Round 2 - Sea Eagles vs Rabbitohs: Saturday 20th March 5:30pm @Lottoland

[Jim Rockford]

Great assessment Callmack. I agree with everything you've said!

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

@stryker is trying to save you from another BJ and Musgrove. Forgive his directness.

Getting back to Sam and the most compelling evidence in the court was:-

During the first court hearing, the father in law and the ms gave sworn evidence that they did not telephone anyone before they rang the Police. They took an oath or affirmed they would tell the truth. That was the expectation of the system and the community. No fibs, be honest.

Sams then loses based on their evidence. He appeals.

Then between the first hearing and the appeal, sams lawyers got the records and other evidence together and it proved beyond any doubt at all, that the father in law spoke to a barrister for 30 plus minutes and then a public relations guru BEFORE he rang the police.

And the ex rang her lawyers BEFORE she dialed 000 ( which she didn’t need to do).

So this evidence that they didn’t ring anyone was a mis-truth. A great big whopping mistruth.

Then of course all this drug stuff etc turns up and it’s in the press that they are in Family Law Proceedings.

Sams defence argued that the incidents were connected. You can make up your own mind.

His Honour Williams at the District Court threw the charges and the avo out. Booted them into the next legal world.

I doubt that their evidence in the original hearing which was found to be false is going to help the ex in Family Court. I could only think it will help Sam because her and the old mans word is no longer sacred in the legal system. Mis-truthing under oath is not exactly endearing to any courts. They hate it.

So it’s backfired very badly. And they could have argued they forgot that they had rung someone. Both of them to three people? Mmm.

And probably the irony is, that neither the ex or her old man necessarily needed to tell a mis-truth in court under oath in the first place.

As a personal gripe, I can’t for the life of me think why someone who is apparently intimidated and fearful of another has to ring a public relations firm before they ring the cops for protection.

Placing a couple of ads on YouTube is not going to protect you.

So the judges finding is a significant step in the public rehab of big Sam.

Shout out to the justice system that ensured he got the evidence by law, to prove his innocence. All good.

I’m proud of Sam for not being stomped on or overawed by power and wealth. He’s from a very humble background. They underestimated him.

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

Yewwwwww!!! There it is, there's our first win of 2021!! How good does that feel?! Could've been prettier but a win is a win. In absolutely terrible conditions, not to mention playing at one of the worst grounds in the NRL, many of us said tonight would just be a case of collecting the two points in any way possible and getting the hell out of there. Well, that's exactly what the boys did! Yes, it was ugly and some people might bag us but I think we should all be pretty proud of our efforts. It was a really gutsy, gritty win. We had a lot going against us. The weather for a start and then some really bad reffing. Yet, we dug it in, hung in there and came out convincing winners in the end.

We looked pretty good in that first half and dominated much of the first 40 I feel. There was a few chances, just lacked the execution to finish it off in the wet which was disappointing. There were still errors of course but when you take into account the weather, I was happy with the first half completion rate there. Our defence looked alright too apart from the soft try to Croker. Beside that, they didn't look like breaching our line.

The opening half of the second 40 didn't go so well. We lost Reyno early and started to make a hell of a lot of errors. This is where the weather really evened the contest as manly started to drag us down to their level. More errors invited them back into the game and I was concerned that the game was starting to slip away. But to the boys credit, led by Benji, they sparked themselves into action, help the ball more, built a but of pressure and struck. Once we stopped beating ourselves the game was never in doubt.

So yea, it wasn't a great game to watch, pretty frustrating for much of it. Because of that, a lot of people will say we played poorly when I don't think that's the case at all. Now, I'm not saying we played well, it was ugly, but we managed to get a win when so much was against us. Terrible weather at a terrible ground, a referee against us, a home crowd against us, lots of errors, missed opportunities, our star sin-binned, and our halfback missing for half a game. Yet, we still ran out convincing winners! That's pretty bloody good if you ask me and a sign of a decent Footy side.

Gritty, gutsy win!!!

Manly played much much better than round one. Des would be quietly pleased. Cooks tackle and his dummy half try was my favourite. That was just his footy brain in overdrive. He was thrilled by it. He’s finding his way back!

