Playing with fear and anxiety, the Tigers and Sea Eagles flayed each other with wet newspapers for the first 40 minutes on Thursday night.
It was an opening half to forget at Campbelltown. Only lone tries from each club and a late penalty conversion to Daly Cherry-Evans bothered the scoreboard attendants as the visitors took a slender 8-6 lead into the break.
There was something fitting about the display. Manly managed to mirror the dysfunctional off-field situation that is stalking the club like a cabinet minister anticipating a spill motion. The Tigers were also clunky and error-ridden.
Thankfully, the second half exploded into something far more representative of the usual standard seen in the NRL and it was, mercifully, far more entertaining.
That explosion was not only in a footballing sense. The Tigers crossed for three early second-half tries to Chris Lawrence, Moses Mbye and Kevin Naiqama and stretched their lead to 22-8 before the Eagles mounted a spirited comeback.
Four-pointers to Trent Hodkinson and Cherry-Evans himself had Manly within two points with only seven minutes remaining and a late penalty goal attempt to force golden point extra time provided an exciting climax.
Cherry-Evans struck the kick well but missed.
Manly might well ask a few questions of the officials, as once again, contentious decisions added to the explosive nature of the contest.
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A disallowed try after 59 minutes from what appeared to be a perfectly timed flat pass may well have cost the Eagles, as did some blatant and unpunished infringements in the ruck from the Tigers late in the game.
Manly did themselves no favours with a comatose-like start to the second half and Addin Fonua-Blake butchered a clear scoring opportunity when he ignored Tom Trbojevic in support.
However, Trent Barrett was right to raise his concerns around the officials in the postgame.
Manly looked the better team for much of the contest but fell asleep at the wheel early in the second half and with an unfortunate call or two, slip further down the table.
If the Warriors were looking to make a statement against the Panthers at Mt Smart Stadium, it would be fair to say that they achieved their goal.
A quick start and a mentally lost Panthers side saw the home team stack an 18-0 lead after 28 minutes. The Warriors played the remainder of the match in little danger of losing the competition points.
It was a four-try first half as Agnatius Paasi, David Fusitua and Mason Lino that built a substantial lead for the home unit before Josh Mansour added some respectability for the visitors just prior to the break.
After halftime, two further tries to Fusitua as well as another from Solomone Kata stretched the lead to 34-4 before the Panthers managed a rather belated comeback. It had their supporters wondering where the effort and execution had been earlier in the night.
Irrespective of where anyone stands on the sacking of the coach a fortnight ago, the Panthers have now chalked up two losses on the trot.
Phil Gould’s support of that decision now seems a little questionable, personal and less compelling than it may have two weeks ago.
In reality, the past two performances of the men from the foot of the mountains have been poor. With a spot in the top four on the line over the previous two weeks, the Panthers have failed to capitalise on the opportunity.
Conversely, the Warriors are starting to look dangerous as ever as the first week of the finals draws closer.
Though it will be tough, New Zealand will try to snatch a top-four spot as they look like being one of the most feared sides when September rolls around.
The win puts the Warriors safely clear of the Tigers, who still cling to hopes of a semi-finals berth.
Now, the Broncos remain as Wests’ sole hurdle to climb – a hurdle that would be completely removed if Brisbane manages to knock off the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium tonight.
In the late Friday night game, the North Queensland Cowboys paid fitting tribute to Johnathan Thurston with a 44-6 shellacking of Parramatta at 1300 Smiles Stadium.
It was a fitting, deserved and seemingly pre-destined finish for the mercurial halfback in front of the home fans with the Eels looking almost complicit in the occasion.
The home victory sent Thurston out in a manner of which very few rugby league fans would begrudge him of.
Perhaps more importantly, the win most likely avoided a Cowboys’ wooden spoon and likely anchored Parramatta to the bottom of the table come seasons’ end.
Taubada
Guest
Apart from the basic requirement of the adoption effective defensive structures, Manly badly needs an infusion of speed in its outside backs. Their wingers are the slowest at the club in my memory ( commencing with the GF of 1951). It would be very informative to see the statistics for tries scored throughout the season by Manly wingers versus tries scored by opposition wingers. I am quite sure the difference would be astounding!
Jeffrey Dun
Roar Rookie
"I know that I’ll always have a whinge, probably even at my own funeral..." Love your sense of humour Birdy - but then we WT fans need it to stay sane.
