Cowboys come back to conquer Cronulla in extra time

So your point is that the challenge available in tennis makes no difference to the result and it would make no difference in NRL. Waste of time even raising the issue. Don't get too excited by your Pro label.

I can just imagine Wayne at his next media conference tightly gripping his summation of the ref's and saying you guys did a great job today and those 7 penalties you gave against us we fully deserved.

As a one eyed sharks supporter (nickname comes from a much longer story) the sharks did not deserve to win yesterday. All year they had been conceding cynical penalties playing poorly and saying we were good enough to win ugly. When in reality they had not been honest and said we played like crap and got away with. Realistically they knocked the ball on too much and missed too many tackles. Maloney needs to put his hand up and say I shouldn't have been so dumb. Shepherd or do something that isn't as blatant as what he did. I do think the drop ball rule needs to come in or they take a union approach to knock-ons - one or the other. I do think Val Holmes at the back was unlucky and Fafita too. Other than that we spilled too much pill (Lutele and Jack Bird on the Cows ball)

Seeing sharks tries only came from very dubious early try, and very dubious raking ball decision, I can't see any reason for gripes. Tom of Brisbane sums it up very well. Flanno's use of his tools very ordinary. Definitely would not have those two together in crucial last minutes. Well done to Cowboys, I thought they would be ripped off like in most finals games they have played, but refereeing was equally unfair to both sides.

My point is you are much more capable of supporting your club in the finals. The larger stadiums allow for higher attendances. Many Cowboys supporters travel more than 300km on a fortnightly basis. Is it really that hard to go to another ground in the same city? I know if I lived in Sydney I would be at the game supporting my team.

I've heard or read a few others saying (including Andrew Johns I think) that the refs should not be making a call from the field on tries if they are unsure either way. I don't agree with this. I think the refs should be allowed to make a decsion on instinct on what they think they've seen - after all they are the closest to the action to make a decision - but call on the bunker to clear that they haven't missed something like a knock on or lost ball. I made the same comment you did about the Peachey try. I could not see any footage of his hand touching the ball so the bunker was quite right in awarding the try. At times its hard for them to be sure like the Jason Taumololo try but the instinct is probably that he must have got some of the ball on the grass at some stage. I'd much ruather the current situation where the refs tend to award a try and ask the bunker to convince them otherwise than not making a decision a leaving it to the bunker to have to decide.

Agree TB - I remember in game time that Leutele lost the ball when a stray knee dislodged the ball - poor ball protection but gets a penalty for a so called strip when there were no opposition hands anywhere near the ball. Bird scores a try soon after. Haven't heard any Sharks supporters whinge about that one or the first try which was fortuitous to say the least. The Leutele penalty was partially compensated for by Fensom getting a penalty later in the game when losing the ball to a stray elbow from Prior - again poor ball security - the Cowboys get a penalty goal as a result. Both should have been scrums due to lost balls. I remember saying at the time that the football Gods have evened it up. Makes me laugh seeing Barratt and Flanagan blowing up at the refs. And they call Ricky a whinger! The more I watch this game the more I think you are going to get 50/50 calls all through the game but its up to you to take your chances when you get them. In the end the Sharks only have themselves to blame. Maloney gives away a dumb penalty and got 10 in the bin during which Kyle Feldt scores out wide; Fifita's brain fade to wander over to the wing in the final minute rather than straightening up the attack for a field goal - what was he thinking? Gallen tries to do it all himself and finishes up inches from the try line but loses it in the play the ball plus the Bird, Fifita and Holmes knock ons. Dumb plays or errors from a team playing dumb. But no its the refs fault.

JVGO, can you explain how Flano comes up with Coote being offside in the Maloney sin binning?He was carrying on about a touch judge calling out "Coote offside" and the Sharks should have received a penalty not Maloney. Coote was a good 5m behind the kicker. Flanagan was ranting. No wonder Gallen is so delusional.

Cowboys completed 80%..and had the better of the sharks across the rest of the stats 15 missed tackles, 10 errors etc

Or conversely the player is out of challenges, can't challenge and loses the Australian Open anyway. What's your point?

People need to understand the rules and how they apply and hence decisions need to be discussed. Flanno was well within the bounds given the situation. He said exactly what I thought he should say. Any other coach would have done the same. He hadn't said anything about the refs all year. Maybe he should have.

Before I came on this thread it was just a 100% Gallen and Sharks bashathon. Flanno said exactly what I wanted him to say during the presser. It was all true. Hasler would have done the same, any coach would. After the weekend of miserable crowds and ridiculous decisions the NRL's credibility is pretty much in tatters.

No one is neutral Barry where Gallen is concerned no matter what you claim, everyone has too much baggage. Your opinion is to be respected (one of the few on here) but Flanno was right in this case. I am here mainly to stick it up the rampant Gallen and Sharks haters who have been waiting for the chance let their idiot minds loose again for over a year now. Sharks were rubbish yesterday but the haters knew nothing last year and they still know nothing this year.

A more forwards direction?? This is the stupidity the Rugby League has got itself in by listening to morons like Gus.

Crosscoder, Good on you. Its better to be gracious in defeat than carry on like Flanagan did yesterday. I am a broncos supporter and we didn't play well Friday nite. I expect us to win next week but that's it. I am sure Wayne would never react like that.

But what happens when the ref says no idea and the footage doesn't show what happened like Peachey's and the bunker says no idea? That doesn't sound conducive to increased accountability. Remember we had the refs sending it upstairs and then the video ref coming back and saying refs call and then the ref would either award or not warad the try? That was awful and far worse than the system we have. We were all crying out "why can the refs make a bloody decision" Refs have always had to make an onfield call. I have no problem with that continuing and the technology behind that as a check. But I think the technology needs to get a hell of a lot better than it is to use the technology in the first instance. For mine I think the main thing that has changed is people's reluctance to accept the refs decision and get in with it. Applies to fans, journos, coaches, players. It's a choice. We're all capable of doing it. And it doesn't mean that you can't have conversations about the quality of the refereeing.

Agree, Jimmy. No sport in the world has an obsession with ref bashing like rugby league. It's predictable and soooo boring. Cronulla should look in the mirror. The Cowboys deserved to win on every count.

You make a good point with those figures. I thought the reason for the big Stadiums was bums on seats but if the smaller ground would have pulled a bigger crowd than that reason goes out the window. You are right also in that home ground advantage is a massive plus. A packed Brookie, Sharks Park would provide a big boost to the home team. That said this is only the second year so maybe they'll persist a few more to see if numbers change. Would love a GF in Melbourne if Storm earned it and they definitely have big stadiums available.

Agree its a cop out...there's not much distinction there and if the NRL okayed it they're throwing refs under the bus. In other words, I think all those decisions you made are wrong but I'm not talking about you.

Yep, definitely a conspiracy! : )