Leeds Rhinos V Manly Sea Eagles Game day thread

[ManlyBacker]

Well I hope the brains trust on here have connections with the bookies and we blow out to 13's for the Premiership. Rhinos showed a lot of guts after being hammered by us almost the whole game. Disappointing finish and we could have pressured for a win but failed. Too many silly penalties by our forwards (but Rhinos copped a heap as well so no excuses) but I saw enough to say that the bookie's odds are way in our favour this year and we could all clean up come September. I am expecting a big year.

 

[Oneyeagle]

It was great to see the boys running around on the park playing footy. No injuries and a good tough hit out. Looking forward to the NRL start. Would have been nice to collect the winning bucks but as they say... thats Rugby league

 

[Ryan]

My take on the game

Leeds were the better team and deserved the win. Looked to me that there were 2 different interpretations of the ruck between the NRL and superleague teams - leeds reminded me of how the NRL was in 07 3 seconds to get off the player after the call of held, set line almost every ruck. That is simply because they play in 2 different competitions. Ground itself in unique compared to anything in the nrl, sandy/nuddy patches, thin grass and a very different bounce.

Thought Klein lost control in the middle of the second - threatened the bin then didnt follow through 5 minutes later with another penatly for the same offence. In a normal club game im pretty sure that the swinging arm would have got 10 in the bin too.

We were underdone fitness wise and timing wise but showed glimpses of getting back to 11 form. Soon as we stopped leeds setting their line we raced up the field in no time, they looked shot in defence without it fully set and up and cutting down our time. Certainly would be a very differnt game from our boys in 10 weeks time when fit. Didnt look to me like we were overly desperate to win, think we were there to enjoy it, the reward for winning the GF since the Des saga took away a lot of the fun. This is a good thing in that we are likely to be more motivated and hungrier to win this year so we get to celebrate properly.

Great post Fluffy. Plus 1, sir.

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Well I hope the brains trust on here have connections with the bookies and we blow out to 13's for the Premiership. Rhinos showed a lot of guts after being hammered by us almost the whole game. Disappointing finish and we could have pressured for a win but failed. Too many silly penalties by our forwards (but Rhinos copped a heap as well so no excuses) but I saw enough to say that the bookie's odds are way in our favour this year and we could all clean up come September. I am expecting a big year.

Again, don't know if this is bias, but I considered maybe 30% of the penalties against us unwarranted, and catch up penalties.

 

[WAMF]

From the DT
"Manly crushed by mighty Rhinos in World Club Challenge at Headingly"
MANLY'S 2012 title defence has suffered another blow with the NRL premiers going down to Leeds in this morning's World Club Challenge at Headingly.

The Sea Eagles were outmuscled by their UK counterparts 26-12.

The Super League champions scored five tries to two in front of a full house of more than 21,000 on a typically cool evening in Leeds.

Despite fielding an almost full-strength side, the Sea Eagles failed to match the aggression of Leeds.

It’s the first loss in four years by an Australian team competing in the World Club challenge.

The Sea Eagles start their campaign against the Warriors at Eden Park on March 4.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/manly-crushed-by-mighty-rhinos-in-world-club-challenge-at-headingly/story-e6freuy9-1226274413024

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Wow, our title defence has apparently suffered another blow!!!

 

[tayls]

Well DT - In the last 4yrs that Aussie teams that have won a WCC, how many have gone on to win the GF the same year? Manly are specials 2012!

 

[Blake]

1. This loss didn't cost us 2 premiership points.
2. No serious injuries. Ask an Eels fan how they are feeling today. Hayne and Mannah with potential knee injuries.
3. Trials are meaningless in the grand plan. Penrith are undefeated in their trials, do you think that will equate to premiership success come October.
4. Our young guys have had a taste of international football. They could use this as motivation to come back next year, or even try for a spot on their national team.
5. Grow up people. These forums are open for all to see. Do you really want opposition fans coming on here and laughing at how much petty bickering we have amongst our own fans over a trial game?
6. It's a sunny Saturday in Sydney for once. Now that you're awake and full of excitement, go out and enjoy yourselves!

 

[Ron E. Gibbs]

We had enough ball to win the game in that second half but good defence and poor attack from us meant we couldn't cross the line. And then we let Leeds off the hook with some soft penalties. That Brent Webb "knock back" didn't help either. But Leeds played hard and so did we and the result was fair enough.
We got through it unscathed, which is good, and now we know just how hard we're going to have to work if we want to win games this season.

 

[Shoe1]

Yes fluffy, each time manly got roll on with 3 good rucks, Leeds would concede a penalty, then sinfield would chat to the ref for a bit giving his team time to re-set. Very professionally done by mr sinfield! And hopeless Klein let him keep talking every time! All in all though a good hitout by king and wolf coming back. Manly looked good for much of the second half, with a few rusty bits like matai shepherd. We'll take more from that game Than any trial. Disappointing to lose, but a good spectacle with the rain, crowd etc.

