Thriller of a finish masks worrying lack of professionalism

[Newcastlerabbit]

PHIL GOULD

August 8, 2010
Souths celebrate golden win

Dylan Farrell of the Rabbitohs is congratulated by Chris Sandow after scoring a try. Photo: Getty Images

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I'm sure this match entertained the kids, all those in the pubs and clubs sharing a drink with one eye on the big screen; not to mention every South Sydney fan who ever lived.
The emotion of the South Sydney golden-point extra-time victory with a try after the siren in the 91st minute was special; this I cannot deny. But to anyone who actually has a clue about what constitutes a quality game of rugby league, this match fell a long way short.
I had expected something completely different.
South Sydney were playing for a place in the top eight. They were missing several key players, but fielded a useful line-up and certainly looked primed for the challenge. They always respond to the underdog status.
A win for the Wests Tigers would see them back into the top four.
They were close to full strength and had plenty in their favour. Their recent form hasn't been that great so they, too, looked inspired by the point-to-prove motivation.
I have to say the energy levels from all players could not be faulted. They all tried so hard. They were keen to impress and make a contribution for their respective teams.
There was tremendous physical commitment from the big men in the collisions. They ran hard, tackled hard; they belted each other.
There were some brilliant examples of skill from players in both teams. The Tigers' Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah sparked the crowd on several occasions. For South Sydney, their playmakers were a bit hit-and-miss, but they were constantly exploring the opportunities. They have some fearless ball runners.
Nothing gets the crowd on its feet like the unexpected. The miracle pass, the speculative flick-pass, the impossible kick, the adventurous offload; it's all great entertainment.
This match had more than its fair share of these wonderful moments.
There was even the odd confrontation as tempers flared over the tough tackle or marginal hit. The players obviously cared about the result.
We witnessed 11 tries and level scores at full-time sending us into a spine-tingling golden-point extra time. The winner came after the final siren of the night.
But despite all these positives, intermittently delivered I must add, the game never really rose to what I would call professional standards.
I'm sorry, but a lot of it was absolute rubbish. This match was played with a park-football mentality.
Maybe I'm getting old, but where I come from a ''must-win'' situation requires a ''must-win'' attitude.
Being brutally honest, it was painful to watch. Careless passing, B-grade handling and poor attention to detail on the basics belied the importance of the occasion.
Some of the carelessness, laziness and miscommunication in defence from both sides defied belief. Both teams gifted incredibly soft tries to their opponents. These teams did little to convince their fans that they were fighting for their season.
The lack of discipline from both teams meant the referees had to interfere far too often. Players over-running the pass, running into each other, running behind each other - there was very little quality control.
Running into touch, being bundled into touch, fumbling balls into touch, kicking out on the full, dropping the kick-offs; we saw it all.
Some of the plays attempted by these teams bordered on the carefree, careless and even unnecessary.
I cannot believe that the two experienced coaches, John Lang of South Sydney and Tim Sheens of the Wests Tigers, can possibly sit and watch their teams and feel any sense of control. I don't know how they cope.
The Tigers entertained the kids; but they played so dumb. They also got what they deserved.


http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...g-lack-of-professionalism-20100807-11pmf.html

 

[boo_boo]

Gus can think what he likes.
Our execution will improve, our game will get better & we will come together not just as a team but as a club with the old South Sydney spirit of "never say die" present in everything we do.

 

[DC_fan]

Gus can think what he likes.
Our execution will improve, our game will get better & we will come together not just as a team but as a club with the old South Sydney spirit of "never say die" present in everything we do.

As much as it hurts for me to say this, I have to agree with Phillip Ronald Goulds comments.

While it was a great victory for us last night, the standard of the game was very poor. I attended the game with my brother-in-law who is also a Souths fan. At one stage in the 2nd half I said to him these teams are making more mistakes then you would see in a 6 year olds game.

A lot of the mistake were just stupid dumb ones.

We had players trying for the miracle of passes and in the most dangerous part of the ground, their own 20 metre area.

 

[boo_boo]

I think that Gus Gould is a very good judge of Rugby League but sometimes you have to be happy with the two points & work towards your next game.

 

[DC_fan]

I think that Gus Gould is a very good judge of Rugby League but sometimes you have to be happy with the two points & work towards your next game.

Boo I agree with your comments.

I think Gould was talking about League in general and using our game last night as the example.

 

[BranVan3000]

It was an amalgamation of players who've trained together but never actually played together (for a large part). They did a good job.

 

[Johns Magic]

It was a highly unprofessional game that resembled park footy at times.

The difference is, Souths were well within their rights to play like that given their injury toll, and everyone was expecting them to get flogged. It's the Tigers who should be embarassed.

 

[boo_boo]

Boo I agree with your comments.

I think Gould was talking about League in general and using our game last night as the example.

I suppose by Gus's standards then it was a poor spectacle however it was essentially that we got a victory last night to keep our season alive.
The main thing is we know we can improve on last nights performance & it's now up to us to show we are worthy of a semi-finals spot.

 

[Galeforce]

hocum , the prior week he was complaining about the saints brisbane game on tv , as they were being too cautious and robotic , playing to plan and noone chancing their arm. he is a half glass empty man and ignored the good elements of the game last night which i think had plenty of inspiration about it . against the wall , young players and discarded players doing the job , against the odds.

 

[derekmc]

Goulds a wanker, consistently bagging rugby league, the atmosphere last night was fantastic 23,000 staying to the end and great to hear a very loud souths chant at the end

 

[adamkungl]

It was a highly unprofessional game that resembled park footy at times.

The difference is, Souths were well within their rights to play like that given their injury toll, and everyone was expecting them to get flogged. It's the Tigers who should be embarassed.

Agree. Both teams defences resembled a cheese grater there were so many holes.

An exciting finish but constant dumb play from both sides. What typified the match for me was Benji Marshall getting the ball back from a successful bomb, ref calls 6 again, he runs down the sideline and grubbers for himself before being pushed out.

The attitude of both sides in golden point was baffling. neither side was concerned with putting pressure on and getting a set in the opposition half, they just wanted to go for the big play, the 50m field goal. Considering how bad defence had been all game, surely the first side to actually chance their arm would have scored. It was in complete contrast to the rest of the game.

 

[big country]

Agree. Both teams defences resembled a cheese grater there were so many holes.

An exciting finish but constant dumb play from both sides. What typified the match for me was Benji Marshall getting the ball back from a successful bomb, ref calls 6 again, he runs down the sideline and grubbers for himself before being pushed out.

The attitude of both sides in golden point was baffling. neither side was concerned with putting pressure on and getting a set in the opposition half, they just wanted to go for the big play, the 50m field goal. Considering how bad defence had been all game, surely the first side to actually chance their arm would have scored. It was in complete contrast to the rest of the game.

let me think, what would i prefer - last nights game with lots of tries and a golden point finish or todays low scoring game with lots of errors and dumb plays, pushing passes, etc, that didnt really reach any great heights:?

 

[adamkungl]

let me think, what would i prefer - last nights game with lots of tries and a golden point finish or todays low scoring game with lots of errors and dumb plays, pushing passes, etc, that didnt really reach any great heights:?

How is that relevant? Stop being so offended that some people think neither side were particular smart. It was an exciting game, just not a particularly well executed one. I don't see why this offends souths fans.

As for todays game, was a nail-biter but Dragons were attack-less as usual and Roosters executed poorly.

Neither of these games was really an example of excellent skills, but both were entertaining games of Rugby League.

 

[Titanic]

Now comes the challenge that many observers have pondered: what happens without Sutton? Is this when the Souths backline lights up?

 

[big country]

How is that relevant? Stop being so offended that some people think neither side were particular smart. It was an exciting game, just not a particularly well executed one. I don't see why this offends souths fans.

As for todays game, was a nail-biter but Dragons were attack-less as usual and Roosters executed poorly.

Neither of these games was really an example of excellent skills, but both were entertaining games of Rugby League.

ok, so can we expect gould to criticise todays game also in his next column? I dont think so.......that is my point -consistency, sometimes gould lacks

 

[big country]

How is that relevant? Stop being so offended that some people think neither side were particular smart. It was an exciting game, just not a particularly well executed one. I don't see why this offends souths fans.

As for todays game, was a nail-biter but Dragons were attack-less as usual and Roosters executed poorly.

Neither of these games was really an example of excellent skills, but both were entertaining games of Rugby League.

ok, so can we expect gould to criticise todays game also in his next column? I dont think so.......that is my point -consistency, sometimes gould lacks - neither of

 

[big country]

How is that relevant? Stop being so offended that some people think neither side were particular smart. It was an exciting game, just not a particularly well executed one. I don't see why this offends souths fans.

As for todays game, was a nail-biter but Dragons were attack-less as usual and Roosters executed poorly.

Neither of these games was really an example of excellent skills, but both were entertaining games of Rugby League.

ok, so can we expect gould to criticise todays game also in his next column? I dont think so.......that is my point -consistency, sometimes gould lacks - neither of these teams would win a GF with those error rates

 

[adamkungl]

ok, so can we expect gould to criticise todays game also in his next column? I dont think so.......that is my point -consistency, sometimes gould lacks - neither of these teams would win a GF with those error rates

:roll: It wasn't about error rates. Today's game was played like a semi final. Tigers v Souths should have been, but it was plagued by dumb play by both sides (mostly the Tigers imo) and flimsy defence.

 

[Paul Hewson]

It was a highly unprofessional game that resembled park footy at times.

The difference is, Souths were well within their rights to play like that given their injury toll, and everyone was expecting them to get flogged. It's the Tigers who should be embarassed.

This is where I thought that Gus lacked in his criticism of the match. Souths weren't expected to come close to the Tigers when Lowe, Best and Champion pulled out. To me this was one of the most courageous victories I have seen from a South Sydney side. To come from 16 points down with the amount of injuries we had shows plenty of spirit from the guys out there last night.

As for the Tigers they can go and blame the refs and say that they were hard done by but at the end of the day they had that game won at 28-12 but played some stupid footy to get Souths back in the game.

 

[Paul Hewson]

:roll: It wasn't about error rates. Today's game was played like a semi final. Tigers v Souths should have been, but it was plagued by dumb play by both sides (mostly the Tigers imo) and flimsy defence.

Todays game was a great game and the Roosters defended so well on their line despite being out on their feet. That has been 2 games that have been played like a semi with the Roosters involved. The other was against us. Will be great for them come September.