ABC grandstand interviews

[Matabele]

Covell is also the poster boy for mediocrity in the NRL.  He must be one of the most staggeringly average players and last year he was top point scorer.  No wonder crowds are dipping, particularly in the Shire.

 

[willstyles]

The worst out of the lot was the whine by Covell, I thought he was going to burst into tears.

Mate, he has every reason to whinge. His team was dudded in ways I haven't seen Manly dudded in years - possibly ever. I've never been less satisfied with a victory.... The Sharks put in probably the bravest effort I've seen from a team this season and had the game snatched from them with 90 seconds to go after some pretty questionable penalties.

The send off was as soft as you will ever, EVER see in rugby league. I thought it was good that he spoke honestly and frankly. Gallop wouldn't dare fine him or Stuart for criticising the refs this week, because the backlash would be enormous from the punters.

 

[Fro]

How can Orford describe last week's win as \"great\"?  It was ragged at best.

Orford probably describes his own kicking game as "outstanding" though.

 

[missing_something]

[quote author=Matabele link=topic=181511.msg238973#msg238973 date=1251625147]
How can Orford describe last week's win as \"great\"?  It was ragged at best.

Orford probably describes his own kicking game as "outstanding" though.


[/quote]

Garden Gnome Syndrome

 

[Tassie Wild Girl]

Covell cries crocodile tears.  If the clown had gone for the tries rather than the penalties in the first half they may, repeat may, have been up by more than ten and we would have lost.  When a team on top goes for the two points rather than chance their arm for a try reeks of loserism.  Covell is a greedy prick who wants his name in the record book rather than see his team win.  The guys a pathetic loser. 

I have watched on the sidelines of this forum for a while, and seen nothing but the usual one eyed crap....

The fact of the game is that we played against a bottom of the table team that was down a man, for whatever reason, for almost 60 minutes, and we struggled!

If that player had not been sent off, we would have got our butts kicked severely. It might have made the bunnies result look respectable for the lizards.

Wake up, take off those rose coloured glasses and look at the crap that was dealt out at Brookie today. My first attendance at the hill at Brookie was back before most of you were born, and I have never seen such a pathetic performance in all that time.

I love the eagles, but if that is what we are heading into the finals with, then we deserve everything we get from here on in. As things stand, the most likely first game is against the scum in Melbourne, and we had better be playing something that is at least close to rugby league by then, because today, we would have lost the tiddlywinks comp if the refs had not miraculously given the game to us.

The guppies have every right to complain, they were ripped off. We complain loud and hard when it happens to us, and now the shoe is on the other foot, it is disgusting to see the crap here that suggests anything other than the fact that we snuck that one in, and were bloody lucky to do it.

Most tipsters suggested we would win by at least 30, no matter how you look at it, when you consider the fact that we played against a team with a player down, who have lost most matches this year, cannot pull anything together, and we luckily won by 2 points with a try off a penalty in the last couple of minutes...what drugs are you people on? I want some of those!

 

[zzz]

Every team has off days. This was one of those days, so I'm just thankful we walked away with the 2 points.  Cronulla had bad luck today but Manly have had plenty of that all year.

 

[ads]

I didn't think the send-off was that soft - he hit Bailey with a swinging arm that first contact was with chin/mouth region. His arm was always going in that high, Bailey was not falling nor stepping. Worst high tackle I've seen in a while - most high tackles are bumps off the shoulder or the ball, or around the throat accidently.

 

[DSM5]

Tassie Wild Child, sure we played poorly but my point stands.  Covell should have played on rather than kick his penalties.  They weren't playing to get into the eight, they were on top and he kicks penalties to get them ten in front?  Pathetic leadership.  And on the send-off.  I was on the ten metre line and Bailey was hit high, with what I saw with a swinging arm.  The guy was knocked out.  Anyway you look at it, that was a sendoff.  Too many times blatantly illegal play is tolerated with just a report.  Send the grubs off.  Cronulla were given lots of lifts up after that event, as usually happens.  The gummies have no cause for complaint.  They lost that game through their own poor decisions.  We played badly we all acknowledge.  Look on other threads for those acknowledgments.  No rose coloured glasses on this site.     

 

[Matabele]

I have watched on the sidelines of this forum for a while, and seen nothing but the usual one eyed crap....

The fact of the game is that we played against a bottom of the table team that was down a man, for whatever reason, for almost 60 minutes, and we struggled!

If that player had not been sent off, we would have got our butts kicked severely. It might have made the bunnies result look respectable for the lizards.

Wake up, take off those rose coloured glasses and look at the crap that was dealt out at Brookie today. My first attendance at the hill at Brookie was back before most of you were born, and I have never seen such a pathetic performance in all that time.

I love the eagles, but if that is what we are heading into the finals with, then we deserve everything we get from here on in. As things stand, the most likely first game is against the scum in Melbourne, and we had better be playing something that is at least close to rugby league by then, because today, we would have lost the tiddlywinks comp if the refs had not miraculously given the game to us.

