Pre-Game Manly v Roosters [Finals Week 2, 2021]

[malroon]

Can anyone explain why the games couldn't be played Sat & Sun.???

 

[Dan]

Can anyone explain why the games couldn't be played Sat & Sun.???

Because the NRL wants to be able to ruin peoples entire weekend early on, rather than just the end of it

 

[johnperi01]

Just watched a replay of Roosters Titans; aside from butchering the end of the game, Roosters had most of the crucial decisions.
However, my take is they rely heavily on Tedesco and Radley for their points, and if we can show any resolve, the game should be in our hands. I can see why the bookies have us as heavy favourites, as we should bounce back, especially against lesser opponents, with one day less to recover from an energy sapping Townsville match.
Also Verrills, will be a big loss; you only need to see how we struggled without our first choice hooker, and he played the 80 and topped the tackle count, so will be very hard to replace at short notice.
Really hope we stand up and take this opportunity to have a chance at the GF.

 

[40 years an eagle]

Can anyone explain why the games couldn't be played Sat & Sun.???

and in the afternoon.

 

[jbb/james]

and in the afternoon.

our ability to go around sides has been helped by the many afternoon games we have had. finals all played at night and the grounds look skinnier as a result
we have also had quite a few games in the north north over the last month and the humidty isnt helping. i thought we looked a little overcooked before last weeks game due to the warm up

 

[John Nicholson]

and in the afternoon.

TV ratings!

 

[Sea Eagle 4 Life]

Can anyone explain why the games couldn't be played Sat & Sun.???

$

 

[davohan123]

our ability to go around sides has been helped by the many afternoon games we have had. finals all played at night and the grounds look skinnier as a result
we have also had quite a few games in the north north over the last month and the humidty isnt helping. i thought we looked a little overcooked before last weeks game due to the warm up

And you could see how much Townsville took out of us last week.

The cowboys game was more energy sapping than we thought the humidity was so high. And that is a major factor I see this weekend for easts.

When they played the titans it was hotter and more humid than our game, plus the fact that had to fly in and out on game day.

I am not saying this is match defining but as I have said before in the back half of both 1st and 2 seconds halfs I think this is where we have a major adavtanage over easts.

 

[Peter C]

Can anyone explain why the games couldn't be played Sat & Sun.???

It's all about TV ratings, especially Channel 9, as they see a Friday 8pm time slot far more valuable than a Saturday or Sunday time slot

 

[Fibro Eagle]

Can anyone explain why the games couldn't be played Sat & Sun.???

They could have played the other final game on Sunday but someone at HQ had better ideas and scheduled it for sat night then had to change to a 4 pm start cause it clashed with the AFL GF
So realistically that could have had two 3 pm kick-off on Sat & Sun
Afternoon Finals game now there is a great idea 🙄

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

They could have played the other final game on Sunday but someone at HQ had better ideas and scheduled it for sat night then had to change to a 4 pm start cause it clashed with the AFL GF
So realistically that could have had two 3 pm kick-off on Sat & Sun
Afternoon Finals game now there is a great idea 🙄

Agree a great idea , but never going to happen because of TV ratings and broadcasters influence.

 

[Eagle 1]

It's all about TV ratings, especially Channel 9, as they see a Friday 8pm time slot far more valuable than a Saturday or Sunday time slot

Personally I like Manly playing Friday nights at 7.50, my 2nd equal picks would be Sat 7.30 game, and Sundays 4pm.

 

[BOZO]

Because the NRL wants to be able to ruin peoples entire weekend early on, rather than just the end of it

Every weekend is a great weekend when Manly WIN feathered friend

 

[Cliffymagic]

Wish it was on in the Arvo.
Got to get up at 3am for work.
So Il record it and watch it in the morning with my breakfast and the fast forward button unfortunately.

 

[Pete the Eagle]

Manly will be better next week
They got punished by a very good side that was allowed to play the game they like and Manly contributed to it with their errors , Melb ended up playing with over 60% possession and a 9 -4 penalty count not many teams would beat Melb playing against those stats
The Roosters are no Melb
Manly had a few players playing their first pressure finals game against arguably the best team in the comp
They will be better for it and I think Manly will get the Roosters next week Des will get them back on track

Agree , i didn't think we would beat Storm but I'm pretty confident we will beat the chooks , they have loads out and must be getting very tired , the games they have won have been tuff hard grinds.
We just need, to as I've said before , control the ball , resets and penalty's , if we can get go forward , unlike last week , and fair share of the ball i think we last another week .

