The flick pass from Meaney and the second one from Olam are both forward out of the hands. Clear as day. I just heard Meaney laugh as he called it “flat” on Triple M. No physics there McHunt, if you mean conservation of momentum.
Combine this with the grab on Riki in the PTB, Munster taking it dead, Flegler being called offside as he backs away from the play after Kotoni’s little kick, the lack of 6 agains for Melbourne’s slowing tactics and their constant walking off the mark and it wasn’t an even contest. The first try is from a 6 again against Haas that was much faster than the majority of Melbourne’s roll-offs or tangled, so if that was the early marker for the ruck where were our 6 agains.
Sure we made some rookie errors and showed some poor discipline to be offside a few times but that sort of officiating is a farce.
Walking off the mark is a blight on the game. Call them back every time and it wil stop quick-smart.
You have to commend the effort from the team. Take out the try from the Cobbo error off the grubber and call one of those passes forward and it’s 20 all in an away game against No. 2 in the comp.
I never said the Storm didn't get away with any "forward passes" only that once the game is over, I move on, accept the result, and refuse to carry on like a baby about it. I've never seen anyone here complain that we got away with forward passes, and as a TV viewer, I've thought we've got away with plenty.
It's called being a good sport. You dust off and get back up.
I get none of us like it when refs make mistakes, and it's hard to grin and bear it. But when a club's fans en-masse starting cocking up conspiracy theories that our team are victims of a corrupt establishment, that's just pissing the bed. It's the bottom rung of bad sportsmanship. I don't care that I cop shit for not going along with it. I'm not stooping to that level.
If there's a wider fundamental issue with adjudication, and I don't mean human errors, that's a discussion at a higher level than stirring up the fans' indignation.
For what it's worth, of course I thought the Storm got a way with a bit. I also thought we did. Did the Storm get away with more around the rucks? Yes, they always do. They're coached that way. If you want to beat the Storm at that game, you have to be as smart as them. That's easier said than done.
We have at least two crafty players: Adam Reynolds and Patty Carrigan. Reynolds is by my reckoning the craftiest in the competition. But the Storm, as a team, are crafty. That's part of their drill. We're not at that stage of maturity. Yet.