Absolutely Disgusting!!!!!

[Nathan Aboud]

I needed yesterday to calm down a little how it was so disgusting of the NRL to allow that crap to occur on Saturday Night.

I still don't get how on earth Curtis Scott's contact on Blake Ferguson is considered legal as if Fergo stayed down and had a fractured back or major Shoulder injury then would they consider it a penalty then? Cause they did the same thing with Alex Mckinnon and it was the same parties involved (Captain & Referee).....

Another question we should be asking is how was JWH's accident in the last two minutes any different from that??? Addo-Carr got back up right away, and yet we should have had an attacking opportunity in their half...

We played so well, only to have Sutton decide that game before kick off, if we had Cecchin or any other referee we would have not been penalized so harshly and would have won that game. Game plan was simple, keep the big 3 out of it and yet we did a great job at it!!!!!!!!!! We scored more tries, made more running metres and yet put on a 80 minute performance including having the majority of our young talent stand up and play better then some of our senior players.

The fact that the NRL has only fined that winger for that crazy stupid hit up only shows how incompetent they truly are and how the administration is destroying the game, after all the Bullscum Salary Cap problem is there own making!!!!!! How Smith was caught twice instructing the referee where to be and what to do is an embarrassment to the game itself and it just shows that who ever plays the Storm in the GF this year will have no chance what so ever to take the title.

We deserved to win that game, this week the officials and administration really determine the result. The boys trained hard and picked up their attitude after what was a terrible second half performance against Manly. All 17 of our boys have sent a warning to the Storm for September however not sure if we want the Chooks playing in the GF as it will be a setup by the NRL for the Storm to take the title so easily.....

Seriously, are we saying now to young children that the way Curtis Scott used this shoulder to push Fergo well and truly over the side line to stop a try is legal and can be permitted especially in first grade? Fergo would have scored if that shoulder was not raised and moved the way it did. Watch it again in slow motion and compare it to JWH and you tell me which one was more dangerous.

Had my rant, anyway how good were the boys on Saturday night???

[milanja]

Not a bad rant, the rule of being able to tackle a attacking player in the air, is a total contradiction of the rule where you cannot tackle a defending player, same injuries can occur.

[Bowzy]

I actually never knew that you couldn't tackle an attacking player in the air. It is a very dangerous tactic. Despite that, it should have been penalised for putting ferguson into a dangerous position. Not to sure why referees don't have a bit of common sense and draw the line.

[zac]

Pretty much agree with the rant.

No way was the Ado-Carr incident a penalty. We didn't try to tackle him; we were just going for the ball. Are we not allowed to go for the ball?

And the winger should have lost game time for jumping up and thrusting his knees forward at head height. It was only because our boys withdrew from the tackle that we didn't have a possible death.

[Arties Pie]

if we had Cecchin or any other referee we would have not been penalized so harshly and would have won that game.

Ben Cummins would have given Sutton a run for his money in those stakes.

[The Brain]

If you did not all notice cameron Smith - and he is smarter than you and I at footy .
He stalled and carried on with the ref to give his team lengthy breather as they were going down thats what happened in the last 7 minutes.Melbourne consolidated and scared the ref into not penalising them while they were massively inside the 10 we shouldve got two penalties in the last two play the balls at the least.
If I was Captain I wouldve hammered the ref about Cameron Smith and asked him who decides the run of plays you or Cameron because it causes an uneven playing field .
This is what Smith does mostly -This gives Melbourne massive Breathers they do not like the game faster than theirs.
If our coach has any balls and the other opposing coaches should complain.
Always remember Melbournes defensive game plan is to slow the play as much as they can thats why they illegally wrestle and for 10 years the NRL does nothing about it.
They like a farken slow game to set their defence .Its smart if you can flaunt it and they do.

[Jacks Fur Coat]

Need a strong referee to put Smith in his place, it's obviously not Sutton.

I'm not sure if we have one in the current crop under Archer.

We need a Bill Harrigan.

[Johnny Tobin]

There were two crucial wrong calls against us in the first half.

Absolutely crucial.

The first was when SST stripped golden-boy penalty-diving Slater. The ball clearly went back and they called it a knock on. We should have been on the attack but what followed was a lot of time of Melbourne on our line.

The next one was even worse.

When we finally got the ball back we make a break and Guerra was pinged for his play the ball. He didn't drop it and the referee more or less apologised after. We should have been on the attack and they end up with the ball again. More pressure.

Not to mention the fact that the most-penalised side in the comp were allowed to get away with blue murder in the ruck and we couldn't buy a penalty when it mattered.

And the "penalty try", which in fairness I preferred to no try and the bin.

The game managers cost us a historic victory. In my mind we won that game.

And Sutton will do the GF because he and his brother are teacher's pets. Whilst I would be happy as they usually put away the whistle in the big one I am not because it suits Melbourne more than anyone else.

PS. It has taken years and I acknowledge I am late to the party but I now officially hate The Storm. Flipping the legs out from under Fergo was a despicable act. He could have easily ended up in a wheelchair.

[eddie]

Mark Gasnier said that the game managers ruined that game.

Well, he called them referees..........

[eddie]

PS. It has taken years and I acknowledge I am late to the party but I now officially hate The Storm. Flipping the legs out from under Fergo was a despicable act. He could have easily ended up in a wheelchair.

The nrl have created a monster.
Why change the rules just because they are a "frontier" team?

All they are is a fourth QLD team that play all their home games 2000 klms away.

[bondi paul]

Sentiments exactly Eddie re your Qld/ Melb comment.
its all about the Qld $ and fan base for Qld and to a lesser extent the Melb fan. The tackle on Fergo and the pitiful fine of their mad winger just bewildering. It likely the NRL want a Storm GF win - fairytale for Smith and Cronk the NRL protected species and another win win for the powers that and a payback for stripping the cheats.

[Headless Chook]

What about the first penalty to the Storm? Cronk puts a kick over for Slater, you can see Pearce is following the kick and running back to help out, Slater runs straight into him and falls to the ground like he's shot. Lets reverse the roles and say its Watson tracking back and he runs into Cronk, would it have been a penalty? Definitely not!

[Game Fowl]

Not a bad rant, the rule of being able to tackle a attacking player in the air, is a total contradiction of the rule where you cannot tackle a defending player, same injuries can occur.

If they are serious about player welfare this would be amended, however if there is a genuine effort from both to play at the ball eyes and hands and the body follows , then that is fair play and part of footy but where there is just a body check then "putting the player into a dangerous position " penalty should occur - no mater whether attacker of defender offends.

[Johnny Tobin]

What about the first penalty to the Storm? Cronk puts a kick over for Slater, you can see Pearce is following the kick and running back to help out, Slater runs straight into him and falls to the ground like he's shot. Lets reverse the roles and say its Watson tracking back and he runs into Cronk, would it have been a penalty? Definitely not!

Slater earns that dive penalty almost every week. When he sees he can't make the ball he looks for someone to run at instead.

[Tommy Smith]

Slater earns that dive penalty almost every week. When he sees he can't make the ball he looks for someone to run at instead.

Yep. And i can honestly see that play unfolding in the 75th minute of the GF and Sutton eating it up.

Similar to how Jamie fathead Lyon tried it on in 2013 only Shane Hayne didn't fall for it.