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.
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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.
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.
Gould fumes as bombshell rumour swirls
Bulldogs general manager Phil Gould has been left fuming over a report about one of his club’s most important players.
Sport Con: Bennett hits back at claims he dudded Lodge
Wayne Bennett has addressed speculation he dudded Matt Lodge over a proposed move to the Rabbitohs, insisting he made no promises to the controversial Manly prop. See the full SPORT CONFIDENTIAL.