NRL 2021: Dane Gagai has taken aim at Manly playmaker Kieran Foran over stink at Brookie

It was a bad tempered end to a fascinating game and Dane Gagai has pointed the finger at the culprit, saying ‘scoreline frustration’ was the cause of the all-in melee on Saturday night.

Damien Cook. Picture: Getty Images

Dane Gagai has suggested the last-minute melee that saw Jaydn Su’A placed on report was sparked by Kieran Foran being a sore loser.

Making no apologies for collaring Foran after being pushed in the back, Gagai claimed being on the end of a scoreboard thumping prompted the Manly five-eighth to start the push and shove that escalated to an all-in melee.

Su’A was placed on report and sent to the sin bin for coming third man in during the last minute of Souths’ 26-12 win over Manly.

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Things got heated at Brookvale Oval. Digital image by David Hossack � NRL Photos

“That’s footy,” Gagai said.

“It is a competitive game and a physical game. It was obviously a bit of frustration (from him). I have been in that position where you are on the losing team but anything that happens on the field stays on the field. There is no hard feelings and I wish him all the best for the rest of the season.”

Regarded as an on-field enforcer who never takes a backwards step, Gagai said he would not be looking for a square-up in the return match against the Sea Eagles later this year.

“Maybe I shouldn’t react to certain things but at the end of the day it is a game of footy and things happen,” Gagai said.

“It is a physical game and we are all out there competing. Everyone who takes to the field wants to win so when you have a bunch of guys competing like that there are going to be moments in the fame where it gets heated. Once the game is over it is no hard feelings towards anyone.”

It was a rather distasteful end to the game on Saturday night.

The entire last-minute incident was placed on report and Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker are expected to face scrutiny when the NRL Match Review Committee examines the footage.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game and that they were going to show up,” Gagai said.

“We started poorly last week so for us it was about turning up and starting well. I thought we did that, especially in these conditions. We went away from that a bit in the second half and dropped some ball but managed to get it back on track and do enough to come away with the win.”

Wet and wild: Stars face scrutiny after fiery finish

An entire “incident” was placed on report after Jayden Su’A was sin-binned for his part in an all-in push and shove.

In a fiery finish to the Rabbitiohs’ win over Manly at Brookvale Oval, Su’A was marched from the field after a scuffle between Kieran Foran and Dane Gagai escalated to the brink of a brawl.

While no punches appeared to be thrown during the last-minute stoush, Su’A was sin-binned for coming third man in while Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker are also expected to face scrutiny. The whole incident was placed on report.

Dane Gagai was involved in a last-minute scuffle with Kieran Foran. Picture: Getty Images

Earlier, Adam Reynolds needed just 40 minutes to prove he deserves the long-term extension he so desperately craves after his trusty right boot guided the Rabbitohs to a 26-12 win over the Sea Eagles to heap more misery on Des Hasler’s side.

Reynolds missed most of the second half after he failed an HIA having been collected high by Sean Keppie in the first set of six after the break, but his performance before that showed just how important he is to the side.

Sydney had copped more than 80mm of rain by the time a ball was kicked at a sodden Lottoland, playing right into the hands of a man who prides himself on booting teams into submission.

He terrorised Sea Eagles fullback Dylan Walker with his arsenal of kicks and scored a try when he pounced on a deflected grubber in the first half to send a gentle reminder to the club’s powerbrokers to add another year to his deal.

Reynolds will have to pass protocols if he wants to face the Roosters on Friday, but Wayne Bennett is confident his chief playmaker will be right to play.

“He’s okay. He’ll play next week,” the master coach said. “He played well, but he had a lot of mates who played well for us.

“He’s played over 200 games so he’s played in all kinds of conditions.”

The 3218 fans who turned up to see if their team could bounce back from last week’s woeful effort against the Roosters would have been encouraged by the effort, but they need more from their stars if they want to be competitive.

Cherry-Evans had a rare shocker as he kicked out on the full, threw a slew of sloppy passes and was pinned for trying to milk a penalty in the ruck.

“There were parts of the game where we competed well, but there are clutch moments where we’ve got to be better than what we currently are,” Des Hasler said.

“The two points were there and we didn’t go on for it.”

Adam Reynolds’ kicking game was crucial in the first half. Picture: Getty Images

The Rabbitohs have a nervous wait ahead of next week’s blockbuster clash with the Roosters after Jaydn Su’A was sent to the sin bin with one second remaining after charging into a melee, with the entire incident placed on report.

RUN RABBIT RUN

Damien Cook was slammed for his Round 1 performance, when he had just two runs for 19 metres in the loss to Melbourne, but he was back to his brilliant best against the Sea Eagles.

Cook used his speed to slice through the defence from 30 metres out and looked to have scored a stunning solo try, only to be denied by Walker.

The representative star then darted over to seal the result with 16 minutes to go, not long after he chased down Jason Saab to save a try at the other end.

“I thought he was pretty good,” Bennett said after his dummy-half was criticised during the week. “We don’t have a plan for him to run, it’s what opportunities are available to him. It’s about the moment and the opportunity, and that’s what he has to balance.

“He’s a wonderful competitor.”

Damien Cook was hard to contain in the slippery conditions at Brookvale. Picture: Getty Images

WALKER’S OFF

Tom Trbojevic can’t come back soon enough. His replacement, Dylan Walker, is a fine player, but he’s not a fullback. He was found out time and time again on Saturday in conditions that exposed even the slightest deficiencies.

He put down a bomb and was belted for his troubles, fumbled a ball when he went to dummy-half, and inexplicably let a Reynolds clearing kick go out for a 40/20, resulting in a South Sydney try with the final play of the first half.

Walker simply doesn’t have the weapons that Trbojevic possesses, and Manly fans will be praying that their talismanic No.1 is back on the paddock sooner rather than later.

“It was a tough day for any fullback,” Hasler said. “We’ve got to keep looking at that, but we also might need to reshuffle some players.”

FINGERS CROSSED

Everyone was rooting for Andrew Davey when he made his debut at the ripe-old age of 28 last year. Now they have their fingers crossed after the Sea Eagles recruit was helped off by trainers with suspected ligament damage in his left knee.

There are fears Davey may have suffered a dreaded ACL injury after he was left writhing in pain following an awkward tackle by Cameron Murray in the fourth minute.

Originally published as NRL 2021: Dane Gagai has taken aim at Manly playmaker Kieran Foran over stink at Brookie