 

[Rabbits20]

I got home late from work so just finished watching it. We did it we now have our first win of the season. I thought it was a real gutsy gritty performance from us. Gotta be happy overall with that. Cook really stepped up tonight didn’t put a foot wrong and Latrell and Gagai were awesome as was Murray and Benji off the bench. Up until he got concussed Reyno was having a strong game as well! I couldn’t believe no penalty for the late hit!


ANYHOW SOAK IT UP GLORY GLORY ALTOGETHER NOW!!......

 

[Rabbits20]

 

[Rabbits20]

 

[truthslayer]

What a poor display by the ref and I blame him for what happened at the end. If anyone should be on a report its the ref! That ridiculous sin-binning of Mitchell, allowing Manly to slow the play all match, offside manly on many occasions, Reynolds hit high and late! no action! 2 disallowed tries, this is not the standard of the referee that the game needs. As for the bunker to many in that box that have ties with clubs. It was an absolutely a fxxxing disgrace! Can anyone tell me info on Tatola? is he injured? Two average games so far. And whilst I have been a supporter of paulo he had a shocker and mansour must be picked ahead of him. Murray was good a couple of uncharacter mistakes , and graham had a shocker yet his defence was great. Arrow continues to impress . Not a pretty win but one against the odds made closer by the ref!

 

[callmack1]

Benji brilliance helps Bunnies kick clear of Sea Eagles' clutches: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2...ps-bunnies-kick-clear-of-sea-eagles-clutches/

Press Conference - Round 2: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2021/03/20/press-conference-sea-eagles-v-rabbitohs---round-2-2021/

From Sporting News,

Wayne Bennett lauds Damien Cook's performance following recent criticism

South Sydney Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett has again responded to criticism of Damien Cook, following a much-improved performance against Manly on Saturday evening.

After a quiet first game of the year against Melbourne, Cook was back to his brilliant best in the 26-12 victory at Brookvale Oval.

The NSW Origin star finished with seven runs for 86 metres, two line breaks and a try as the Rabbitohs got off the mark for season 2021.

Cook also made a game-high 56 tackles with just one miss.

Speaking to the media after the game, Bennett laughed off recent criticism of Cook and was full of praise for his hooker.

“I’m never surprised about the critics...they don’t build monuments for critics," he said.

"I thought he was pretty good. We don’t have a plan for him to run, it’s what opportunities are available to him.

"He’s got a very talented backline sitting there that is always wanting the ball. It’s about the moment and the opportunity, and that’s what he has to balance every week.

"He competes at 100 per-cent, plays the full game – last year I don’t think he missed a minute for us.

"He’s a wonderful competitor."

Latrell Mitchell was also on fire for the cardinal and myrtle, scoring a try and setting up another on a wet afternoon in Sydney.

There were unfortunately some injury concerns for the Rabbitohs, with Adam Reynolds and Jaxson Paulo both failing HIAs, while Jadyn Su'a was placed on report during the dying stages of the game.

Bennett didn't have any concerns about Reynolds, but was less confident about Paulo's chances of lining up next weekend.

“He’s okay (Reynolds), he will play next week," he said.

“He (Paulo) got a head knock. We will see how he goes through the week. I’m not the doctor."

 

[handyman2190]

Okay, I knew it was going to be wet for the game today, but I didn't know it was going to be this bad. Apparently the government has issued a warning for people to stay home, that's how bad it is.

Some suggestion on other forums that the game should be postponed, let's hope not.

If the game is on, look on the bright side, at least it'll keep most of Manly's fans away for their first home game of 2021 so that works in our favour. However, if it really is that bad, especially with the drainage Brookie has, then the weather really does even it up. In conditions like that, it's anyone's game.

Another point to consider, with this weather, I think Benji's impact of the bench becomes limited and perhaps has role is not necessary? It's going to be a real grind so maybe Wayne would consider leaving Benji out and re-calling Hosty an hour before kick off? In conditions like that, we need as much go-forward as possible.

Thank god we had benji!! So far he has earned his pay.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Denied two legit tries. We should’ve had 40.

 

[big hit!]

Argue all you like, Sua will get two weeks.

Bennett might be happy but Bennett is also the guy who insists on playing that dopey Jaxon Paulo.

Wasn't Paulo concussed in NSW Cup last week? Surprised he was selected to play. He copped another concussion last night too.

