NRL Round 7: Manly edge Storm in Battle of Brookvale; Nicho Hynes sends State of Origin message
Four players are facing charges after the fiery match between the Storm and Manly while one Rooster is set to miss games as a result of an alleged hip drop tackle against the Sharks.
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The fallout from the slugfest between Melbourne and Manly continues with four players charged by the match review committee.
Rookie Manly winger Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega is facing a two game ban for his shoulder charge on Cameron Munster while Storm big man Tui Kamikamica will also miss two games for a dangerous contact charge on Daly Cherry-Evans.
Melbourne duo Justin Olam and Trent Loiero will be fined $1800 and $1000 respectively for their offences.
Roosters back-rower Nat Butcher will be banned for one game for a hip drop tackle on Cronulla’s Briton Nikora.
Teammate Brandon Smith has been whacked with a $3000 fine for his third offence after a grade one careless high tackle.
‘STUPID S …’: STORM BLOW UP AFTER BATTLE OF BROOKVALE
– Matt Cleary
Another Battle of Brookvale, another old-fashioned, knock-‘em-down, drag-‘em-out bash-fest, as Manly Sea Eagles and Melbourne Storm flew at one another like Dodgem cars at 4 Pines Park on Friday night.
In the end, after five HIAs, six reports, three sin bins and so many bone-rattling tackles — including one that Gorden Tallis called “shot of the year” – Manly ran out winners 18-8 in front of 13,572 fans who knew tremendous value for money.
“It had the physicality of an old school game,” Sea Eagles captain Daly Cherry-Evans said.
“Both teams showed up ready to win and do whatever it takes to win.
“That’s the most pleasing part from our side – throughout the full 80 minutes, while it wasn’t perfect, we were willing to do whatever it took to win.
“And you could see that in our effort and the way we put our body on the line.
“It was great.”.
Storm coach Craig Bellamy was nonplussed at his team’s performance.
“Not quite sure how to describe it … you look at the stats, especially in the second half, we should’ve been beaten by 30,” Bellamy said.
“We were brave in some areas. But we played dumb at times. We got what we deserved.”
The game turned Manly’s way in the second half when Cherry-Evans was twice hit late and high in the back, and Tui Kamikamica and Justin Olam both went off for ten minutes.
“I don’t know what planet they’re on,” Bellamy said.
“You just can’t do that these days. You can’t hit ballplayers.
“Do that and you’ll play half the second half with 12 men. And when they had 12 men we couldn’t capitalise.
“We got what we deserved and they deserved to win.”
Storm captain Christian Welch called the plays “stupid shit”.
“You come up against a team with Daly Cherry-Evans, Tom Trbojevic, and these classy players, and you just keep doing stupid shit. The NRL’s too close, too many good teams if you don’t respect the ball.
“And with two blokes in the bin, it’s really hard to beat these quality teams,” Welch said.
The HIA doctor’s surgery was more a casualty ward when Trbojevic, Kelma Tuilagi, Kamikamica and Munster went off for head inspections..
HYNES IN BOX SEAT FOR BLUES AS SIN BIN MADNESS ROCKS ROOSTERS
By Martin Gabor
Nicho Hynes may have just played himself into a Blues jersey after the Sharks halfback led his side to a stirring 22-12 win over a Roosters side that had three players spend time in the sin bin, including Victor Radley.
The recently-re-signed playmaker had a quiet first half but a downpour at the break woke him from his slumber as he picked apart the defence with a couple of runs that turned the game on its head.
It started with a heads up play midway through the second half when he took a quick tap and raced away with most of the Roosters turning their backs to the threat.
And it was Hynes who proved the hero with 12 minutes to go when he split the Roosters down the right edge and linked up with Blayke Brailey who just did enough to slide over for the winner.
“About time he had a crack,” Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon joked.
“The thing that’s most impressive is every day he walks through the door, he works hard. He doesn’t stop.”
State of Origin matches are often decided by players who are willing to stand up in the big moments, and the reigning Dally M medallist certainly fits the bill.
Hynes narrowly missed out on making his NSW debut last year, but he’s in the box seat to either earn a spot on the bench or fight his way into the halves alongside Nathan Cleary.
“Just to run out on that Origin arena would be awesome,” Hynes said.
DROP THE DEBATE
It’s been the most hotly debated topic this year with inconsistent rulings leaving fans more and more confused each week, but it seems the footy world can finally agree on a hip-drop decision after Nat Butcher was sent to the sin bin in the first half.
The opening six rounds have seen a number of contentious calls with mass confusion over what constitutes a penalty, sin bin or suspension.
It was somewhat ironic that Butcher was penalised metres away from where Sharks skipper Dale Finucane was sin binned and ultimately banned for three weeks for a hip-drop tackle against the Warriors two weeks ago.
That decision was debated all across the country, but this one was clear cut with the Roosters back-rower dropping his body weight on Briton Nikora’s lower legs, leaving the Sharks edge forward in agony.
The Sharks scored eight points while he was off the field, and they added another six when Nikora crashed over later after Brandon Smith was marched for a high shot on Cameron McInnes.
THE HATEFUL EIGHT
The Smith sin bin was bad, but it got worse for the Roosters when Victor Radley was marched for deliberately lying in the ruck in the final minute.
That’s the eighth time the Roosters lock has been sent to the sin bin, equalling the NRL record.
Trent Robinson wasn’t happy with Radley’s discipline when he was sin binned for a late shot on Cameron Munster last week, and you can only imagine how frustrated he’ll be after his latest indiscretion.
The Roosters can’t afford to have him off the field, with the Chooks now 3-3 this season and winless every time he’s been sent to the sin bin.
It could have been even worse for them with the visitors conceding nine penalties in the first half. They somehow led 12-8 at the break but couldn’t add to their tally.
“We wanted to challenge the ruling (for a knock on) so Rads went back in to cause a stoppage. They definitely should send them to the sin bin for that,” Robinson said.
“But it’s a stoppage, so we should still be able to challenge that ruling.”
ROBBO RUES TOUGH CALL
Robinson says the bunker made a “soft call” by not awarding Lindsay Collins a crucial try that would have put the Roosters back in front with seven minutes remaining.
The Roosters were down 16-12 when Collins charged onto a short ball from Brandon Smith and fought his way to the line, prompting referee Grant Atkins to send it upstairs with a no try ruling, convinced that the prop was just short.
Senior review official Chris Butler took a couple of looks at it and said there wasn’t enough evidence to reverse the decision, with the Sharks able to score moments later against a 12-man defensive line after Smith was sent to the sin bin.
The hooker was one of three Roosters players marched for 10 minutes in the 22-12 loss, but the result could have been a lot different had the visitors been awarded what they thought was an obvious try.
“Lindsay’s try was disappointing,” Robinson bemoaned after the game.
“To miss that … he’s 100 per cent sure that he scored it. It looked like it was on the line and ‘Smithy saw it’, so to not get that was really disappointing.”
Robinson was asked whether the bunker was influenced by the on-field ruling, but the Roosters coach accused Butler of simply missing the crucial moment the ball scraped the line.
“I think they missed it, to be honest,” he said.
“The way that Lindsay lunged late and got there, they got surprised by it. Therefore, the bunker needed to look at that.
“It was pretty clear from the angles that I saw that the ball was on the line. I thought that was a poor excuse (to support) the on-field decision. There were enough angles to say it was on the line.
“That’s the role of that (the bunker). If they miss it on field, which they did because they were surprised by it (then the bunker should change the decision). Smithy then saw it and Lindsay saw it and went ‘hey it’s a try’.
“There was no negative reaction from the opposition and then they make a soft call.”
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