Forty Twenty
Guest
I agree entirely that Manly have been terrible for much of the time for various reasons and it can't be offensive because it is 100% true. What I struggle to deal with is the nebulous assertion that every team cops a fair go on balance every season. I don't believe that for a minute. I can name plenty of games where rival fans have made comments that Manly were duded in close games but how many times can I recall the opposite? Why this is I'm not sure. I don't agree that Manly couldn't do well next season with the same coach and facilities. The game plan could always be better but it also isn't the main issue. The Roosters had a terrible season a few years back but the same coach and facilities and similar game plan had them on top the next season. Manly has the roster , coach( whoever that is) and facilities to make the eight next year with improved defence, consistency and less injuries along with more stability. look at history , it happens to teams all the time.
Birdy
Guest
Don't worry about me Jeffrey I'll be Tigers till I die. Probably ? I often have a dig at them due to lack of success. However, Balmain leagues is not Tiger fans. They were always a bunch of incompetent buff heads.. many ex players will agree with that, just read Big Artie's reference to them in his book. Another club where the fans deserved much more With the JV, not only has the gold jumper given way to black but the gold has also given way to orange. The only thing that remains is the tiger emblem and a couple of games at Leichhardt each year. I know that I'll always have a whinge, probably even at my own funeral but I'm sure there s quite a few who share my concerns.
Jeffrey Dun
Roar Rookie
"if West’s get anymore control over the tigers or the name itself dissapears......". What have you heard to make you think that might happen ? I understood that Wests Ashfield had been quite accommodating towards Balmain - paid their debt to the NRL and gave them two seats on the WT Board, even though Balmain are no longer making financial contributions to the JV. I can't believe that Wests Ashfield would be so stupid as cut the WT's associations with Balmain, given how important the rusted-on Balmain supporters are to the JV.
Birdy
Guest
Hi Albo and kk Always enjoy your comments and knowledge. Your reference to Ben Alexander sure bought some memories come crashing down. It changed a lot of lives. We had friends and friends of friends affected by that accident. The effect on the Penrith club was horrific as most people know. Penrith is a club that everyone wants to succeed. Huge junior catchment. The chooks certainly benefitted from that 91 should have started the dynasty. Gus seems to have too toooooo much influence. Look at Maloney being shipped around for expressing his opinion. Talk about the thought police. Makes it feel like a university. I think the Panthers have lost their way and will be out of the finals in the first week. The fans have always deserved better. I'm like you Albo, if West's get anymore control over the tigers or the name itself dissapears , I'll jump on board the Panthers. But I'll buy a retro jumper , brown and white.
Renegade
Roar Guru
They hype around Penrith this year was a joke... if any hype continues over the coming years, it will be the same - they won’t challenge any time soon. Their captain now being shopped around for saying Griffin wasn’t a problem. They need real change and it starts at the top, can’t see any genuinely decent coach agreeing to go there to be micro managed by Gould.
kk
Guest
Hi Albo, Sorry butting in Birdy. They should test the water at the academy. Zero has piece on Jimmy Maloney being shopped around.
Albo
Guest
Hi Birdy ! As I have stated a few times here, I am no fan of Gus Gould. I believe he has caused heaps of destructive things to go down at the Panthers over a couple of decades from the early 90's when the Panthers should have dominated that period after their 1991 premiership win, instead we saw Brandy & MG disappear after the death of Ben Alexander, we saw Gould take the cash along with our best players Fittler & Sing to the Chooks in the Super League wars leaving the Panthers to battle against a likely merger with Parramatta that was only stopped by the work of Ron Mulock at the time. Gus has returned to the Panthers again and we have seen great players sent packing like Jennings, Lewis. Graham, and Gordon all of whom have won premierships in the meantime whilst the Panthers are still fumbling around each week. Moylan & Cartwright were the next earmarked by Gus to be the basis of the Panthers coming success. Both now gone after a year into 5 year contracts ? Great bit of management carried out there. Now he has sacked the Coach a month out from the finals ? He obviously thought there would be no real impact there as he would be around to help out Ciraldo , and he thought Griffin was of no real value if he could tie up Nathan Cleary with the poaching of Ivan Cleary sooner rather than later. I don't think that was such a bad move really, and I don't think that is the reason the Panthers are now on the skids. The real problem I feel, has been more to do with the playing personnel available. They have finally succumbed to the heavy year of injuries particularly in the backs. They have had no real fullback since the loss of Edwards, no quality number 9 since the retirement of Wallace and the halves Cleary & Maloney have had mixed times in and out with injury and SOO impacts. They have the worst back 3 in competition right now, as we saw last night in NZ with Fusitua gifted another hat trick, and mistakes galore in their reading in defence, handling and high ball incompetence. Seems Whare may have broken his arm last night adding to the injury woes. Unfortunately, I think their year is just about over for them, and they need to start thinking about next year with some particular attention paid to strengthening their outside backs .