 

[Peter C]

They could have played the other final game on Sunday but someone at HQ had better ideas and scheduled it for sat night then had to change to a 4 pm start cause it clashed with the AFL GF
So realistically that could have had two 3 pm kick-off on Sat & Sun
Afternoon Finals game now there is a great idea 🙄

I think they want to give the semi finalists seven days between games, so if Penrith went on to play and win on Sunday, they would have to face Melbourne on a Saturday, that's why apart from the first week of the semi finals, there is no Sunday game until the GF

 

[Clint]

Chooks are cooked. Played their GF last week. They'll be happy getting to the 2nd week with their injury toll. They'll be planning Mad Monday shenanigans Saturday morning.

 

[Tragic Eagle]

We won't beat anybody without a high completion rate and minimal errors. We need possession and if we get 50% or more we should win.

 

[AlxFromNthNarra]

Manly have lost 6/7 of their last Finals games.

Lost 4/5 last games to the Rooters.

The Rooters team doesn't look bad on paper, i'm surprised the Titans took them as far as they did. They are well-drilled enough to put us away if we play careless, undisciplined tripe like what we threw at the Storm - that can turn into a quicksand scenario fast against any of the remaining teams.

Regardless of the result, the Rooters are already being considered as a team going down in folklore for having made it this far given their situation - Robinson will have them amped for an epic showing, with the promise of destiny in an all-time pre-game pep-talk. They will come out hard I guarantee it, they will look to dominate early, force us into the mistakes we have in us - the Rooters have shown this year they have a lot of mistakes in them too.

The only way to take the game is to weather their initial onslaught unruffled, stay composed even if they snag a couple, take the limited opportunities we have until their tanks are drained, and pounce. Then the floodgates will open in the championship minutes either side of Half-time. That is where the Storm punished us, that is what we must learn from them.

The response from the team this week has been what it needs to be - contrite, shame, ownership and accountability of a sub-par performance. No excuses, blame or denial. The big 'get over yourself' reality check - and the reason why that top-4 finish was so important with the 2nd chance it gives.

Better we got pumped in reality, as then there is no hiding the fact that we were outplayed. No illusion like a few weeks ago where we 'thought we played pretty well against them actually, just need to fix a few minor things.'

No. Not this time.

It wasn't a ref decision, a bad line call, a small lapse, the odd dropped ball or a fwd-pass call on a legit tap-on that lost us the game. We were smashed, players were shown up brutally, and we introspect on our failure and regroup, or we perish in a heap of our own trumped-up potential.

The finals restart for us on Friday.

Des has the mental ammunition and big-game strategic know-how to set their minds to task after the grounding performance of the previous week - and if he can, it will show we deserved our spot in the top-4 after all. If he can't get us up against this Rooters team - given our recent history against this club - then it simply wasn't to be, Des failed to ignite them, and I conclude that we simply overachieved. This isn't to say that we should win - far from it. It is more to point out that we have more than enough motivation to fuel a resurgent, statement performance this week.

Some modesty and humility needs to be par for course from here - there is a (realistic) perception we are on the weaker side of the draw, however complacency of that fact will be terminal - Rooters, Souths and Manly are all clubs with top-notch coaches and exceptionally high standards. Bennett/Robinson/Hasler is a more intimidating coach roster than Bellamy/Cleary/Arthur any day of the week - only Bellamy has any yardage, and Cleary was owned by Wayne this last week, less Latrell and an arguably weaker team-sheet.

For Manly, finishing the Cowboys in such style had the goldfish-esque NRL media frothing at what was a highly entertaining finish, sure. They reported as their pea-brains commanded, influenced by the adrenaline hit of a some magic highlights: A jump-knock-back beauty from Guac, a slick bomb-finish and point-scoring record effort from Garrick, the Turbo solo under-8s special and the length-of-field after-the-bell gem....... against a team already placing their drinks orders for Mad Monday. Fantastic to watch, and certainly not undermining our boys - but c'mon... it was a negligible opposition intensity level, you can't deny it.

And perhaps the boys believed the small-minded short-termism of NRL 'experts' of the ilk of Rothfield, Kent, Hooper, Soward and others...classic rookie error to fall prey to the musings of sycophants. Des simply must use that to level off their egotism, drag them back to a grounded position and drum some humility into the team.

Melbourne brought the much-needed reality check. Brutal as it was, we get that 2nd shot. And weirdly, had we won we against the 1st-placed team we would be waiting for the 2nd-placed team - just to get to the GF and likely face the 1st-placed team again, or the team in the form good enough to knock them off. Fate is indeed a twisted mistress.

