Monday Buzz: Weekend highlights, lowlights

THE class of Raiders coach Ricky Stuart after Saturday night’s loss to Melbourne Storm is one of Phil Rothfield’s highlights of the weekend.

THE highlights, lowlights and talking points from another memorable weekend in sport.

HIGHLIGHT

The class of Raiders coach Ricky Stuart after Saturday night’s loss to Melbourne Storm. Two years ago everyone was bagging him and saying he couldn’t coach. That he turned the Canberra Raiders into such a spectacular attacking outfit and brought new fans to rugby league.

HIGHLIGHT II

It was the wrong result for Sydney but the GWS Giants — Western Bulldogs preliminary final was absolutely thrilling edge-of-your-seat excitement in that desperate final quarter.

MONDAY BUZZ: Cafe catch-up that kicked off Cronulla title charge

MONDAY BUZZ: Inside Sharks’ sheds after Cowboys win

LOWLIGHT

No wonder so many Sydney footy fans prefer to watch sport on TV from home. At Spotless Stadium on Saturday the beer ran out at halftime. At Allianz on Friday night, fans had to queue for almost 30 minutes just to get a drink.

LOWLIGHT II

Someone at the Cronulla Sharks needs to permanently gag front-rower Andrew Fifita. His remarks over the weekend about his support for coward punch killer Kieran Loveridge were disgusting.

Ricky Stuart has turned the Raiders into a spectacular attacking outfit.

SPOTTED

Cronulla Sharks assistant coaches Steve Price and James Shepherd at AAMI Park on Saturday night checking out the form of their grand final opponents.

SPOTTED II

Canberra Raiders players at Melbourne’s Crown Casino after Saturday night’s loss to the Storm. Perfectly behaved according to those who saw them.

NO PASS MARK

Surely the fact referee Gerard Sutton missed the blatant forward pass for Chad Townsend’s try against the Cowboys has ended any hope of him handling the grand final. Ben Cummins and Matt Cecchin have been the standout referees throughout the finals and deserve to referee the decider.

FINALS SPRAY

We wonder if any other player but Johnathan Thurston could get away with saying to referee Ben Cummins: “You need to get your f----- s--- calls right,” in Friday night’s game at Allianz Stadium.

Johnathan Thurston during the Cowboys’ loss to the Sharks. Picture: Gregg Porteous