 

[Cameron]

This made me laugh

“@BulldogRitchie: There were that many forward passes in the WCC I thought Eli Manning was playing for Leeds!”

 

[Berkeley_Eagle]

Buhrer seriously needs more than 20minutes of game time

 

[Nicola Eagle]

I thought most of the boys played well considering they have only played 20 mins of league for 5 months. I am proud of their efforts. Pity about the leagues club though lol.

What was the leagues club like?

 

[mickqld]

Buhrer seriously needs more than 20minutes of game time

I agree was disappointing to not see enough of Buhrer and when he did come on he looked dangerous. He's got to get at least 40 minutes a game this year because he's got loads of potential but needs game time to show it. Did anyone else think Gifty and George looked like they had enjoyed the off season a bit too much.

 

[niccipops]

Only saw the second half. I'm in QLD and forgot about daylight saving.
I thought the boys did quite well considering the overall circumstances of this match and the leeds 'non-knock on' was a massive turning point.
Well done to leeds. A Manly win would've been nice but the performance was certainly no disaster.
Some Manly supporters need to pull thier heads in regarding reactions to early year performances. Instead of whinging and bagging out individual performances looking for the positives and improvement solutions would be much more productive on this forum.

 

[Brookie4eva]

My take on it, we had a few silly mistakes but generally played well, and considering the lack of preperation/game time I am feeling alright about the coming year of footy.

The refereeing was terrible and one-sided, missed forward passes, and poor penalties.

As others have said last year after round 1 many thought the sky was falling, but we then went on the greatness.

I think we all need to just sit back and relax, be happy there were no injuries, and then see how we are loooking after a few rounds.

 

[dowdz]

I thought most of the boys played well considering they have only played 20 mins of league for 5 months. I am proud of their efforts. Pity about the leagues club though lol.

What was the leagues club like?

Goos atmosphere, just really poor organization. The tv blacked out and we missed our 1st try. No volume. One food outlet trying to get out food with heaps of people. Opted for a pie late morning which was cold no refund.

 

[Nicola Eagle]

That's a shame. It was a good concept. Maybe they didnt expect such a good turn out? How many people were there?

I thought most of the boys played well considering they have only played 20 mins of league for 5 months. I am proud of their efforts. Pity about the leagues club though lol.

What was the leagues club like?

Goos atmosphere, just really poor organization. The tv blacked out and we missed our 1st try. No volume. One food outlet trying to get out food with heaps of people. Opted for a pie late morning which was cold no refund.

 

[ALinda]

Buhrer seriously needs more than 20minutes of game time

I agree was disappointing to not see enough of Buhrer and when he did come on he looked dangerous. He's got to get at least 40 minutes a game this year because he's got loads of potential but needs game time to show it. Did anyone else think Gifty and George looked like they had enjoyed the off season a bit too much.

Yes I noticed that myself about Gifty and George.

Wholeheartedly agree about Buhrer. I found it extremely frustrating waiting for him to come on and thinking 'here we go again'. Feel sorry for Jamie. Mind you, also feel sorry for Joe and Whare - all 3 players may have made the difference.

Yes we were a bit underdone in terms of intensity fitness but think the result could have been quite different if played more on a level playing field, like at some stage in or near OUR season proper, or on OUR home soil, instead of theirs.

Can't complain about the effort and at least it will keep any complacency in check. Bring on NRL 2012 & Go Manly.

 

[Pittwater Legend]

The Fox Sports telecast is just wrapping up. I am livid.

Ashley Klein you can stay in England.

 

[Daddycool]

We had enough chances to win that game in that 2nd half but couldn't get the winning try. Sure they got some rough calls but you get those particularly in away venues where the crowd is screaming.

All up it was a good hit out and if we can keep most of the squad fit they're in for a good season. The thing about winning this game and coming home in a high is it can take away from the focus of the real competition. Therefore the upside is there were no injuries and the boys seemed to bond well during the trip. They didn't get the result but in the overall scheme of things, it matters for little.

 

[downunder]

When we won this game in 2009 we were also very rusty, had little game time preparation, our opposition were fitter than us and our fitness level was down.

But the fact is we won that game in 2009 under the same conditions as today.Our star players are even more experienced and better today than they were 3 years ago, so what happened?

Des Hasler and his staff are no longer with us, that is the difference!!

Des Hasler and his staff made these players who they are, it is not the players that made Des Hasler but it is Des that made the players.

We have lost the one thing that made us great and are not getting that back so we are not going to be a force any longer and that makes me mad.

Why did we let our whole coaching staff that made us who we are, including the players, just walk away without a fight???