oval
Juniors
- Messages
- 543
For those interested in Manly and/or Melbourne...
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...-now-we-hate-to-love-them-20110621-1gdmd.html
We used to love to hate them - now we hate to love them
Richard Hinds
June 22, 2011
Taking sides in the 2008 grand final made Sophie's Choice seem like picking a brand of dishwashing detergent. Some backed Melbourne because they weren't Manly. Others Manly because they weren't the Storm. This season, however, two teams many find more irritating than Rafael Nadal's Y-fronts are being viewed with much more sympathy due to the manner in which they have overcome recent trauma to take pole position in the premiership race.
Well, perhaps to anyone other than NRL boss David Gallop who, as he contemplates the possibility he could hand the trophy to the Storm or the Sea Eagles, might console himself that his name is not only a curse word but also an inspiration in the Melbourne and Manly sheds.
Just how greatly both clubs have been inspired by their punishment - Melbourne for their salary-cap rorting and Manly for the 2009 pre-season launch - is difficult to gauge. After their season in pointless purgatory, the Storm are at pains not to mention the salary-cap war. Brett Stewart ''Galloping'' after a try this year made it obvious Manly have not moved on.
The way Manly snuck home in the dying minutes of Monday's match against Parramatta says something of the self-belief Des Hasler has engendered. Photo: Getty Images
In the supposedly professional world of sport, ''non-controllables'' are supposed to be banished. A negative mindset is not ''part of the process''. Yet that does not stop critical press clippings mysteriously finding their way into players' lockers or, in Manly's case, a perceived double standard in the treatment of Benji Marshall compared with Stewart being used to perpetuate an ''us against them'' mentality.
You suspect astute coaches such as Craig Bellamy and Des Hasler would not explicitly use old grudges as motivational tools or let them become a distraction. But, subtly, they will have been planted in the subconscious where, perhaps, they might drive a player an extra metre or two at a vital moment.
Bellamy deserves loud praise for maintaining the spirit, discipline and winning habits of his team even as it was dismembered. The Storm's performance this season has not merely exceeded expectations, it has been heroic. An emphatic answer to those who believed those two premierships were exclusively the result of cheats prospering. This might have been an awkward period for Bellamy. With his NSW replacement, Ricky Stuart, lauded after game two, it would have been natural for some to make unflattering comparisons about his Origin reign.
Instead, the Storm's continued excellence - even in the absence of Origin stars - has given Bellamy the vindication the club's trophy cabinet no longer provides. Rather than lash his Origin record, any fair-minded observer will instead look at the greater resources given to full-time coach Stuart and understand Bellamy had a much tougher task against the then-rampaging Maroons.
Perhaps you might still argue Bellamy is ''not an Origin coach''. If so, only because representative football does not afford the time and conditions to drill a team in the meticulous manner that has made him such a success in Melbourne. Melbourne's season came with added pressure. The club needs to retain those fans who rallied behind them last season. Unusually, Channel Nine has shown the Storm's recent Sunday games live in Melbourne. If the Storm have not inspired a parochial roar, their durability brings an appreciative hometown murmur.
Manly's resurrection is no less emphatic. Before the season, there were obvious questions about the physical and emotional condition of star fullback Brett Stewart. Opinions were divided on callow playmaker Daly Cherry-Evans. While optimistic pre-season, Hasler seemed more excited about the long term. Yet, the way Manly snuck home in the dying minutes of Monday's match against Parramatta says something of the self-belief he has engendered.
In mid-June, Melbourne and Manly going head-to-head in another grand final remains only a distant possibility. Once St George Illawarra's legion of Origin players return to full duty, the Dragons will be formidable - as the Sea Eagles could find on Monday. But if Manly and Melbourne maintain their surprising form, a couple of Darth Vaders may have more support than usual come September.
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...-now-we-hate-to-love-them-20110621-1gdmd.html
We used to love to hate them - now we hate to love them
Richard Hinds
June 22, 2011
Taking sides in the 2008 grand final made Sophie's Choice seem like picking a brand of dishwashing detergent. Some backed Melbourne because they weren't Manly. Others Manly because they weren't the Storm. This season, however, two teams many find more irritating than Rafael Nadal's Y-fronts are being viewed with much more sympathy due to the manner in which they have overcome recent trauma to take pole position in the premiership race.
Well, perhaps to anyone other than NRL boss David Gallop who, as he contemplates the possibility he could hand the trophy to the Storm or the Sea Eagles, might console himself that his name is not only a curse word but also an inspiration in the Melbourne and Manly sheds.
Just how greatly both clubs have been inspired by their punishment - Melbourne for their salary-cap rorting and Manly for the 2009 pre-season launch - is difficult to gauge. After their season in pointless purgatory, the Storm are at pains not to mention the salary-cap war. Brett Stewart ''Galloping'' after a try this year made it obvious Manly have not moved on.
The way Manly snuck home in the dying minutes of Monday's match against Parramatta says something of the self-belief Des Hasler has engendered. Photo: Getty Images
In the supposedly professional world of sport, ''non-controllables'' are supposed to be banished. A negative mindset is not ''part of the process''. Yet that does not stop critical press clippings mysteriously finding their way into players' lockers or, in Manly's case, a perceived double standard in the treatment of Benji Marshall compared with Stewart being used to perpetuate an ''us against them'' mentality.
You suspect astute coaches such as Craig Bellamy and Des Hasler would not explicitly use old grudges as motivational tools or let them become a distraction. But, subtly, they will have been planted in the subconscious where, perhaps, they might drive a player an extra metre or two at a vital moment.
Bellamy deserves loud praise for maintaining the spirit, discipline and winning habits of his team even as it was dismembered. The Storm's performance this season has not merely exceeded expectations, it has been heroic. An emphatic answer to those who believed those two premierships were exclusively the result of cheats prospering. This might have been an awkward period for Bellamy. With his NSW replacement, Ricky Stuart, lauded after game two, it would have been natural for some to make unflattering comparisons about his Origin reign.
Instead, the Storm's continued excellence - even in the absence of Origin stars - has given Bellamy the vindication the club's trophy cabinet no longer provides. Rather than lash his Origin record, any fair-minded observer will instead look at the greater resources given to full-time coach Stuart and understand Bellamy had a much tougher task against the then-rampaging Maroons.
Perhaps you might still argue Bellamy is ''not an Origin coach''. If so, only because representative football does not afford the time and conditions to drill a team in the meticulous manner that has made him such a success in Melbourne. Melbourne's season came with added pressure. The club needs to retain those fans who rallied behind them last season. Unusually, Channel Nine has shown the Storm's recent Sunday games live in Melbourne. If the Storm have not inspired a parochial roar, their durability brings an appreciative hometown murmur.
Manly's resurrection is no less emphatic. Before the season, there were obvious questions about the physical and emotional condition of star fullback Brett Stewart. Opinions were divided on callow playmaker Daly Cherry-Evans. While optimistic pre-season, Hasler seemed more excited about the long term. Yet, the way Manly snuck home in the dying minutes of Monday's match against Parramatta says something of the self-belief he has engendered.
In mid-June, Melbourne and Manly going head-to-head in another grand final remains only a distant possibility. Once St George Illawarra's legion of Origin players return to full duty, the Dragons will be formidable - as the Sea Eagles could find on Monday. But if Manly and Melbourne maintain their surprising form, a couple of Darth Vaders may have more support than usual come September.
Last edited:
