Three-peat over! Roosters dream ends after loss to Raiders

:thumbup: I noted that there was a better way to handle it just didn't have the space to elaborate.

Cummins changed his call but there was no signal to alert the Raiders that it was the sixth tackle. It was a failure of the two referee system that did decide a game, the grand final, as the Raiders were in a good position to kick a field goal to go to 11-10 with a few minutes to go. The 1977 grand final pass was forward but it happens all the time because we're human and the refs have a hard job ruling over the Saints.

NRL finals are f...ing awesome :thumbup:

Because you keep going on about this game Walter I had a look at the replay tonight just to refresh myself what happened. I had a chance to see Vunivalu take Croker out late off the ball on suspicion half way through the first half. Croker takes a shoulder full to the ribs without the ball - which I'm sure contributed to him missing two penalty shots in the next 5 minutes. No penalty. But typical Storm filth. In the Ado-Carr and Croker tangle in front of the sticks half way through the second half Croker lets go of the tackle with his left arm - Ado-Carr has Croker's right arm wedged between the ball and Ado-Carr's grip on the ball. Ado-Car wrestles but Croker can't do anything about it. His arm is stuck. The Storm and the home crowd goes off but Klein makes the right call. Penalty - but no professional foul. Annesley got it wrong after the match by sacking Klein With 10 minutes to go Kafusi belts Hodgson with a right arm cross to the ribs which knocks the stuffing out of him. He goes down like a sack of spuds. Not a penalty. But typical Storm filth. Kafusi stands over Hodgson mouthing off. I hope the Raiders don't forget these two incidents. Vunivalu is judged to have gone into touch with 75 seconds to go. The poor old touchie gets it wrong. The Raiders hang on and the Storm lose.

The main issue, in IMHO, was the lack of a settled half back. Bellamy made a "courageous" decision to dump Croft and put Hughes, a fullback into the half back role. Doing that coming into the finals was always going to be dicey. Bellamy may well have been thinking this year and, by tossing Hughes in the deep end, got him accustomed to the pressure of the position.

so true mad dog ... reckon penrith v bunnies will be a cracker game with plenty of focus on attack ... reckon your game v raiders will also be a cracker

Mate - we've been there. Ricky was knocked back by JWH, Ennis, Tedesco, Mansour, Proctor etc - the wunderkid Anthony Milford turned his back on us and an offer $900k to go to the Broncos and Mummy and Daddy. We picked up Sezer, Austin and BJ Leilua - but it wasn't until Hodgson and Whitehead signed that we became a real threat. The Dogs were a powerhouse not so long ago and I think Barrett can coach - he just needs to be careful who he recruits. Cotric is a pretty solid start.

Haha...I’ve softened my stance on the whole asterisk thing Cotric’s a good signing but he’s not going to turn things around on his own. Apparently we’ve got 2M to spend but can’t get anyone to the club I’d rather that than paying overs to numpties... like the 600k donation we’re making to Napa

You have Nick Cotric Baz - he always puts in - thought he had a really good game on Friday night - sorry to see him go. Loved the way he ran over to his team mates on the side lines at the end of the match who missed the game due to injury or non-selection. It takes time to build a squad. Ricky has been doing it for years and is still waiting to cash in. It may never happen. But three prelims in 5 years is a pretty decent achievement. Who knows what will happen in the next fortnight but you have to seize that opportunity if you get it. Raiders well and truly under the radar this year. Not expected to beat the Roosters. Won't be expected to beat the Storm next week or the Panthers if they make the GF - and they could well win the lot. What an achievement that would be. If they do - no asterisks please!

All fair comments Roosters have a very top heavy squad. They’ve had few major injuries in the past couple of years so that’s worked for them but they were exposed this year as not having the depth required. No one to blame, etc Raiders don’t have the pressure of everyone gunning for them as premiers (maybe next year :silly: ) Anyway, good luck mate...I vaguely remember what it’s like to have a team alive at this time of year :crying:

Cheers, but I can assure you that if that was sent up as a no-try and the Bunker didn't overrule there would have been hell to pay Monday morning and Annesley would be in defence/sacking mode.

Thanks Baz. Not getting ahead of myself - but very proud of what the team has achieved so far. There is something about this team in terms of their spirit and bond that is hard to describe. Such a great game on Friday night - and full respect to the Roosters - what a contest - I was buzzing and found it hard to sleep on Friday night. Rugby league is such a great game. I've been on their roll since the Hodgson injury - which funnily enough seems to have galvanized the team. The Storm will be very tough - especially at Suncorp where they have an amazing record - and potentially Cameron Smith's last game - but the Raiders have so much belief that I wouldn't be betting against them. You've outlined the disruptions to the Roosters with injuries but I could argue that the Raiders have had just as many - many of them season ending - and Ricky has managed to replace them with squad members that have come in and performed to the level required. Ricky's decision to play the young blokes and a few of the senior players who hadn't had many games this year against the Sharks in the last minor round game is now looking like a masterstroke. People criticized his decision to rest players but it sent the message that these blokes were very important members of the squad and they could be called on to fill a role if required. I've not always been a massive fan of Ricky's coaching but I've had to revise that opinion. Ricky has come a long way in the past 2 seasons after the disappointments of 2017 and 2018.

Sorry Geoff, I meant through the course of the season, not just Friday They had a lot out for extended periods and I think it all caught up with them. It’s all well and good saying they were only missing two players, but last week against the Panthers they had their fifth string hooker playing a semi-final. They lost Verrills and Radley for the season early on and had Morris, Morris, Tupou, Cordner, Crichton and Friend out for extended periods and lots of other players out for smaller breaks he and there. It’s hard to get continuity in those circumstances But you’re right, no excuses. As I wrote originally the Raiders were very deserving winners and outplayed the Roosters for most of that game. You must be getting excited, they can match it with any team even with the injuries they have. Storm will be a huge game next week

The very fact that the bunker needed to look at the try for so long from every angle shows how close the call was. So I agree with the Duck's 50/50 call. From memory, the ref sent the call of try to the bunker. A good way to think of a 50/50 call is to consider what the Bunker's result likely would have been had the call from the ref been No Try when sent upstairs.

In 1985 Saints had to get rid of someone due to salary cap pressure. They chose Steve Rogers in one of the worst decisions of all time. It must've been the first year of the salary cap.

I picked the Tigers after watching the major semi-final that they lost 13-14 to Souths. They had been two standout teams all year but the Balmain defence was too good and Souths didn't have Col Pearce, a Souths fan, to give them a few scrum penalties. Pearce was also the referee in the 1955 farcical finals.

The ball can bounce forward or be blown forward by the wind and it's a legal pass as long as it left the hands not in a forward direction.

I saw that third man in on Papali attacking his lower leg with clear twisting action and thought a Captain's Challenge may have earned a penalty. .

No the first referee could not correct the six again call from the other referee because there was no signal to tell the players that the six again call was wrong. Clearly Cummins could not correct his initial error and Canberra did not know it was sixth tackle because they ran it and took the tackle. The two referees was a failure that gave Easts the premiership.

There were two referees and one of them signalled six again so the Raider who was in position to kick a field goal didn't and ran it thinking he had six to go. The other referee called sixth tackle and a handover was made with Canberra not prepared for defence. The two referees trial was a failure but it gave Easts the win. Field goals were changed to 1 point in 1971 because all teams were kicking two point field goals in preference to scoring 3 point tries.