ManlyBacker
Winging it
MANLY coach Geoff Toovey has detailed the frustration that led to him boiling over in the coach's box during the second half of last Sunday's 40-24 win over Parramatta.
Video of a bug-eyed Toovey screaming into the microphone to an assistant at ground level has provided television with a great highlight of how it can be just as tough in the coach's box as it is on the field - and this was a coach whose team was winning easily.
The problem for the Sea Eagles was that after blitzing the Eels to lead 34-0 at half-time at Brookvale Oval they lost intensity and were outscored 24-6 in the second half.
Asked if he had seen the vision on TV, Toovey offered a wry smile and said: ''No, I haven't seen it myself. It was towards the end of the game, and in the last 10 minutes it was like we were playing touch football. Blokes were offloading all over the place, and throwing it willy-nilly.
''We played some really great football to get to where we were at half-time, and the coaching staff were frustrated at the way things went as the second half wore on. The players were frustrated as well after the game.''
Toovey said he had addressed the situation with the players and moved on to preparing for Saturday night's game against Newcastle at Hunter Stadium.
''This sort of thing is going to happen from time to time,'' he said. ''And when it's in the process of happening, it's often hard to change the attitude midstream. The concern is that you might be involved in a close contest and something like that happens. You have to be totally prepared to avoid that.
''It was a game we won comfortably. We did more than enough to win, but we let ourselves down a little bit in the second half and we've talked about that. The players are well aware of where it went wrong, and we're concentrating on the Newcastle game now.
''I think the players at every club are aware of how close this competition is. If you lose a couple of games you can be out of the top eight, and if you win a couple you can be up in the top four or even the top two. You have to produce your top performance every week if you want to stay up near the top.''
After the game against the Knights, Manly will play Canterbury at Brookvale tomorrow week. That game will see Bulldogs and former Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler return to ''Brookie'' for the first time since leaving the club at the end of last season. Asked if there was any risk of the players thinking ahead to that game, Toovey replied: ''No. Newcastle on the road are a big enough challenge to worry about - that's always a difficult trip. We're very professional in terms of concentrating on one game at a time.''
Meanwhile, Parramatta hooker Matt Keating is out for the rest of the season after it was determined that he needs surgery on his lower back to repair a bulging disc.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/toovey-works-overtime-to-ensure-manly-dont-clock-off-again-20120711-21we1.html#ixzz20LtI7KWs
Video of a bug-eyed Toovey screaming into the microphone to an assistant at ground level has provided television with a great highlight of how it can be just as tough in the coach's box as it is on the field - and this was a coach whose team was winning easily.
The problem for the Sea Eagles was that after blitzing the Eels to lead 34-0 at half-time at Brookvale Oval they lost intensity and were outscored 24-6 in the second half.
Asked if he had seen the vision on TV, Toovey offered a wry smile and said: ''No, I haven't seen it myself. It was towards the end of the game, and in the last 10 minutes it was like we were playing touch football. Blokes were offloading all over the place, and throwing it willy-nilly.
''We played some really great football to get to where we were at half-time, and the coaching staff were frustrated at the way things went as the second half wore on. The players were frustrated as well after the game.''
Toovey said he had addressed the situation with the players and moved on to preparing for Saturday night's game against Newcastle at Hunter Stadium.
''This sort of thing is going to happen from time to time,'' he said. ''And when it's in the process of happening, it's often hard to change the attitude midstream. The concern is that you might be involved in a close contest and something like that happens. You have to be totally prepared to avoid that.
''It was a game we won comfortably. We did more than enough to win, but we let ourselves down a little bit in the second half and we've talked about that. The players are well aware of where it went wrong, and we're concentrating on the Newcastle game now.
''I think the players at every club are aware of how close this competition is. If you lose a couple of games you can be out of the top eight, and if you win a couple you can be up in the top four or even the top two. You have to produce your top performance every week if you want to stay up near the top.''
After the game against the Knights, Manly will play Canterbury at Brookvale tomorrow week. That game will see Bulldogs and former Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler return to ''Brookie'' for the first time since leaving the club at the end of last season. Asked if there was any risk of the players thinking ahead to that game, Toovey replied: ''No. Newcastle on the road are a big enough challenge to worry about - that's always a difficult trip. We're very professional in terms of concentrating on one game at a time.''
Meanwhile, Parramatta hooker Matt Keating is out for the rest of the season after it was determined that he needs surgery on his lower back to repair a bulging disc.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/toovey-works-overtime-to-ensure-manly-dont-clock-off-again-20120711-21we1.html#ixzz20LtI7KWs