Now we show if we have the character, patience and hunger to earn a win in the way Finals Footy demands, and make a true return to the '1 game at a time' simplicity. The entitlement complex needed to die last week, and hopefully it did - weaker side of the draw or not, we need to play this week as we currently sit: as the only team that got their asses kicked in week-1 of the finals.

 

[Eagle 1]

Manly have lost 6/7 of their last Finals games.

Lost 4/5 last games to the Rooters.

The Rooters team doesn't look bad on paper, i'm surprised the Titans took them as far as they did. They are well-drilled enough to put us away if we play careless, undisciplined tripe like what we threw at the Storm - that can turn into a quicksand scenario fast against any of the remaining teams.

Regardless of the result, the Rooters are already being considered as a team going down in folklore for having made it this far given their situation - Robinson will have them amped for an epic showing, with the promise of destiny in an all-time pre-game pep-talk. They will come out hard I guarantee it, they will look to dominate early, force us into the mistakes we have in us - the Rooters have shown this year they have a lot of mistakes in them too.

The only way to take the game is to weather their initial onslaught unruffled, stay composed even if they snag a couple, take the limited opportunities we have until their tanks are drained, and pounce. Then the floodgates will open in the championship minutes either side of Half-time. That is where the Storm punished us, that is what we must learn from them.

The response from the team this week has been what it needs to be - contrite, shame, ownership and accountability of a sub-par performance. No excuses, blame or denial. The big 'get over yourself' reality check - and the reason why that top-4 finish was so important with the 2nd chance it gives.

Better we got pumped in reality, as then there is no hiding the fact that we were outplayed. No illusion like a few weeks ago where we 'thought we played pretty well against them actually, just need to fix a few minor things.'

No. Not this time.

It wasn't a ref decision, a bad line call, a small lapse, the odd dropped ball or a fwd-pass call on a legit tap-on that lost us the game. We were smashed, players were shown up brutally, and we introspect on our failure and regroup, or we perish in a heap of our own trumped-up potential.

The finals restart for us on Friday.

Des has the mental ammunition and big-game strategic know-how to set their minds to task after the grounding performance of the previous week - and if he can, it will show we deserved our spot in the top-4 after all. If he can't get us up against this Rooters team - given our recent history against this club - then it simply wasn't to be, Des failed to ignite them, and I conclude that we simply overachieved. This isn't to say that we should win - far from it. It is more to point out that we have more than enough motivation to fuel a resurgent, statement performance this week.

Some modesty and humility needs to be par for course from here - there is a (realistic) perception we are on the weaker side of the draw, however complacency of that fact will be terminal - Rooters, Souths and Manly are all clubs with top-notch coaches and exceptionally high standards. Bennett/Robinson/Hasler is a more intimidating coach roster than Bellamy/Cleary/Arthur any day of the week - only Bellamy has any yardage, and Cleary was owned by Wayne this last week, less Latrell and an arguably weaker team-sheet.

For Manly, finishing the Cowboys in such style had the goldfish-esque NRL media frothing at what was a highly entertaining finish, sure. They reported as their pea-brains commanded, influenced by the adrenaline hit of a some magic highlights: A jump-knock-back beauty from Guac, a slick bomb-finish and point-scoring record effort from Garrick, the Turbo solo under-8s special and the length-of-field after-the-bell gem....... against a team already placing their drinks orders for Mad Monday. Fantastic to watch, and certainly not undermining our boys - but c'mon... it was a negligible opposition intensity level, you can't deny it.

And perhaps the boys believed the small-minded short-termism of NRL 'experts' of the ilk of Rothfield, Kent, Hooper, Soward and others...classic rookie error to fall prey to the musings of sycophants. Des simply must use that to level off their egotism, drag them back to a grounded position and drum some humility into the team.

Melbourne brought the much-needed reality check. Brutal as it was, we get that 2nd shot. And weirdly, had we won we against the 1st-placed team we would be waiting for the 2nd-placed team - just to get to the GF and likely face the 1st-placed team again, or the team in the form good enough to knock them off. Fate is indeed a twisted mistress.

Now we show if we have the character, patience and hunger to earn a win in the way Finals Footy demands, and make a true return to the '1 game at a time' simplicity. The entitlement complex needed to die last week, and hopefully it did - weaker side of the draw or not, we need to play this week as we currently sit: as the only team that got their asses kicked in week-1 of the finals.

Great assessment Alx, I really believe this is ours to lose. Losing there Hooker (suspended) who is like Friend a tackling machine will be a huge miss for them around the rucks. And their front rower, Taupeoko not the desert, you know who I mean, no excuses, we'll get the job done...carnnn Manly !!!