Clive Churchill should have gone to Stephen Crichton

[Kevinward777]

I thought Cleary was a clear winner. The MOM doesn't always have to come down to a dramatic play. Cleary won because his kicking game was like death by a thousand cuts.

We saw what the bunnies could do when they had good field position. The reason they lost is because Cleary kept them down the other end and constantly put pressure on them. He effectively took away South's greatest weapon - their left side attack in the opposition 20.

He may well be a media darling but he deserved the award in my book.

Agreed. Take away Cleary's kicking game and Souths win in a canter. He had them coming off their goal line all night. Easily MOM in my opinion.

 

[Snake]

Agree but I also think his kicking game was massively helped by their kick chase and they were man handling the poor young Bunnies fullback so their sets were always starting on the back foot.
To'o was enormous, especially in the first half and is probably my man of the match.
Api was awesome in defence.
Kikau was good in defence also and pressured their kickers All day.
Yeo was solid and in everything as usual.
Crichton was great also.

Of course the chase was excellent but the kick has to go in the right place first for the chase to be of any use...drop the ball 30m instead of 3m and it’s a huge disadvantage. It’s a team sport so of course there were a host of other players that impacted on the result but in the pressure cooker of a grand final, the guy with the most important touches in the game, came up with some really cool stuff under pressure.

I think @pjayz said it best; death by a thousand cuts and that’s truly what it was like. Just relentless pressure...

 

[eaglebuzz]

Honestly apart from the intercept try and maybe 3 or 4 runs Crichton was very quiet. Cleary's kicking was massive for them and made him the obvious choice for CC. If you were to give it to the player who had the most impact on attack I would have gone for Burton over Crichton anyway.

 

[Snake]

Why do we hate cleary? He is kinda one of us so I don’t dislike him. I see him as a manly connection, seeing I went to beacon hill high with Ivan and his brother. Ivan is one of bozo’s babes we should have kept, and both him and Nathan should be in the manly fold today.

It’s fine to hate Penrith though.

What Ivan did to West’s Tigers is some of the lowest stuff I can ever think of in RL. Then you’ve got his son who looks suspiciously like someone who has taken growth hormones...he is smug...lied about breaking lockdown last year twice! More than anything though, I think it’s the way he carries on with To’o, Luai, Burton and co. It’s nauseating. They have an orgy every time a try is scored. He is a great footballer though...

 

[court83]

I had $10 on Cleary at 3.50
And 10 on yeo @ $12

Knew it would be either of those, and after the game thought Yeo for sure, it was a slog thru the middle kinda game and didn't think any backs from either side did enough to win it...
Could make an argument for Burton as he scored a try and his kick chase to put old mate into touch was pretty special tho

 

[Ranga]

His kicking game was great, but he missed 9 tackles (Api 15!!) including the one on Walker. That’s why I wouldn’t have given him the CC Medal.

I thought the energy Kikau and Martin had in defence was exceptional, and Yeo was of the highest quality generally. I’d love Martin at Manly….

 

[Snake]

His kicking game was great, but he missed 9 tackles (Api 15!!) including the one on Walker. That’s why I wouldn’t have given him the CC Medal.

I thought the energy Kikau and Martin had in defence was exceptional, and Yeo was of the highest quality generally. I’d love Martin at Manly….

Yeah Martin is fantastic. One of Kikau’s better games defensively too.

Cleary was playing with a busted shoulder which accounts of his missed tackles...he is usually really strong in defence; not a weakness for him at all. People are talking about his miss on Cody...do we take Tom’s MOM from Origin 1 off him for his missed tackle on Capewell, or do we appreciate that you can make an error and still be best on ground?

His kicking game was easily the biggest attribute to Penrith winning. All the forwards played off the back of the momentum it created.

I really dislike Cleary but I think his % footy is the most valuable commodity in rl today...more so than a Turbo highlights reel. Cleary’s kicking game wins premierships...Tommy’s highlights excite more but can’t carry a team over the line in a big game like a great tactical kicking game can.

 

[mosto]

Cleary put on a kicking masterclass, absolutely faultless. Crichton was the play of the game and will be replayed over and over, but Cleary was a deserved MOM.

 

[Ranga]

Yeah Martin is fantastic. One of Kikau’s better games defensively too.

Cleary was playing with a busted shoulder which accounts of his missed tackles...he is usually really strong in defence; not a weakness for him at all. People are talking about his miss on Cody...do we take Tom’s MOM from Origin 1 off him for his missed tackle on Capewell, or do we appreciate that you can make an error and still be best on ground?

His kicking game was easily the biggest attribute to Penrith winning. All the forwards played off the back of the momentum it created.

I really dislike Cleary but I think his % footy is the most valuable commodity in rl today...more so than a Turbo highlights reel. Cleary’s kicking game wins premierships...Tommy’s highlights excite more but can’t carry a team over the line in a big game like a great tactical kicking game can.

I guess I saw it a bit differently. I actually like his as a player, so my perspective is not one from a position of prejudice, it’s more that he missed a number of tackles (including the one of Walker) and wasn’t all that effective in attack against a fairly average Souths defence (as we showed when we held onto the pill). So I would have given him an 8/10 max, but Yeo, Martin and Kikau were better in my view - each an 8.5 out of 10.

Perhaps I am just struggling with the concept that a CC medal can be won off a long range kicking game and not a whole lot more. That, and I just saw repeat efforts from the guys I mentioned above that were incredible.

 

[The better Robbo]

Honestly apart from the intercept try and maybe 3 or 4 runs Crichton was very quiet. Cleary's kicking was massive for them and made him the obvious choice for CC. If you were to give it to the player who had the most impact on attack I would have gone for Burton over Crichton anyway.

He did have 17 runs for over 200m so harsh to say he was quiet.

