NRL match fixing: The dire defeats which sank the Manly Sea Eagles
KNOCK-ons, forward passes, missed tackles and uncharacteristic mistakes. These were part of a litany of errors that highlighted two Manly defeats in the NRL last season.
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KNOCK-ons, forward passes, missed tackles and uncharacteristic mistakes.
These were part of a litany of errors that highlighted two Manly defeats in the NRL last season.
At the time former Manly coach Geoff Toovey could not hide his disappointment. With their season on the line his Sea Eagles faltered against Parramatta in what Toovey described as a “diabolical performance”.
“Our worst (performance) of the year,” Toovey said after the match.
This in a season in which Manly failed to make the finals for the first time since 2004 and which ultimately led to Toovey’s sacking as coach.
That round 24 clash between Manly and Parramatta, as well as the Sea Eagles’ 20-8 loss to South Sydney in round 17, is now understood to be at the centre of the police’s investigation into alleged match fixing in the NRL.
The game was described in The Daily Telegraph as a “memorable and unlikely four tries to three victory” to Parramatta against Manly. Parramatta were already out of the premiership race but Manly had everything to play for in front of a parochial Brookvale Oval crowd.
Despite winning their past four matches and coming up against an Eels side out of finals contention, the Sea Eagles put in an out-of-sorts performance.
They had just 39 per cent possession, completed only 61 per cent of their sets and committed 16 errors as the Eels scored an upset victory.
Last night, Toovey said he had no knowledge of any suspicious behaviour in either of the two Sea Eagles’ matches in question.
“I’m not aware of anything untoward that went on. I didn’t see anything in those games that would have been suspicious,” Toovey said.
Toovey at the time lamented his team’s performance, knowing a victory would have kept them in finals contention. After the game he said: “We were lucky they were as bad as us I suppose, to keep us in the game.
“I think we completed 21 sets from 40. Just diabolical, our worst all year. We seemed to go from bad to worse. The performance we put on tonight, we don’t deserve to be there.”
Manly’s 20-8 loss to South Sydney in round 16 is also understood to be scrutinised by authorities.
The match was dubbed as the “battle of the brothers” as the Stewart and Burgess brothers would come head to head for the first time, with Glenn Stewart lining up for South Sydney and Luke Burgess for Manly.
The Rabbitohs lost South Sydney halfback Adam Reynolds early in the game because of concussion but managed to finish in front with a four try to two win.
The match was riddled with schoolboy errors.
There is no suggestion that these players were involved in fixing any games.
While Toovey was critical of his side weeks later in the loss to Parramatta, he was far more reserved in the defeat against the then defending premiers.
“Every game is really tough,” Toovey said last June.
“They were just a bit too good for us tonight but, again, I was very proud.”
The Rabbitohs held a two-point lead a halftime after losing 34-6 to the lowly ranked Wests Tigers in their previous game.
Meanwhile, Manly owner Scott Penn told The Daily Telegraph last night he had “no comment at this time” regarding the NRL match-fixing allegations.
A HISTORY OF DUBIOUS PLAY
GRAND FINAL, 1963
It brought rugby league its most iconic “Gladiators’’ image, but the 1963 grand final was among the most controversial in history. Referee Darcy Lawler was claimed by some in the Western Suburbs camp to have placed money on St George and the Dragons enjoyed the best of the penalty count in their 8-3 win. Lawler, who denied the claims, died in 1994.
SOUTH SYDNEY V WESTERN SUBURBS, 1994
Controversial former rugby league player John Elias later admitted he tried to fix the match for a Western Suburbs win while he was playing for South Sydney. Elias claimed in his biography, Sin Bin, that he had four Rabbitohs players on board but the deal fell through.
ROOSTERS V COWBOYS, 2009
Sydney Roosters coach Brad Fittler was forced to deny rumours his team had thrown their final-round clash with North Queensland. TAB Sportsbet suspended betting before the match after a rush of money on the Cowboys to win by 13-plus, and the Roosters went on to lose by 32-16 after leading 16-0 early.
RYAN TANDY, 2010
Tandy was convicted of match fixing, fined $4000 and placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond in 2011 for trying to manipulate a North Queensland penalty goal as the first points-scoring option against his Bulldogs in 2010. The plan failed when the Cowboys took a quick tap and scored a try in the corner.
DAVID WILLIAMS, 2014
Manly winger David Williams was one of five players suspended for betting on NRL matches involving their clubs. Ethan Lowe, Cody Nelson, Hymel Hunt and Slade Griffin received two-week bans but Williams copped the second half of the season after he was found to have bet on matches he was involved in. There was no suspicion of match fixing.
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