What a week. In terms of footy played round 12 had some great games and two golden point results. As for the players, one launched a spray at his team mates via the media, another was caught out after an on field incident was ignored by everyone else and one player ended up ‘bloody annoyed.’ Their identities and what happened is over the fold.
Adam MacDougall and The Bunnies
Souths centre Adam MacDougall launched a tirade against his team mates after a hapless performance against the Tigers on the weekend. ‘Mad Dog’ correctly summed up the Bunnies problems as:
“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to work out we had some deficiencies around the ruck and that’s where they got us.
“Forwards win you big matches and we’re going to have losses throughout the year.”
While Mad Dog was being honest he has to pay the price and was stood down for a week. In tough times unity is needed. I do think Souths are in good hands with Our Russell and Peter Holmes a Court as owners. However Shan McRae is not the coach to lead this side out of trouble. To many players seem to be disinterested and something needs to change. Put money on Jason Taylor being the Bunnies first grade coach next year especially if he turns the Eels around this year.
Trent Barrett
A hit that was missed by everyone in Newcastle except for Knights winger Brian Carney later came back to haunt Trent Barrett well after the game. Allegedy a Channel 9 employee saw the incident and notified the NRL. Barrett was cited and suspended for 6 matches. Now while Barrett deserves to be suspended for the hit I am troubled in how the evidence came to light. Newcastle prop Craig Smith did ask for the match officials to look at the incident after it happened. Why it wasn’t referred is a mystery. Apparently there are laws that allow the NRL to charge players in hindsight but this to me smacks of officials covering up their bungling. It wasn’t the best weekend for the refs as some performances were indeed puzzling (witness Hampstead’s 2nd half in the Eels win over the Roosters).
Nathan Hindmarsh
Cue end of the Eels v Roosters where Hindy is presented with the man of the match award. Conversation is paraphrased as follows:
Johns: How do you feel Nathan?
Hindy: I’m bloody annoyed.
Johns: Why?
Hindy: That was rubbish!
Johns: What do you have to do to beat the Saints next week?
Hindy: Score 20 points….in both halves.
It was the best MotM interview I can remember. Nathan Hindmarsh played a fantastic game last Sunday. Remember he was backing up from Origin. His stats were 26 hitups for 235 metres, 26 tackles, one missed tackle and one handling error. Never mind his uncanny prescience to be there to clean up after opposition line breaks or dropped balls. He is now officially beyond superlatives. There is no other forward in the game (Beaver Menzies maybe, could be, possibly be considered) who matches his all round game and committment.
The Tips
The resurgent Eels to extinguish the Dragons.
The Storm to strike the Roosters
The Knights to joust victorious over the Bulldogs
Alas poor Bunnies skinned by the Raiders
Broncos to trample the Warriors
The Sea Beagles to fly too high for the Panthers
The Tigers to maul the Cowboys
I though the world cup wasn’t for another week or so and is to be played in Germany not at Kogarah Oval.
Good grief.
Don’t get me started on Bumbling Bumstead and his refereeing.
The Barret hit on Carney was clear enough on TV and it looked like one of the worst fouls of the year. I was surprised that Carney stayed on the field. Hagan’s story was in The Australian.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19343096-2722,00.html
This is an extract:
I mean the incident was eventually picked up by a Channel Nine employee and Barrett was suspended. But that did not help my football team. A scrum was put down when Carney dropped the ball, the Dragons scored off the ensuing set and Carney took a long while to recover.
This incident was missed mainly because of Channel Nine’s decision to run a Danny Buderus highlights package from earlier in the match which meant that the tackle was not replayed and thus the illegality went undetected.
At the same venue against the same opposition two seasons ago, Clint Newton’s terrible misjudged tackle on Ashton Sims was replayed instantly. Newton was sent off and copped a 12-week suspension, Sims went off bloodied (but returned) and the whole incident attracted constant replays and plenty of weekend media discussion.
There is no doubt Clint’s penalty was “loaded up” because of the circumstance but I don’t think the six-week difference in Barrett’s and Newton’s suspensions was justified.