Quick question re 2002 GF?

[Misty Bee]

I'm after the first player to make contact with Fittler's head in That incident late in the game. I know Vilisanti was the second. Was Ivan Cleary the first?

 

[PARRA_FAN]

Koopu, he came in with a charge down on Fittler.

 

[rufus youngblood]

Your right parra fan Wairangi Koopu was the man
Ivan Cleary wouldnt knock a maggott off a chop

 

[PARRA_FAN]

I remember Fatty's comments that night "He's been absolutely hammered by Koopu. Which Fittler really wasnt, he was still ok until Villa came in with a head clash.

 

[League Freak™]

If he had of knocked Freddy completely out....Villa could have almost stole that game for the Warriors.

 

[Misty Bee]

Koopu, of course. Lol @ Rufus' description of Cleary.

Thanks for clearing that up, Parra Fan

 

[Rich]

I'm after the first player to make contact with Fittler's head in That incident late in the game. I know Vilisanti was the second. Was Ivan Cleary the first?

Just don't forget who Villasanti ran into next

Thirteen Magazine - What about the huge hit on Villasanti in the 2002 Grand Final after Fittler got taken out?

Adrian Morley - Everyone brings that up! That was just one of those things. He took Fittler out and it wasn’t a case of me smashing him because any of the forwards would have done so as we were all that psyched up. Thankfully he ran out at me though.

 

[Jimmy]

I remember Fatty's comments that night "He's been absolutely hammered by Koopu. Which Fittler really wasnt, he was still ok until Villa came in with a head clash.

Head clash ? That was the most deliberate of head butts and there was not even a penalty nor action from the video review panel.

 

[avsterooster]

in the end of the day, the sparked fittler and the roosters

by gee that hit from morley after was a ripper... you could just see it happening.
Morley "run at someone your own size gorilla, ill turn you into a winga" and bang!
haha GO MOZ

 

[PARRA_FAN]

Head clash ? That was the most deliberate of head butts and there was not even a penalty nor action from the video review panel.

Yeah come to think of it, looked pretty deliberate. I remember Rabs' comments "Just looks like he deliberately head butted him". Fired the Roosters up after that.

The Roosters got their revenge on him with the Morely hit.

 

[Scott]

Head clash ? That was the most deliberate of head butts and there was not even a penalty nor action from the video review panel.

Pull your head in you chop, Villasanti was going for the ball!

 

[Choppies]

Pull your head in you chop, Villasanti was going for the ball!

:lol: :lol: :lol: your kidding arnt you?

 

[Scott]

Not at all!

 

[White Poiner]

lol headbutting the ball.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

I actually saw it quite differently. Fittler shaped to kick and Koopu went up for a chargedown, but when Fittler ran it instead Koopu came down quite recklessly and shoulder-charged Fittler right in the head. It looked to me as though Fittler was actually quite dazed by the Koopu tackle. Fittler then knocked the ball on, went to the ground to regather it, and Villa came in (taking his chance to smash Freddy, and why not?) and, imo, there was an accidental head clash.

It's funny how this will go down in history, because imo Villa's "headbutt" was clearly accidental, and that's how the ref and everyone else who mattered saw it (no penalty, no report.) Yet I thought Koopu's tackle was reckless and it hardly even gets mentioned.

 

[Iafeta]

I actually saw it quite differently. Fittler shaped to kick and Koopu went up for a chargedown, but when Fittler ran it instead Koopu came down quite recklessly and shoulder-charged Fittler right in the head. It looked to me as though Fittler was actually quite dazed by the Koopu tackle. Fittler then knocked the ball on, went to the ground to regather it, and Villa came in (taking his chance to smash Freddy, and why not?) and, imo, there was an accidental head clash.

It's funny how this will go down in history, because imo Villa's "headbutt" was clearly accidental, and that's how the ref and everyone else who mattered saw it (no penalty, no report.) Yet I thought Koopu's tackle was reckless and it hardly even gets mentioned.

I agree.

It was carelessness rather than recklessness.

Now Villasanti's got this reputation of being a wild man from borneo type player, but I'm fairly sure he's never been suspended in his entire NRL career which is a fair record for a prop.

He probably didn't need to get in there, but I don't think he realised that Fittler was smashed by Koopu and thought he'd finish the job off with a good old fashioned shoulder charge, that went wrong.

Its a pity, that moment conceivably cost us the Grand Final, though nospam49's right, if Fittler had have been injured (and that would have been unfortunate) then the Roosters may have struggled. It was 8-6 at that stage I believe and the Warriors were going alright off the back of Stacey's great try.

 

[mcbulldog]

why are we arguing about something that happened in '02. lets just get on with it

 

[NZ Warrior]

If the Warrior had anyone to blame for the loss, it would have been Justin Murphy for not stopping THAT 40/20. f**king little merkin!!!!! That was the true momentum swing right there.

On the Villasanti case, Fittler was grounded and Villasanti had to go in low to finish him off. It was head-first contact, but it certainly wasn't a head butt. That's just ridiculous. If you're gonna head butt someone, you do it with the forehead not the top of your bloody skull.

Just for the record, I would have f**king laughed my arse off if Fittler got injured out of that. I also wouldn't have got out of Telstra Stadium alive.

 

[NZ Warrior]

why are we arguing about something that happened in '02. lets just get on with it

Because the Warriors season is over and so is your teams', so why not???

 

[Cockadoodledoo]

It was 8-6 at that stage I believe and the Warriors were going alright off the back of Stacey's great try.

Everyone thinks it was 8-6 at the time of the clash but I watched the replay recently (You have to when you're having a season like ours) and we were actually up 12-8. The 40-20 and the Wing try happened a few minutes earlier but this is seen forever as the turning point.