Pretty much what a lot of other people are saying but here's my 2cents (there might be 3c worth here):
Can we please stop this (especially Sydney media) cop-out of stating that 'the better team won' on Friday night. I would tend to agree if our game went for 60mins; however, as we have been thrillingly reminded all year; the result is often not decided until the 80mins is up (and sometimes even beyond that). No-one who knows anything about footy, or is still in-touch with how our game is played, should be saying there was a better team on Friday night; we were all robbed of knowing due to inept officiating.
Much was said in the lead up about how strongly Manly has been starting over the past few months; exactly what we saw in the first 25mins. There was almost as much talk about how the Cowboys can start a bit slower but hit their straps later in the game. Again, we saw this in the last 15mins of the first half, and the first 10mins of the second. While Manly's defense was holding solidly, the Cowboys were building up pressure with superior kicks and meters up the middle by the big men. The game was then over! The Cowboys were denied the chance to compete fairly in the game for the full 80mins. They had chances later in the game, but the effect of the inexplicably bad decisions made against them was exactly the reason why they played panicky and rushed towards the end; it was a result caused outside of the influence of how both teams played the game.
"But the Cows got a few calls their way also!". I agree, and most notably the missed 'strip' which led to the second try. However, that refereeing blunder resulted in nothing more than improved field position for the Cowboys; they still had to put in plenty of work to score the try. In terms of Rugby League karma, the ledger for this was squared up when the Manly in-goal grounding was not called by the officials; which in turn should have resulted in a line drop out and good field position for the Cowboys (most likely in almost exactly the same spot as the stripped ball wasn't called). On the flip side, the two calls going against the Cowboys resulted directly in points; 10 of them, the exact scoreline difference at the end of the game.
"I agree with the Benefit of the Doubt for the double movement!" You don't know footy! The ball and carrying arm had lost momentum after being planted well before the line; there was a definite 2nd effort with the carrying arm, not to mention the other arm also coming over to assist in promoting the ball.
I don't think there has been any defending of the last try (except maybe by Mr Foran), so there's no need to touch on it. So we should be at 12 all, and 20mins to go, with one team asking a lot of questions; but the other team answering them; who will crack first? We were all robbed a potentially nail bitting finish, with the victor being all the more satisfied for the win (and much better prepared for Melbourne in a week).
But instead we are left with everyone (except maybe a few Manly fans) up in arms about the state of the game, newspaper headlines highlighting the deficiencies in our game, accusations of lying and questions around players integrity, more division in our game in which we are trying to get crowd levels up by encouraging the public to come along even though their team is not playing, not to mention the hampered preparation for a Manly side which I fear may now end up as a mere speed bump for Melbourne on their way to the GF.
For the media, consisting mainly of ex-players and so-called RL experts; to be sitting around and attempt to justify the result with comments like "the better team won"; does nothing but spit in the face of RL fans (not to mention the punters) who want to see the best of the best go at it; without any ridiculous external influences affecting the result. But more importantly, it takes away some of the sting and pressure we need to be applying to the powers that be, to fix the problems. When I hear "Yes they got it wrong, but it didn't affect the result anyway"; just says to me that maybe it's not so bad. What a joke! Lets ask the NSW Blues if it's not so bad! Let's ask the Tiger's, who sit only 2 points outside the top 8 if it's not so bad!
In our 2 top comps; Premiership and Origin; we've had some of the closest competitions in recent history, and both have been severely let down by these poor decisions. To the point where I feel the history books should just place a asterix next to 2012 for all things Rugby League (7* in a row, doesn't quite have the same effect as 7 in a row - does it?). Time for the commission to stop patting themselves on the back about the no-brainer decisions they have made thus far, and really step up and justify their existence by taking a hard line on this and getting it sorted. Having the refs come out and say "yes we got it wrong, sorry we'll try better next time" just isn't good enough; having them sit out for a week or two only to come back and make crucial errors again just isn't good enough.
Can we please (Bosses, officials, media) stop ruining our game. If it keeps up, we might as well all give it away; we can all just go down to the local and watch someone flip a coin for 80mins.