Adam
Roar Guru
I think you'll find a lot of teams feel that way about allowed/disallowed tries throughout the year. I for some reason listened to a Broncos podcast and they spent some time complaining about calls they did not get (or had against them) over a couple of weekends. It was a very different perspective to what most of us pundits would normally contemplate. But you know what, their gripes were probably correct. What am I trying to illustrate by this story? All teams get and don't get calls. I mean no offence is intended here, but Manly have been absolutely terrible for large stretches this year and a few forwards passes missed or incorrectly called will not make one iota of difference if the Sea Eagles don't find a better coach, facilities or game plan. The Eels and Cowboys too have been terrible for huge chunks of the season. At the end of the day, when you look at the majority of the teams in the 8, you can honestly say that over the year they have genuinely been better than the rest over the entire season.
Birdy
Guest
I'm accepting the fact that the tigers won't make the 8. The attack just never happened all year. Look out next year . Boo boo of the season has to be Gus. Could anyone really coach the pennies while Gus is still there? Imagine being on a multi million dollar coaching deal but the dole cue is only one of Gus's epiphanies away . Love to read Albo's take on that.? JT's final game in Townsville, A wooden spoon GF, A sellout crowd and a tv ratings bonanza. But sorry JT, your final lap was stolen by your 2 daughters, so cute
Cam
Guest
Even if the Tigers win next week and Broncos lose both their games, Cant see the tigers making up 50 points on the for and against.
Nat
Roar Guru
The only surprise in Auckland was the decent crowd turning out for their team who are coming into form. Only because the ABs are in town tonight but what a turnaround from those burning their jerseys last season. Like everyone else, I've offered my opinion on the Panthers situation but hopefully their supporters can have faith for a bit of stability next year with an obviously talented but poorly lead group. There was so much to like about last night as a footy fan and Nth Qlder. Everything went right on the field and JT put on a kicking masterclass. Further there was a solid changing of the guard with JT and Clifford, another young half who's already made his mark in u20s and ISP and now finding a home in the top grade. GGM still has some defensive positioning to work on but that pace is a weapon. I sound like a broken record but surely Hampton is their FB going forward. Martin is good but not the best guy for that role. Lastly, the fans. +25k travelling up to 1000km and hanging around long after the bell to pay tribute to a legend. They came for a memory and the team gave them a cracker the kids will talk about for decades to come - JT's final home game.
Paul
Roar Guru
Most sides use the pre-season trials and early season rounds to get player used to a new coach and vice versa, but Gould has a much better idea. Wait till there are 4 rounds to go and your side is travelling okay in the top 8, then sack the coach, bring in a new guy and expect the side to instantly adopt his playing tactics. It hasn't helped the Panthers that Maloney has been injured but the timing of Griffin;s departure has been disasterous. I still think the best thing the Panthers could do is get rid of Gould. He's turned into a toxic media person and a toxic influence out west.
Forty Twenty
Guest
A while back King Gutho looked like a real star of the game and one of the rare cases of a player who Manly let go who came back to bite them. Nobody tries harder than him but at the moment he looks miles away in talent from players like the Turbo and the plane. It would be interesting to view a video of all the tries Manly have been denied this year to forward passes and compare them to the ones that have been let go from the opponents. I can understand how both tries were called back but I wish a whole heap of tries from the opposition thru the year were judged the same way. It's been mind boggling. Struggling teams seem to really cop it from the refs. It always comes across as a whinge but the other team I followed during the year were the Blues in SOO and I feel we got the benefit of the doubt from the refs particularly in game one. I can't recall Manly getting the Swings and Roundabouts at all this year or the end of last year. The young Cows 5/8 looks like the real deal. Nathan Cleary is rated very highly by keen judges but when I see players like Ponga, Munster and this young Cow play I see more impact.
Qlder
Guest
I’m really glad Gus sacked the coach, it’s a brilliant strategy coming into the finals. Panthers are gone, good one Gus.