 

[The better Robbo]

Of course the chase was excellent but the kick has to go in the right place first for the chase to be of any use...drop the ball 30m instead of 3m and it’s a huge disadvantage. It’s a team sport so of course there were a host of other players that impacted on the result but in the pressure cooker of a grand final, the guy with the most important touches in the game, came up with some really cool stuff under pressure.

I think @pjayz said it best; death by a thousand cuts and that’s truly what it was like. Just relentless pressure...

Of course the chase was excellent but the kick has to go in the right place first for the chase to be of any use...drop the ball 30m instead of 3m and it’s a huge disadvantage. It’s a team sport so of course there were a host of other players that impacted on the result but in the pressure cooker of a grand final, the guy with the most important touches in the game, came up with some really cool stuff under pressure.

I think @pjayz said it best; death by a thousand cuts and that’s truly what it was like. Just relentless pressure...

I'll just add that Panthers did dominate field position for the whole game. Panthers only had TWO kicks from inside their own 40m in the whole game and one of them was in the 79th minute so its a lot easier to have a strong kicking game when you are putting up attacking kicks all game.
FOUR of the five repeat sets also came from Bunnies dropping the ball, Bunnies only had a 45% kick defusal, that's partly because of Cleary but bunnies also had 2 extremely young and inexperienced players at the back. Cleary still has to put it on the spot but his team dominated field position and had an awesome kick chase all day. I think Cleary was solid but it was his team mates that made him look good.

 

[fLIP]

I thought there were plenty ahead of Cleary - Toooo, Burton, Kikau, Yeo, Api, etc

There is nothing going for Cleary except for his kicks. Hes is hands down the best kicker in the game and thats about it. Cant tackle, cant run a play. They got home with other people chasing accurate kicks and applying the pressure. Outside that he did nothing but get stomped on.

 

[MissKate]

Why do we hate cleary? He is kinda one of us so I don’t dislike him. I see him as a manly connection, seeing I went to beacon hill high with Ivan and his brother. Ivan is one of bozo’s babes we should have kept, and both him and Nathan should be in the manly fold today.

It’s fine to hate Penrith though.

Personally I think Ivan is a pretty low human being for the way he quit the tigers. No fan of the tigers but he should have handled that way better

 

[castle eagle]

in 2015 the media decided that as long as cowboys won thurston was to be the c.c. winner.
personally i think if it wasn't for granville brisbane would have won the game but because of the media b.s. there was no way anyone else would get it.
as for last night i think cleary's all round game, especially his kicking game, earned him the c.c. medal

 

[Remy]

That moment is now rugby league folklore. We will be seeing that intercept for decades.

 

[Disco]

There is nothing going for Cleary except for his kicks. Hes is hands down the best kicker in the game and thats about it. Cant tackle, cant run a play.

Yeah sorry but I cant disagree with this more. Cleary is a fantastic half, fantastic player and will be one of the dominate forces in this league the next 10 years.

With him, Turbo, Haas and Murray the foundations for the Blues are set

 

[Mataiforever]

I thought Cleary was a clear winner. The MOM doesn't always have to come down to a dramatic play. Cleary won because his kicking game was like death by a thousand cuts.

We saw what the bunnies could do when they had good field position. The reason they lost is because Cleary kept them down the other end and constantly put pressure on them. He effectively took away South's greatest weapon - their left side attack in the opposition 20.

He may well be a media darling but he deserved the award in my book.

Maybe the best in game kicking display i’ve seen in a big game

Because he didn’t score a great solo try or do something magical, and he is a favourite in the media, people always go “robbed!”. Simply because some people don’t see how valuable something finessed like a kicking game can be

 

[eaglebuzz]

He did have 17 runs for over 200m so harsh to say he was quiet.

A little misleading since one of those runs was for the try and he made about 50 metres on that.

I suppose I should correct myself and say I only remember him making 3 or 4 runs. A bunch of them must have been mid set stuff that didn't draw my attention.

 

[George Rose's Butcher]

I can’t stand Nathan Cleary but c’mon guys...his kicking game was the single most defining factor in their victory. The entire game rested on his ability to continually put the ball deep into Souths territory so his forwards could apply constant defensive pressure and win the yardage battle all night. He earned 5 repeat sets from pin point kicks that took gas out of Souths pack, making it even harder for the Rabbits to get any punch up the middle and speed around the ruck.

It was one of the finest kicking performances I’ve seen in all my years watching rl. Streaks ahead of anything anyone (outside of maybe Reynolds) could execute. On the biggest stage in the biggest moments, he landed pinpoint kicks. I actually think Daly should watch what he did and work on kicking long more effectively. DCE tries to find grass from inside our own half with these torpedo yardage kicks that land 30m out. Cleary doesn’t worry about finding grass, he just kicks it as high and long as he can, it lands 2-3m from opposition line and they start the set 10m as opposed to 40m at Manly.

Yeo was solid without being a standout.

Koroisau was really good and probably next best on field with Luai.

I know we all hate Cleary and I understand why; that chin is infuriating...but credit where credit is due...

Hahaha that "chin"

 

[HoldenV8]

Personally, I think Isaah Yeo or Matt Burton should have won.

Unfortunately, the Churchill in recent years has basically been given more to the star player rather than the player who was actually best on ground.

I know he kicked extremely well last night, but for all intents and purposes that is all Nathan Cleary did ... kicked. He had zero line breaks, zero line break assists, zero try assists, and to boot he had 9 missed tackles, including one where Cody Walker just palmed him off like he was nothing before running 25 metres to score.

For mine, last night was way too much like 2015 when Thurston won. It was that "feel good" moment with dad winning as coach and son winning as CCM winner and co-captain. But neither Thurston nor Nathan Cleary deserved to win the medal.