 

[NovoBunny94]

I watched about 20 minutes of the first half as I was at a wedding and it was between reception and ceremony so didn’t get to see too much. Read Reyno didn’t play the second 40.. did he go alright
All I care about is if we looked ok in attack and defence? do we look top 4 top 8 premiership contenders??

 

[Jim Rockford]

I watched about 20 minutes of the first half as I was at a wedding and it was between reception and ceremony so didn’t get to see too much. Read Reyno didn’t play the second 40.. did he go alright
All I care about is if we looked ok in attack and defence? do we look top 4 top 8 premiership contenders??

Reyno was going strong before he went off. Scored a great try and kicked a wicked 40/20 right on half-time.

 

[big hit!]

I watched about 20 minutes of the first half as I was at a wedding and it was between reception and ceremony so didn’t get to see too much. Read Reyno didn’t play the second 40.. did he go alright
All I care about is if we looked ok in attack and defence? do we look top 4 top 8 premiership contenders??

Mistakes per usual. Yes it was wet, but this team isn't consistent unfortunately. Same things keep bringing them down. The good news is that its March and there's time to clean their shit up.

Reynolds and Paulo (second in two weeks?) failed concussion tests, and with the turnaround to Roosters on Friday I'd say they are both out for the derby.

Su'A will have a holiday for coming into the melee at the end.

Marshall for Reyno
Mansour for Paulo
Host for Su'A

 

[NovoBunny94]

Bugger
Hope we can clean our act up we showed so much promise in the charity shield and just aren’t hitting the mark it seems
Going to be struggle against the Chooks next week without Su’a and Reyno

 

[assess5]

Wasn't Paulo concussed in NSW Cup last week? Surprised he was selected to play. He copped another concussion last night too.

There apparently is a difference in the rules for reserve grade and firsts. If in reserves you get concussed and can't return to the field then you must have a certain amount of time off.
This rule doesn't apply to first grade - go figure.

 

[Dingo_dan]

Looking back at a replay of the 'fight', I don't believe Sua will get suspended.

He was not the third man into the fight. He also did not 'strike' anyone. Those were the two bases for his sin binning, and when looking at it quickly in the video ref I could see how they rushed to that decision, but at the judiciary they will have time to slow it all down and dissect the footage.

People on here criticise Latrell and Walker, but looking at the footage, neither player escalated the situation. At the point Latrell joins the 'scuffle' their are already 4 or so souths players and more from manly. Cody Walker was not involved at all until Jack Gosielwski (spelling) tries to jump over the top of the melee and all Walker has done has jumped to pull him out of it.

 

[Jim Rockford]

Bugger
Hope we can clean our act up we showed so much promise in the charity shield and just aren’t hitting the mark it seems
Going to be struggle against the Chooks next week without Su’a and Reyno

Wayne is quoted in the paper saying he's confident Reyno will be right to go next week.

 

[Travitoh]

It's not even the try or the almost try that I was most happiest about Cook's game today, it was that as the game went on his runs had purpose. He was prepared to make a quick 10 metres and take the tackle. Thats all he has to do, the line breaks and tries will come from that.

Absolutely. This is what he was doing under Seibold. He didn't fear being tackled like he seemed to the season before. Then not wanting to be tackled crept back into his game.

He doesn't need to be a battering ram, we have props for that but Cook running with purpose from dummy half will keep the defensive line that bit narrower.

 

[Dingo_dan]

Absolutely. This is what he was doing under Seibold. He didn't fear being tackled like he seemed to the season before. Then not wanting to be tackled crept back into his game.

He doesn't need to be a battering ram, we have props for that but Cook running with purpose from dummy half will keep the defensive line that bit narrower.

Exactly. Cook made line breaks in 16-17, but it was the 20 runs between linebreaks were he was afraid to take the tackle that really hurt the team.

The 6 again rule was supposed to help Cook but I think people got it wrong. The theory was that he would take runs on the back of 6 again calls. But when 6 again is called teams reset their plans and it's usually a prop that takes the next run after 6 again is called. Where Cook Should be great is creating the 6 again call. Those quick 10 metre darts where he takes the hit and tries to get a quick play the ball should be getting us a bucket load of 6 again calls, but when he darts he isn't taking the hits. Instead of creating momentum and getting a possible 6 again call, he has been stifling momentum