I personally couldn't care less about the anti Manly stuff in the media and the usual concocted outrage from the Manly haters.Our club has thrived on this rubbish for years.
What it has done though is taken the attention off the real issue for us and that is our strategy in these big games.It is great to revel in skivvy and fozs hardness(you've got to love it) but in a football sense it matters little if we lose our game plan.If Fridays game and last years Bulldogs clash haven't shown that we need a different approach I don't know what will.Look at the stats-when we played footy against the Bunnies we created numerous chances-the only way they could possibly have won that game given the stats is through our indiscipline.
We simply played dumb.Faoso and Bretts actions were stupid and Stevie must know he has little leeway anymore.He is a lynchpin of our side and he just has to calm down a little.Even though his hit in my view was legal if he misses by a few inches with that it will be 12 weeks and to put it bluntly that would be it for us as we have zero depth out wide.We just have to tone it down,not for any politically correct reason, but for the reason that it does not help us win footy games.
To be brutally honest once the biff started our play looked totally haphazard, dangerous definitely but not the sort of footy that will win a tough prelim final at the scums house which will probably be required to win a title.
And finally this game in the big picture is not really relevant.We showed that we can beat this mob when required.What is relevant is the fact that these needless likely suspensions and the injuries to Joe and King in my view will cost us valuable premiership points,.Next week should have been 2 premiership points but now I seriously doubt we will beat them in what is a a massive hoodoo game anyway. With Roosters and Storm after that it will make running first or second (which given the Storm huge home ground semi final advantage, will be required) a very tough task indeed.
Even if we get lucky at the judiciary this game should be a wake up call for us to be more clinical and we have the football nouse in our key positions to do it easily.
As TC said time to play a bit smarter boys.
What it has done though is taken the attention off the real issue for us and that is our strategy in these big games.It is great to revel in skivvy and fozs hardness(you've got to love it) but in a football sense it matters little if we lose our game plan.If Fridays game and last years Bulldogs clash haven't shown that we need a different approach I don't know what will.Look at the stats-when we played footy against the Bunnies we created numerous chances-the only way they could possibly have won that game given the stats is through our indiscipline.
We simply played dumb.Faoso and Bretts actions were stupid and Stevie must know he has little leeway anymore.He is a lynchpin of our side and he just has to calm down a little.Even though his hit in my view was legal if he misses by a few inches with that it will be 12 weeks and to put it bluntly that would be it for us as we have zero depth out wide.We just have to tone it down,not for any politically correct reason, but for the reason that it does not help us win footy games.
To be brutally honest once the biff started our play looked totally haphazard, dangerous definitely but not the sort of footy that will win a tough prelim final at the scums house which will probably be required to win a title.
And finally this game in the big picture is not really relevant.We showed that we can beat this mob when required.What is relevant is the fact that these needless likely suspensions and the injuries to Joe and King in my view will cost us valuable premiership points,.Next week should have been 2 premiership points but now I seriously doubt we will beat them in what is a a massive hoodoo game anyway. With Roosters and Storm after that it will make running first or second (which given the Storm huge home ground semi final advantage, will be required) a very tough task indeed.
Even if we get lucky at the judiciary this game should be a wake up call for us to be more clinical and we have the football nouse in our key positions to do it easily.
As TC said time to play a bit smarter boys.