Played at the wonderful Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford, a city that loves their rugby league, it was the South Sydney Rabbitohs who came out on top and defeated the Manly Sea Eagles 22-10.
In front of a great crowd of just over 20,000, it was the second-half that got the Bunnies over the line as the returning Greg Inglis catapulted them back into the minor premiership race.
The game was quite evenly poised at the break despite Manly’s lead, though on the back of some crafty and decisive plays in both attack and defence by the Bunnies, they grabbed the bull by the horns in the second half and went on with it all.
There were sour notes for both sides, however, with Jeff Lima placed on report for an ankle twist and Justin Horo placed on report for a high tackle.
The talking point from the game, though, and one that made Manly coach Geoff Toovey a very angry man post-game, was the disallowed try for centre Steve Matai.
As Matai surged through, it appeared that the ball had touched the ground but unsure Online Casino and wanting to double check his decision, the on-field referee sent the decision upstairs.
The video referees, who in their eyes had inconclusive evidence to overturn the initial decision, agreed with the on-field referee – a decision that produced a livid Toovey after the game.
“Unless I am blind and I can see the ball on the ground then what was the decision?” Toovey said.
“Can someone answer me that? He (video ref) said held up but the ball’s on the ground. How can that be held up?
“That’s ridiculous. There’s got to be an investigation into this, someone’s got to be accountable for this.”
The resolve and resilience of his side pleased Souths coach Michael Maguire, who was pleased with how they bounced back when it mattered.
“We got off to a rocky old start but what the boys have found is that will to work hard,” Maguire said.
“They were prepared to commit to what they did well to stop two or three tries in the second half.
“And it’s full credit to the team.”
3. Greg Inglis
2. Jeff Lima
1. Anthony Watmough