www.couriermail.com.au
Maybe if O'Neil had reiterated the fact that the reffing has been shit since they were given the power of the six again rule and asked the NRL to raise their game and get some consistency within the ref's group coaches wouldn't need to go off about them manufacturing tight games.The Panthers Chairman Dave O'Neill has called for the post match press conferences with coaches should be axed ... he thinks they should happen 24 hours after the game.
this comes after Ivan Cleary (who actually won the game) accused the match officials of managing the Raiders back into the game. Cleary was fined 20k for this comment
here are Dave O'neills quotes:
“If you don’t want coaches to comment – and if you don’t like emotional responses – then don’t have the interviews,” O’Neill said.
“Have them the next day.
“If you want to have after-game interviews that are more structured, then hold them a day after the game. The reality is they are done in the heat-of-the-moment.”
“If people want to critique the coaches and be critical then don’t have them straight after the game,” O’Neill said. “Every coach will be a lot calmer the next day. And I’m sure all coaches would love that.
“The last thing you want to be doing as a coach – poor old Des Hasler gets pumped two weeks in a row – is to have microphones being stuck in their faces.
“I’m sure a day after, they would be happy to do it. If the interviews were 24 hours after a game, that would alleviate some of the emotional responses coaches comment on in the heat-of-the-moment.
“I feel sorry for all the NRL coaches. Rugby league coaches are under a lot of pressure and they’re judged more critically now than they ever have in the past because it’s a results-driven game. Obviously they say things in the heat of the moment.
“I’m a passionate person when it comes to football. When we win, I watch the replay four times. When we lose, I’m filthy. If someone put a microphone in my face after a game when we just had a dud call, I might make a dumb decision.”
“They took the captains away and that solved a bit of a problem too,” he said. “When you win, you, as coach, get taken away (to the media conference). That euphoria in a dressing room is something your coach should be part of. They are dragged away to go to a press conference.
“That euphoria is about team building, the inner sanctum, I’ve been there. You’re halfway through celebrating and they run in and say Channel 9 or Fox Sports are ready for them. The coach misses out on half the euphoria.”
Category: <span> </span> | The Courier Mail
He even covered his arse by saying "it felt like...", purely subjective. He was lead to this by the media and will any of the media cop a fine? Doubt it
If you'd watched Manly's penalty record all season magically start to improve the week immediately following their blow up against the Refs in the Parramatta game, you'd realise that the fine money appears to be money very well spent indeed as far as the club's are concerned.
Wait...who receives the €20k? The NRL? Who employs the refs? The NRL? So basically it is a blatant bribe!
Given the whole thing was like 8 hours apart I'd assume he never actually "left the bubble". He probably had some sort of family emergency that didn't eventuate.
www.foxsports.com.au
