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Manly thoroughly deserved yesterday's emphatic victory over the Roosters. It could be suggested the Roosters were their own worst enemies, and contributed to their own demise with repeated ill-discipline and fundamental errors. A lot of this is true.
However, to report on this game and suggest the result came about by any means other than the Sea Eagles' dynamic effort would be totally unfair on the Manly club.
The Sea Eagles won this game through their courage, grit, determination and great defence. They displayed a spirit and character that was far too powerful for their rivals. To put it in simple terms - Manly were too tough for the Roosters. Players love to be a part of victories like this one.
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I also suggest yesterday's contest could well have seen the emergence, or better still, the confirmation, of our game's next superstar in the shape of Manly five-eighth Kieran Foran. Such dominant, virtuoso displays are rarely seen from one so young.
Foran was brilliant. In recent seasons, he has given notice of his tremendous potential but with this performance he took his ability to influence a game to a whole new level.
Until now Foran has been recognised for his crafty playmaking abilities and his seemingly innate football instincts. This has often drawn the comment that he was born to play rugby league.
He again showed us all his attacking skills during the course of this contest. But it was the fierceness and brutality of his defence that stamped him as more than just another pretty footballer.
It wasn't just the magnitude of his hits either, many on players much bigger than himself. It wasn't just the try-saving cover defence that saved the day when the Roosters looked certain to score, although this certainly helped. More importantly, it was the timing of these contributions. He imposed himself on the game and he willed his team to victory.
When Manly needed him most, Foran delivered. He inspired his teammates and he lifted their resolve. He galvanised his men into a togetherness that could not be denied.
For the first 45 minutes of the match, you had the feeling the Roosters would probably end up beating the injury-depleted Manly side.
The Roosters, however, kept shooting themselves in the foot with a string of unforced errors and untimely indiscretions that confirmed their status as one of the most penalised teams in the NRL.
The Manly boys were in there punching away, and had somehow managed a narrow half-time lead. But it seemed whenever the Roosters held on to the ball, they had no trouble scoring points. So when the Roosters scored just after the half-time break to secure a 16-14 lead, one suspected they would knuckle down and complete the task.
The next five minutes of play from the Sea Eagles stood the game on its head. Led by Foran, Manly suddenly found a surge of physicality that was so motivated and so powerful, it completely changed the momentum of the match.
Manly wanted victory more than the Roosters, and it showed. Their second-half tries were not brilliant, but they were a result of sustained pressure on their opponents.
Manly were willing to hurt to gain victory. The Roosters were not. Manly were prepared to play tough. The Roosters were not. It was only fitting the football gods smiled on Manly's effort. The Sea Eagles soon had their noses back in front, and were never going to be denied from that point on.
Following the Roosters' narrow-escape victory over South Sydney last weekend, I wrote: "The moment they think success is all about talent, they are vulnerable to self-destruction. The moment individuals start to play the solo hand, the team mentality suffers. Their ill-discipline on Friday night came as a result of poor attitude control, plus a lack of respect for their opposition and even the referee."
I further suggested the Roosters would "be deluding themselves if self-appraisal didn't address the real reasons why they found themselves into so much trouble during the contest".
Well, perhaps it takes a loss before teams can be as honest in their self-analysis as they need to be. The Roosters went sideways and backwards far too often. They put pressure on each other with ill-advised passing and poor control. They wanted to play fancy, and had no answer to the confrontation Manly gave them.
There are two ways to play this game: the easy way, and the right way. The Roosters chose the easy way every time. If they needed a loss to snap them into reality, they got it good yesterday. Manly smacked them. There is no getting around that.
Manly thoroughly deserved yesterday's emphatic victory over the Roosters. It could be suggested the Roosters were their own worst enemies, and contributed to their own demise with repeated ill-discipline and fundamental errors. A lot of this is true.
However, to report on this game and suggest the result came about by any means other than the Sea Eagles' dynamic effort would be totally unfair on the Manly club.
The Sea Eagles won this game through their courage, grit, determination and great defence. They displayed a spirit and character that was far too powerful for their rivals. To put it in simple terms - Manly were too tough for the Roosters. Players love to be a part of victories like this one.
Advertisement: Story continues below
I also suggest yesterday's contest could well have seen the emergence, or better still, the confirmation, of our game's next superstar in the shape of Manly five-eighth Kieran Foran. Such dominant, virtuoso displays are rarely seen from one so young.
Foran was brilliant. In recent seasons, he has given notice of his tremendous potential but with this performance he took his ability to influence a game to a whole new level.
Until now Foran has been recognised for his crafty playmaking abilities and his seemingly innate football instincts. This has often drawn the comment that he was born to play rugby league.
He again showed us all his attacking skills during the course of this contest. But it was the fierceness and brutality of his defence that stamped him as more than just another pretty footballer.
It wasn't just the magnitude of his hits either, many on players much bigger than himself. It wasn't just the try-saving cover defence that saved the day when the Roosters looked certain to score, although this certainly helped. More importantly, it was the timing of these contributions. He imposed himself on the game and he willed his team to victory.
When Manly needed him most, Foran delivered. He inspired his teammates and he lifted their resolve. He galvanised his men into a togetherness that could not be denied.
For the first 45 minutes of the match, you had the feeling the Roosters would probably end up beating the injury-depleted Manly side.
The Roosters, however, kept shooting themselves in the foot with a string of unforced errors and untimely indiscretions that confirmed their status as one of the most penalised teams in the NRL.
The Manly boys were in there punching away, and had somehow managed a narrow half-time lead. But it seemed whenever the Roosters held on to the ball, they had no trouble scoring points. So when the Roosters scored just after the half-time break to secure a 16-14 lead, one suspected they would knuckle down and complete the task.
The next five minutes of play from the Sea Eagles stood the game on its head. Led by Foran, Manly suddenly found a surge of physicality that was so motivated and so powerful, it completely changed the momentum of the match.
Manly wanted victory more than the Roosters, and it showed. Their second-half tries were not brilliant, but they were a result of sustained pressure on their opponents.
Manly were willing to hurt to gain victory. The Roosters were not. Manly were prepared to play tough. The Roosters were not. It was only fitting the football gods smiled on Manly's effort. The Sea Eagles soon had their noses back in front, and were never going to be denied from that point on.
Following the Roosters' narrow-escape victory over South Sydney last weekend, I wrote: "The moment they think success is all about talent, they are vulnerable to self-destruction. The moment individuals start to play the solo hand, the team mentality suffers. Their ill-discipline on Friday night came as a result of poor attitude control, plus a lack of respect for their opposition and even the referee."
I further suggested the Roosters would "be deluding themselves if self-appraisal didn't address the real reasons why they found themselves into so much trouble during the contest".
Well, perhaps it takes a loss before teams can be as honest in their self-analysis as they need to be. The Roosters went sideways and backwards far too often. They put pressure on each other with ill-advised passing and poor control. They wanted to play fancy, and had no answer to the confrontation Manly gave them.
There are two ways to play this game: the easy way, and the right way. The Roosters chose the easy way every time. If they needed a loss to snap them into reality, they got it good yesterday. Manly smacked them. There is no getting around that.
Now that worries me more than anything i saw on the field!!!
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