Thread: Bad ref calls in NRL

Originally Posted by incisor

karma.....

the world is at peace....





mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

And notice the difference!!!!

No conspiratorial bleating from those who were dudded this time.

From some one who actually knows what he is talking about, Bob [ ever wondered why the population shift is north & not south? they will only be blowins until they lose their southern attitudes]




The Cowboys just weren't good enough this year, says Mal Meninga.





THE comments from North Queensland, and in particular their captain Johnathan Thurston, after the "seventh tackle" try last weekend were fuelled by pure frustration.

There was obvious frustration that the referees had made a mistake, and that was only compounded by the fact that match officials had made a costly error against the Cowboys in the same situation last year.

But I think a great deal of the Cowboys’ simmering anger from last weekend was created by the knowledge they themselves had let another season of opportunity slip.

What North Queensland’s storming end to the season, and the subsequent furore about the referees, did was disguise the fact that this year, and against Cronulla, the Cowboys just weren’t very good.

North Queensland were expected to challenge for the premiership this year, and the fact they are not doing so is a problem of their own making.


There is no doubt the Cowboys have the talent to be a top-four team, and had they finished higher up the ladder they would have been afforded the luxury of an extra life in the finals, instead of walking the tightrope of sudden death where one mistake – by a player or referee – can be a season’s death sentence.

But for much of the year, they did not play like a top-four team, and really only switched on to play near their best after the sacking of their coach Neil Henry – once everybody thought their finals chances were finished and the pressure was released.

It was the same against the Sharks.

While no one is denying denies the referees made a huge blunder in awarding that try on the seventh play, it must be remembered the Cowboys were still in front late in the game and, if they were a genuine finals team, would have closed it out.

They had another chance to win the game in the dying seconds, and simply weren’t good enough to take it.

I’m not here to pour salt into the Cowboys’ wounds.

But a week’s worth of hindsight would probably have most of the Cowboys players thinking they should have never let themselves fall into a situation where their destiny was taken from.

The referees made a shocking mistake in a very big match, and have been punished and publicly chastised for it.

But were they to blame for North Queensland’s season being rated a disappointment? No. Having said that, I can also understand why Johnathan and other Cowboys had such an emotional response to what unfolded last weekend.

Winning a premiership is so tough, and the window to challenge for one so narrow, you cannot afford to waste any chance to win one.

The Cowboys know this, and they also know for two years in a row they have let good opportunities slip.

Being the first-ever Cowboys team to win the premiership would be the ambition burning within each North Queensland player – because it would mean so much to their community and their fans.

It is something I was lucky enough to experience with Canberra in 1989 – being in the first-ever Raiders premiership team. It is one of the most special moments of my career.

I still recall what it meant to Canberra fans that their team had finally broken through to be rated as “the best”.

It was the same the first time Penrith won in 1991. The same for Brisbane in 1992 and Newcastle in 1997.

They are the victories for the ages, and what every player dreams of being a part of.

But they are not victories decided by moments or mistakes – they are built over entire seasons, and sometimes over many years.

That is what makes them grand. North Queensland will climb that mountain eventually too, but it won’t be theirs until they treat every game as if it was their last.