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Round 6 vs Manly

carltonsouth79

First Grade
Messages
5,283
Wonder if the non use of Lomax indicates he is there as a HIA/ injury cover and not to be injected in the game when we need a lift or speed. Puzzling to me
 

ozbuck

Juniors
Messages
464
Fox honing in on the Lafai incident at the end but you can’t take one thing in isolation. Should have been done to 12 men any way with the trip or any number of missed forward passes.

Trust me mate, if that was the other way around and we were behind by 2 and the same incident happened every man and his dog on this forum would be having the BIGGEST winge of all time. Being robbed a fair penalty to take the game into extra time is a massive incident.

The manly player shouldve got 10. Agree. But we at least got the penalty. Manly got stone cold nothing at the end there when it was a deadset penalty and everyone new it, including the dragons players.
 

j0nesy

Bench
Messages
3,747
I’m not convinced that Lafai’s deserved a penalty. But concede it was a 50/50 call. What people are forgetting is that DCE would have had to kick it from the sideline to put the game into golden point. Also Manly got a golden run from the referees for about 60 minutes there.
 

Warabrook saint

Juniors
Messages
1,799
Both teams dug deep, we copped heaps of bad calls, but a few self inflicted wounds as well.
FMD though - Lomax fresh and ready did not get a run.
Lafai needs to practice his goal kicking- he missed 3 shots and in today’s game you can’t gave a parting kicker.
Also I think Hunt was a bit kick happy on early tackle count - when we had come off repeat defensive sets.
Is Widdop helping out at training
 

trl

Juniors
Messages
49
McGregor-ball at its most frustrating. Some absolutely great defence compromised by repetitive one out attack. One can only assume that the 'game plan' demands that players conform to the blinkered hit up after hit up approach to running the ball. It must be difficult to accept from a player's perspective as it suppresses football intelligence and natural flair. I fully appreciate that a win is a win, but let the players play the game and permit them to give the ball some air (at least some of the time!). Fans of the game would thank you, Coach.
 

ozbuck

Juniors
Messages
464
I agree but they got alot of other calls in the match

The news will read dudded but that's because it was at the end of the match

Yep, if that was us this whole forum would've felt dudded too.

In truth, youre right...the game is 80mins long, not the last 4 seconds. Being denied a fair penalty to take it to extra time is tough. Those bad ones have happened to us before, and it will again.

Rugby League is a DRAMA sport. Bad ref calls are all part of the drama, just as dropped balls 10 metres out from our own line.
 

kit66

Bench
Messages
3,578
Great game of footy, our forwards are awesome ! Anyone doubting Cam McInness' abilities is blind.
Our attack wasn't perfect and it wasn't Normans' best game but we showed a lot of character and resilience right across the park and how good was that last try - Semi Ravalawa on the spot.

Beating Manly is my favourite thing and we even got a cherry on top getting a call go against them at the death and DCE having a big sook, haha, beautiful.
 

Life's Good

Coach
Messages
13,971
Two things from this game
1. We cannot carry Lattimore
2. We need a goal kicker (so Lomax has to play)

I almost added a 3rd but Ravalawa got off the hook with a late try.

Ravalawa still made hard work of it. After taking the ball he looked up like ‘is this legit’? Just run hard for the line.
 

getsmarty

Immortal
Messages
33,485
ravalawam-try-02mn.jpg


MATCH REPORT


Ravalawa strikes late as Dragons sink Sea Eagles in a thriller
Author
Brad Walter NRL.com Senior Reporter
Timestamp
Sat 20 Apr 2019, 09:39 PM
walterbrad-head.png

Rookie St George Illawarra winger Mikaele Ravalawa saved centre Tim Lafai from embarrassment over two missed penalty goals by scoring a 78th minute try to snatch a gripping 12-10 win over Manly at WIN Stadium.

With Lafai missing his second penalty goal attempt just four minutes from fulltime, the Sea Eagles appeared set to post their first win in Wollongong since 2003 but Ravalawa swooped on a grubber kick from halfback Ben Hunt to secure the Dragons' fourth consecutive victory.

With Greg Inglis’s shock retirement during the week, Manly halfback Daly Cherry-Evans has been touted as the likely Queensland captain but Hunt still harbours ambitions of regaining the Maroons No.7 jersey he lost to the Manly skipper in the final game of last year’s series.


Match: Dragons v Sea Eagles

Round 6 - Saturday 20th April

Full Time

Home Team

Dragons

Scored 12 points

Away Team

Sea Eagles

Scored 10 points

Venue: WIN Stadium

Match broadcasters:

  • Foxtel
  • LIVE PASS
If the match was an audition for the Queensland halfback spot, the selectors would be little wiser as both Hunt and Cherry-Evans played vital roles for their teams in a high-quality clash between two form teams.

