With an even playing field we still wouldn't win, but the 60 points is not on our players, it's on the refs.
I'll get bagged for this, fair enough, but it's the same bullshit that we copped in Origin II. They ran away with it and we **appeared** to give up because we were utterly exhausted.
Coates clearly knocks on when the replay was shown for the Captains Challenge. Call it incompetence, call it deliberate rorting, it doesn't matter, it shouldn't happen but it does in front of our eyes and we are expected to accept it. Instead of building pressure, not necessarily scoring but at the very least making them tackle and fatiguing them, they are undeservedly marched up the field.
We are given a 15 metre "10" and then we wonder why we have no line speed. We have to run an extra 10 metres PER PLAY so not only are we barely getting back the 10 (15) in time for the next play, it is impossible to have line speed. We fatigue quickly and easily concede metres. At the game, you will see this if you look, but you can't see it on the TV unless you see where the ruck is and then see where the ref is holding the line once the play moves to a point the camera shows it.
They are allowed a short 10 so of course they have an aggressive line speed, and yet they still leave early (granted, not Panthers early) and we have no momentum or space. We kick from in our 40 while they kick near our own 20 almost every set.
When the game is still a contest, Coates knocks it on again. It is not called. We are already fatigued and yet we are denied an opportunity to get them to do some tackling. It is no wonder they are able to get massive minutes from a 120kg prop out on the edges, he has not been fatigued and he is able to run riot, and the fact that Bellamy had the arrogance to play him there suggests that he know his team are going to get the refs favour when it comes to possession and field position.
They have literally twice as much ball as us, they have all the field position, I didn't see a single player of ours give up last night, I was them desperately trying to compete against an opposition that have a full tank of fuel while we are on fumes.
Reynolds can do zero in a situation like last night. Errors like not finding touch are unforgivable, we know this, but if people think he may have lost his spark, consider how well looked after Souths were by the NRL, and the absolute shit that they routinely spit at us, can you blame him? He's not dumb, neither is Ikin or Walters, so they can't say anything publicly or give the players excuses, but you sure as **** know that behind the scenes they are seething.
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