The guppies have every right to complain, they were ripped off. We complain loud and hard when it happens to us, and now the shoe is on the other foot, it is disgusting to see the crap here that suggests anything other than the fact that we snuck that one in, and were bloody lucky to do it.

Most tipsters suggested we would win by at least 30, no matter how you look at it, when you consider the fact that we played against a team with a player down, who have lost most matches this year, cannot pull anything together, and we luckily won by 2 points with a try off a penalty in the last couple of minutes...what drugs are you people on? I want some of those!

I very much agree with these sentiments.  The only thing I'd take issue with is the seeming presumption that we will beat the Titans to secure a trip to Melbourne (or perhaps even a home final against the Storm).  

I really can't see us beating the Titans on the slop served up over the past 6 weeks (not just yesterday).  It's not a matter of turning around one week of bad form, it's about completely re-wiring what seems to be a very poor attitude that has been entrenched nearly all year.  

 

[Matabele]

DSM5 you must be the only person in Australia that thought Douglas should be sent off when viewed on the basis of consistency through the season.  Far worse incidents than that happen each week and merely go on report (think of Trent Barrett in the SOO2 game for the most obvious example).  Cronulla have every right to be aggrieved at the inconsistency.

Covell is mediocrity personified and he is a whinger, but he did have material to work with yesterday.

 

[DSM5]

Relax Matas.  We'll beat the Tits.  All we need is a season ending injury to Orford through the week, and the half from the U20s to slot in.  I may be the only person in Australia who thinks the send off was reasonable, and I didn't base it on consistency, besides the ref, but that doesn't make me wrong.......only isolated.  The guy had his hand fisted, was swinging it and the end result was Bailey concussed and out of the game.  My view is the putting on report is a joke and the player who commits the foul spends as much time off the field as the receipient of his foulness. 

 

[ManlyBacker]

Forget how we played, just enjoy another Sticky whinge and look forward to the demise of an embarrassment to the game. This year he has excelled himself. It was all the fault of the players that let the club down was his last major tanty a few weeks ago. Then there was his disgraceful display as national coach. How about the fact that he didn’t want Kimmorley and Goodwin who are now tearing it up for the Dogs. Phil Gould got it right: “To be honest Ricky, you are the most pig-headed and ungrateful person I’ve met in football. I discontinued my association with you four years ago because I could no longer tolerate your petulance.” There's the door....

 

[Canteen Worker]

The send off is an interesting point. Bailey was koed and did not return. With the injury to King, it left Manly down to 15 players and with Kite going off as well, for a while our only interchange player was Le Snak. At one stage Ballin came on as a Second Rower. 

Maybe in the case of an opposition player being knocked out illegally, they should get a couple of interchanges taken away, or some other way of penalising them on the day, short of a send off.

 

[ManlyBacker]

Cronulla coach Ricky Stuart called on the NRL to apologise to his shattered team for what he described as a "weak and incompetent" decision to send off front-rower Luke Douglas.

"The decision was completely and utterly incompetent. I cannot recall such a weak send-off," Stuart said.

"It would be nice for officials from the league not to toe the company line and to call my players and apologise.

"The poor example that decision set cannot be overlooked," Stuart said.

"I can pre-empt now that the league will come out tomorrow (Monday) and say that I'm wrong.

"I just hope that the refs and (NRL referees' coach) Robert Finch have KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) because I don't think they are achieving their KPIs. I'm sad for the players -- they don't deserve that."

 

[ManlyBacker]

Ha ha ha ha ha - Sticky gets what he wants. They should also get Zappia back as their CEO.

From the Australian:

NRL referees coach Robert Finch has conceded Sharks prop Luke Douglas didn't deserve to be sent off at Brookvale Oval yesterday despite the forward being charged with a careless high tackle.

Finch said that the consistency of rulings by referees this year should have seen the matter placed on report and a penalty awarded on-field.

“It was a harsh decision in the circumstances and you can understand the Sharks being upset,” Finch said.

“Having reviewed all the vision and audio, it is clear that the video referee, Phil Cooley, suggested the matter certainly deserved being put on report and that the referee made his own decision from there in terms of the send-off, which he is entitled to do.

“I respect the fact that Phil Haines is prepared to make decisions but we also have to accept when they are wrong.

“He’s a good referee who will learn from the experience and this won’t have any impact on future decisions by other referees.

 

[Dan]

the record books wont remember how we won, only that we won.

We played crap, but we won. You can only play the hand you are dealt, and well when the final siren sounded, we played our hand to an advantage.

The one that had me was at the very end,

Covell complaining to the ref that Orford took too long to take his kick!. He had 90 seconds and he took 80...its in the rules cock head!

 

[The Wheel]

Well we have lost games we should have won this year so I suppose it all comes out in the wash.