Sea Eagles ride their luck as refs' errors put Raiders on back footThe difference between the premiers and a battling outfit struggling for breath, at least on this day, was so slight that the mistakes by the officials were magnified. Not that they needed to be. It was obvious to so many, even some wearing Manly colours, that the Sea Eagles had got away with one.
''It could have gone either way, I thought,'' Manly coach Geoff Toovey said. ''We got away with a win. I suppose Canberra could feel a little bit unlucky that they didn't come up with the points.''
Canberra did feel that way, of course, and they had every right to. Manly may still have won had the big decisions gone against them, but the Raiders could have done with a fair fight. It's difficult to say whether the quality of officiating has worsened this season, but there were certainly some standout stinkers yesterday.
''It was unusual for us to win the penalty count, so I'll take it when I can get it,'' Toovey said.
Aside from the 8-3 penalty count in the Sea Eagles' favour, the Raiders were dealt no favours when an apparent knock-on by Jorge Taufua was missed by the referees and sideline official Steve Carrall, as the Manly winger jostled for possession with Raider Blake Ferguson.
The Sea Eagles, riding their fortune, kicked a penalty goal a few minutes later through Jamie Lyon.
Canberra lock Shaun Fensom was also harshly judged when he was ruled to have incorrectly played the ball with five minutes remaining - his weren't the only feet involved in the process and the Sea Eagles could easily have been penalised. But they were not and after the mystery, the rest is history.
But if the referees' bosses are to consider the future, they need to wipe out the elementary errors - Canberra coach David Furner is not only fighting for wins, but is also battling for his job. Officials make mistakes, sure, but too many of them these days are having too much of an influence on matches.
Of course, Manly can only use the cards they were dealt. They did enough to win a tight contest.
The closeness of the two teams was never more evident than in the form of the fullbacks, Manly's Brett Stewart and Canberra's Josh Dugan, who were involved in their own minor battle before the selection of the NSW team for State of Origin I.
Ultimately, it was probably Stewart who prevailed; Dugan scored for his side, using enormous strength to do so, while Stewart played a key role in winger Dean Whare's second try. However, Stewart's defence was just as striking, on several occasions preventing Canberra tries.
He knocked down bigger men, in the case of Tom Learoyd-Lahrs, and wrestled with them, in the case of Fensom. Blues coach Ricky Stuart has stated before that ''a try saved is a try scored'', and sitting in the stands at Brookvale Oval yesterday, no doubt he would have noted Stewart's desperation.
The fullback is known for his try-scoring, but the fact he saved several gave him the edge over the also impressive Dugan.
Ultimately, there was little between the sides. While the Raiders responded to their setbacks well, Manly took advantage of them, too.
When Ferguson reeled out of a tackle hurt and stumbled back towards the defensive line, centre Steve Matai darted towards him and found clean air behind the Canberra defensive line. That gave Lyon a 56th-minute try that would turn out to be the match-winner.
That's why, while Toovey felt some sympathy for his beleaguered colleague, it only extended so far.
''You make things happen for yourself as well,'' Toovey said. ''We've all been in that situation where things haven't gone your way, and the bounce of the ball goes against you, or the 50-50 calls go against you.''
Yesterday, it was Manly's turn to ride their fortune. But next week, who knows?
Source: Cooma Monaro Express
Topic: Manly Get Away With Undeserved Win Over Raiders
