Gutsy Sharks so unlucky

July 18, 2009

The Cronulla Sharks put in a gutsy showing, but in the end – poor decisions by officials probably cost the Sharks against a misfiring Manly Sea Eagles outfit.

In the end late points to Manly got them home 32-26, but it was a 12 man Cronulla outfit that battled through thousands of back to back sets while skipper Trent Barrett was in the sin-bin that won accolades from spectators.

Manly were again without Chris Bailey at pivot and it showed, they lacked direction at times and continued to run across field without any luck.

Both sides were able to score points on the back of errors and the first half was a try fest as both the Sharks and Sea Eagles went toe to toe, goal kicking the only difference.

It was an usually attack happy Cronulla side early on, they took their chances and were smart in their decision making; they were choosing the right time to kick or run and it was paying dividends.

Manly too made the most of their limited chances in the first term, only some poor conversion misses from close range by Matt Orford were hindering them.

But in the second half, the game turned into a slug fest as the scores were locked at 22 all.

With just under 20 minutes to go, a try saving tackle from Trent Barrett cut down a tearaway Anthony Watmough who looked certain to score; but in his haste to rise and play the ball – Watmough split the pill and referee Steve Lyons immediately sent Barrett off for 10 minutes claiming interference.

But on closer inspection, it was either a dropped ball or possibly a Luke Covell interference – the poor decision almost certainly proving too much for the Sharks.

To their credit, the home side defended for almost 7 consecutive sets of 6. They were forcing Manly into frustration and when Manly’s David Williams took out Sharks winger Ferguson without the ball it looked like the Sharks were finally set to get some relief.

But again, the decision went the wrong way – somehow the officials ruling that it was a knock-on from Ferguson despite replays showing the Wolfman blatantly taking out the Sharks rookie.

The Sharks rallied again, soon after getting Barrett back on deck and yet again they looked like they might have setup a major escape.

Manly continued to spread the ball from edge to edge, but dangerous centre Jamie Lyon coughed it up on an early tackle and the Sharks got their chance to obtain some field position.

But after so much impressive defence, the home side threw a forward pass that ultimately broke their backs. Young fullback Stapleton forcing the pass and putting his team on the defensive again.

The defending NRL Premiers wouldn’t miss this time, big Tony Williams scoring in the corner after Matt Orford worked up a nice 2 on 1 play.

Ricky Stuart and his team again unable to get home in a match they probably deserved to win.

For coach Des Hasler, he would be relieved to get over the line. Manly mightn’t be quite at their best, but they are still winning matches and the finals are still over 8 weeks away.



Written by NRL News · Filed Under NRL Results 

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