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Post by Electric Eel on May 24, 2020 16:41:56 GMT 10
Round 16, 2008: Parramatta 24 d Melbourne 22
Courier Mail
Parramatta Eels hold off Melbourne Storm surge
by: By Dean Ritchie •From: The Daily Telegraph •June 29, 2008 5:00PM
PARRAMATTA 24 MELBOURNE 22 PARRAMATTA halfback Brett Finch last night admitted there was "nothing illegal" in three controversial penalties which helped his side to a 24-22 win over a decimated Melbourne at Parramatta Stadium yesterday.
Referee Ben Cummins, who had a horrible afternoon, penalised the Storm three times for late hits after Finch had kicked the ball - at least two of those could be deemed soft.
Parramatta scored twice only moments after the penalties to set-up a vital, if unimpressive, victory.
Storm player Sinbad Kali collided with Finch in the 31st minute, Eels centre Joel Reddy scoring one minute later.
And Melbourne prop Jeff Lima hit Finch late in the 66th minute with Eels centre Krisnan Inu crossing seconds later.
Rugby league has lost its tough image if they were penalties.
Melbourne were privately angry at the penalties but refused to go public with their criticisms.
Even Finch was surprised, saying: "There was nothing illegal in them - there was no drama. I jumped straight to my feet.
"One of them I was waiting for a drop-out. I didn't even know it was a penalty.
"They targeted me a little today and the big thing (in the game) is protecting kickers. Maybe they were late and I thought they may have learned after the first penalty."
Melbourne assistant coach Michael Maguire, who attended the post-match media conference, was worried about the penalties and said his club would talk this week with NRL referees coach Robert Finch.
"Definitely we will look at it," Maguire said. "Sinbad hardly touched him (Finch). Finchy fell over."
Storm halfback Cooper Cronk added: "They scored a couple of tries from them. But we need to protect the kicker."
Melbourne - without nine Origin players - were courageous yesterday.
They possibly did enough to win but a 5-1 penalty count against them in the first half damaged their chances of springing the upset of the season.
Both sides scored four tries yesterday, with Melbourne actually shooting out to a 10-0 lead after 15 minutes. There were nine players in the Storm side yesterday who only a few in rugby league would know.
The best thing to say about Parramatta was that they won and grabbed two desperately needed competition points, which puts them back in the eight.
"The 5-1 penalty count makes it difficult," said Cronk, who was exceptional yesterday. "Our kids deserved a win. To fall short is very disappointing."
After a tough month of football, the Eels seemed to lack that killer instinct.
"It was scratchy but it was a game we needed to win," conceded Eels coach Michael Hagan.
"I thought mentally we were down a touch and that reflected in the way we played. It was a difficult week and everyone was talking about it (Melbourne missing nine players). We may have noticed it subconsciously. I had concerns at halftime. There were indicators that we weren't on our game."
Parramatta skipper Nathan Cayless said fans were entitled to be disappointed with his team's performance.
"We've got all our players on deck," Cayless said. "We just let ourselves down by our standards.
"It's a game we'll forget about quickly and now look to the Penrith match (next Sunday).
"It was a frustrating game."
Finch was Parramatta's best, Cronk a stand-out for the Storm.
Cronk showed wonderful maturity yesterday in guiding his rookie side around the field.
He is a class player and unlucky that he plays in an era when Queensland has Darren Lockyer, Johnathan Thurston and Scott Prince.
PARRAMATTA 24 (K Inu, J Reddy, T Tautai, T Williams tries; L Burt 4 goals) MELBOURNE 22 (S Manu 2, C Cronk, J Tomane tries; S Turner 2, C Cronk goals) at Parramatta Stadium. Referee: B Cummins. Crowd: 12,597.
Courier Mail
Parramatta Eels hold off Melbourne Storm surge
by: By Dean Ritchie •From: The Daily Telegraph •June 29, 2008 5:00PM
PARRAMATTA 24 MELBOURNE 22 PARRAMATTA halfback Brett Finch last night admitted there was "nothing illegal" in three controversial penalties which helped his side to a 24-22 win over a decimated Melbourne at Parramatta Stadium yesterday.
Referee Ben Cummins, who had a horrible afternoon, penalised the Storm three times for late hits after Finch had kicked the ball - at least two of those could be deemed soft.
Parramatta scored twice only moments after the penalties to set-up a vital, if unimpressive, victory.
Storm player Sinbad Kali collided with Finch in the 31st minute, Eels centre Joel Reddy scoring one minute later.
And Melbourne prop Jeff Lima hit Finch late in the 66th minute with Eels centre Krisnan Inu crossing seconds later.
Rugby league has lost its tough image if they were penalties.
Melbourne were privately angry at the penalties but refused to go public with their criticisms.
Even Finch was surprised, saying: "There was nothing illegal in them - there was no drama. I jumped straight to my feet.
"One of them I was waiting for a drop-out. I didn't even know it was a penalty.
"They targeted me a little today and the big thing (in the game) is protecting kickers. Maybe they were late and I thought they may have learned after the first penalty."
Melbourne assistant coach Michael Maguire, who attended the post-match media conference, was worried about the penalties and said his club would talk this week with NRL referees coach Robert Finch.
"Definitely we will look at it," Maguire said. "Sinbad hardly touched him (Finch). Finchy fell over."
Storm halfback Cooper Cronk added: "They scored a couple of tries from them. But we need to protect the kicker."
Melbourne - without nine Origin players - were courageous yesterday.
They possibly did enough to win but a 5-1 penalty count against them in the first half damaged their chances of springing the upset of the season.
Both sides scored four tries yesterday, with Melbourne actually shooting out to a 10-0 lead after 15 minutes. There were nine players in the Storm side yesterday who only a few in rugby league would know.
The best thing to say about Parramatta was that they won and grabbed two desperately needed competition points, which puts them back in the eight.
"The 5-1 penalty count makes it difficult," said Cronk, who was exceptional yesterday. "Our kids deserved a win. To fall short is very disappointing."
After a tough month of football, the Eels seemed to lack that killer instinct.
"It was scratchy but it was a game we needed to win," conceded Eels coach Michael Hagan.
"I thought mentally we were down a touch and that reflected in the way we played. It was a difficult week and everyone was talking about it (Melbourne missing nine players). We may have noticed it subconsciously. I had concerns at halftime. There were indicators that we weren't on our game."
Parramatta skipper Nathan Cayless said fans were entitled to be disappointed with his team's performance.
"We've got all our players on deck," Cayless said. "We just let ourselves down by our standards.
"It's a game we'll forget about quickly and now look to the Penrith match (next Sunday).
"It was a frustrating game."
Finch was Parramatta's best, Cronk a stand-out for the Storm.
Cronk showed wonderful maturity yesterday in guiding his rookie side around the field.
He is a class player and unlucky that he plays in an era when Queensland has Darren Lockyer, Johnathan Thurston and Scott Prince.
PARRAMATTA 24 (K Inu, J Reddy, T Tautai, T Williams tries; L Burt 4 goals) MELBOURNE 22 (S Manu 2, C Cronk, J Tomane tries; S Turner 2, C Cronk goals) at Parramatta Stadium. Referee: B Cummins. Crowd: 12,597.
