to drink."

In the definitive moment of the match, Luke lay motionless on the ground after being accidentally struck by the Cowboys' replacement hooker.

The pause in play allowed video referee Sean Hampstead to view the incident, and he sent the message down that Segeyaro should go on report, meaning a penalty kick was gifted to Souths from right in front, 30 metres out - keeping their season alive.

On the field, a furious Thurston yelled at the referee that the tackle was nothing more than a "f***ing love tap" and Henry described the incident as no worse than numerous other tackles in the course of a match.

Segeyaro, left shattered by conceding the penalty which cost his team the chance to cement a top-four spot, entered Souths' sheds after the match to talk to Luke.

"He blew up at the time but then after I just told him: `You know I wouldn't just stay down there for nothing,'" he said.

"He came and asked while we were in the showers, 'did I get you a good one?' And I said 'yeah.'"

Nathan Merritt (quad) is unlikely to play next week, but John Sutton (hand) is a better chance of taking on Brisbane.

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