The Dragons dominated the opening exchanges and were almost rewarded with an early try after prop Paul Vaughan momentarily wrestled the ball loose from Sea Eagles fullback Brendan Elliott in the in-goal but he could not ground it.

Manly’s back three were constantly troubled by kicks from the Dragons playmakers and winger Rueben Garrick spilled a Corey Norman cross field bomb in the fifth minute, while Hunt threaded the ball behind the defence to force yet another repeat set.

Yet for all the pressure the home team applied, their only reward was a Tim Lafai penalty goal in the eighth minute after Jake Trbojevic, playing his 100th game for the Sea Eagles, was ruled off-side on his own line.



Cherry-Evans scores off tunnel ball

Momentum shifted in Manly’s favour but errors continued to cost the visitors, with hooker Api Koroisau knocking on at dummy half near the St George Illawarra tryline and second-rower Curtis Sironen unable take a pass as a try beckoned.

The Sea Eagles were eventually made to pay for the repeated errors after after Elliott put down a floating Norman bomb near his own line and Matt Dufty swooped on a grubber by Hunt to score in the 17th minute.

A knock on by Vaughan on the first tackle after the re-start again signalled a change in momentum and the Dragon were under siege for a long period as kicks by Cherry-Evans and Kane Elgey forced the Dragons to make four line dropouts in the first half.

Eventually the weight of possession took its toll on the St George Illawarra defence and Cherry-Evans put centre Brad Parker over for Manly's first try in the 34th minute.

Lafai had a chance to extend the Dragons’ 8-4 lead before halftime but he failed to land a 37th minute penalty attempt and it looked like being a costly miss when Cherry-Evans scored under the posts to give Manly the lead for the first time in the 59th minute.

The try followed a stunning turnaround in the possession stakes after the interval, with St George Illawarra conceding six penalties and committing six errors after a disciplined first half in which they had completed 18 of 20 sets of possession and were penalised just twice.

Interchange forward Corey Waddell, who was making his first NRL appearance at the ground his father Steve called home during his career with the Illawarra Steelers, laid on the try for Cherry-Evans with a pass between his legs and it appeared set to be the decisive play of the night until Ravalawa’s match-winner.


https://www.nrl.com/news/2019/04/20/dragons-strike-late-to-sink-sea-eagles-in-a-thriller/
 

R&WTILLIDIE

First Grade
Messages
5,158
My 2 cents. Ravalawa needs to learn how to catch, Lafai needs to learn how to goal kick. Although behind for much of the game and playing below their best, they defended very well and showed calmness. Manly def deserved a penalty in the end. I’ll take the win and move on.
 

getsmarty

Immortal
Messages
33,485
Ben Hunt impresses Maroons coach Kevin Walters in Origin audition against Daly Cherry-Evans
NRL Premiership
  • April 20, 2019 9:21pm
  • by Staff writers
  • Source: FOX SPORTS
4a9d81a4d1fec62935dc16dd86c784b2

Ben Hunt impressed Maroons coach Kevin Walters with his kicking game against Daly Cherry-Evans' Sea Eagles.Source: FOX SPORTS
Queensland coach Kevin Walters singled Ben Hunt out for some high praise in his clash with Origin rival Daly Cherry-Evans.

Hunt had his best game of the season against the Bulldogs last week and impressed Walters with his kicking game against Manly.

“He’s been really impressive, especially with his kicking game,” Walters said at halftime.


“His short and long kicking games are obviously a great skill of his, but in recent times we have seen some wayward kicks.

“That is normal for a lot of halves, but I feel like this season he has his kicking game on song.

“He has been really good tonight and the kick selection is important, but what is more important is the result of the kick.

“He has been really good in punching those corners and when they get up close to the Manly line he looks very dangerous, so he has been really impressive.”


Fox League expert Michael Ennis backed up Walters’ sentiments in commentary.

“The thing at times with Ben Hunt’s game is he can be a little erratic, but they have clearly come up with a plan with Paul McGregor to target the left side of Manly,” Ennis said.

“They have seen some deficiencies and have kicked in behind a number of times, so it is clever play from Ben Hunt.

“His kicking game has been very good for the Dragons.”

Hunt and Cherry-Evans traded try assists in the first half in an intriguing battle, before the Manly captain broke the game open with a try in the second half to give his side the lead.

But Hunt had the last laugh setting up the match winning try for Mikaele Ravalawa in the 79th minute.

The Manly halfback is being touted as a possible Queensland captain, but Hunt has made his intentions clear that he wants to try and regain the Maroons No.7 jersey he lost after Game II last year.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...s/news-story/73c2dbb333ef83dfc4a0796dffb1c7d2
 
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