TEAMS: NSWRL U17 Westpac Lisa Fiaola Cup - 2024 Round 8
26 mins ago | LeagueUnlimited Media
In this weekly feature for LeagueUnlimited, our Armchair Expert runs his lazy eye over the weekend that was. Each round he'll look at the happenings of the previous weekend, and keep you up to date with the big issues like refereeing, social media and the current controversies.
This week, our Guru looks at the two big semi finals, Freddy's faux pas, the Dogs who keep rolling and more. PLUS - ref watch, and a wrap up of injuries and suspensions from the weekend. Let's get into it....
Performance of the Round
For a losing side, boy did the Cowboys give it a red hot go. Completely outplayed in the first half-hour, Johnathan Thurston inspired a mammoth comeback which saw his side claw their way back from 30-0 down against the Roosters. By the 65th minute the sides were locked at 30-all after two tries before and three tries after the halftime break had levelled the contest. Despite an at-times controversial final ten minutes, the Cowboys fell short when a James Maloney field goal four minutes from time knocked them out of the finals race, although a late shout for a Thurston try had to be turned down in the dying moments after a Robert Lui knock on.
Credit also to Manly for their sterling effort against Canterbury - trailing 16-0 prior to halftime, they themselves fought back to level the scores before a field-goal shootout eventually fell the way of the 'Dogs in extra time. The Sea Eagles' efforts were all the more impressive given the tested depth of the squad through injury and suspension. Sadly though, it could be the last game in maroon & white for several club legends.
The Paul Carige Award for the Worst Performance of the Round
We're loathe to criticise the media when we make our own mistakes, but who at Channel 9 decided Brad Fittler would be the man conducting post match interviews at fulltime in a Roosters semi-final?
The Roosters & Panthers legend had just watched his side pull off an epic last-ditch win against the Cowboys and for some inexplicable reason, the overjoyed former skipper of the winning club was bouncing around on the TV interviewing players like he was still part of the playing squad - something we're sure was on the nose for a few Cowboys fans. We will assume Mario Fenech won't be near the action on Friday, right "Gynge"?
Surprise Packet
For the second week running, Canterbury bursted out of the blocks against a more fancied premiership contender, and ultimately it got the job done. In consecutive weeks the blue-and-whites have now knocked out the most successful clubs of the last ten years in Manly and Melbourne, and face a deja-vu style match-up with Penrith in this weekend's preliminary final. If they win and the Roosters overcome the Rabbitohs the previous night, we're faced with an identical Grand Final to what we had ten years ago - a match won on the back of the Bulldogs mammoth forward pack. Is history repeating? And more bizarrely, are we headed for a never-before-done Grand Final win from a side placed 7th after the regular season?
Ref Watch
Plenty of focus on officials this week, as is always the case in elimination semi finals. Starting on Friday with the Roosters-Cowboys clash, there were plenty of howls that the Cowboys were robbed for the third straight year. In the final ten minutes the visitors were penalised for an apparent strip on Roosters' firebrand Sonny Bill Williams, but footage review showed SBW merely spilled the ball. The field position gave the Roosters ample chance to add the one-pointer, which Maloney nailed in the 76th minute to nail the coffin shut on the Cowboys season. The controversy continued when Robert Lui appeared to have passed in field for a Johnathan Thurston try but the original knock-on ruling against Lui stood upon video referral. All of this of course is not just against the Cowboys - the Roosters would've been dirty that one of the Cowboys' tries was the direct result of a Ray Thompson forward pass much earlier in the game.
On Saturday night there were another set of calamities - this time around the use of the Sin Bin. Both Josh Starling (Manly) and Reni Maitua (Canterbury) spent ten minutes in the sin bin after throwing punches that allegedly connected. The incidents have reignited the war that commenced when Paul Gallen punched Nate Myles in the 2013 State of Origin opener, and might force the NRL to act on some sort of discretionary clause when it comes to the sin-bin edict. Elsewhere in the game, the Bulldogs nabbed a field goal late in the game off the back of a referee incident - Josh Reynolds grubbered ahead before the ball ricocheted off the official, who was left with no choice but to pack a scrum. Initially he ruled this would be Manly's feed, but the age-old rule is that the scrum should be fed by the attacking team in that half reared it's head (with some not so subtle reminders from Bulldogs' centre Josh Morris) and the Bulldogs benefited. Todd Greenberg has since indicated that rule won't be touched, but plenty are worried that it could be exploited deliberately.
Bumps and Bruises
Neither of the two clubs that progressed to this weekend's Preliminary Finals suffered any major injuries in either Semi Final.
The Naughty Chair
Well, it's a bit empty this week. The match review commitee issued no charges from the weekend's two semi finals.
Around the Social Media Traps
Ever yearn for the old days? This expert loved the old Big League days when you had the paper program, you'd cross out the names when the team news came through and of course you had the penalty and scrum boxes.
Thanks to the good folks at Steele Sports (click here for more about their NSWRL Grand Final Day coverage) we know this era is not yet gone. Long live the old match day program!
Team Lists @LeagueUnlimited #VBNSWCup
@NRLKnights v @NSWCUP_Cutters @NRL_Dragons
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— Steele Sports (@Steelesport) September 21, 2014
As always, come back next time for more analysis from the seat of my pants.
- The Armchair Expert