Tigers v Manly - SFS. Monday March 15, 2010.
3rd minute - Tigers look up for this on, they work a scrumbase blind side play that brought success last year and again this year. Chris Lawrence puts Tuqiri over in the left corner with Jamie Lyon out of position in defence. Just on Jamie Lyon, you'll notice an on going battle between this blog and Laurie Daley throughout the season, starting with this game.
7th minute - Tigers put together a marvellous set using a combination of power and skill which is a rare occurrence as history shows a Tigers tendency towards all skill and a lack of mental toughness. Not tonight as Beau Ryan scores on the end of a beautiful play – called back for a forward pass. Tigers 4-0
9th minute - Steve Matai v Liam Fulton. Good battle because the referees did not interfere. Mental note - the Tigers defense looks great, I feel shocked.
13th minute - Fulton penalised for stripping Anthony Watmough. Every time I look at Liam Fulton, I can’t help but think of his 'wishbone' tackle that put Luke O'Donnell out for an entire season. That's the thing about unsportsmanlike play... whether it was intentional or not, the fans remember and a reputation will stick. Just like when I hear the words, "Steve Linnane" I will always think "eye gouging".
Brad Morrin? 'Biting'
Paul Gallen? 'testicle grabbing'
And so on - google search the above phrases for a background story.
Liam Fulton will hereby be known as 'wishbone'.
15th minute - Watmough draws another penalty. He is a natural leader who has just swung the momentum to his teams favour.
20th minute - Benji Marshall sighting? Not yet.
22nd minute - Michael Robertson try - Lyon converts. Manly 6-4.
29th minute - Tigers seem to be losing direction. Glenn Stewart scores after George Rose comes off the bench with somewhat of a rocket up him. As predicted in our Manly season preview - George is the X factor for this forward pack. Manly 12-4.
34th minute - Tuqiri good under the high ball and this Tigers momentum shifter is ruined with a penalty. Manly continue their onslaught.
35th minute - George Rose OVER!! Manly 18-4.
38th minute - Momentum swings back to the Tigers. Benji Marshall wakes up which leads to Robbie Farah delivering a perfect kick for winger Beau Ryan. He can't make the play and a certain try goes begging.
40th minute - A penalty is awarded that makes absolutely no sense. The referee was either told to square up the count, or simply wanted his mug on TV before halftime. Bizarre call.
42nd minute - thought.... Chris Lawrence needs more possession. GGOA is a huge fan of this kid.
44th minute - Thank god for the Tigers. They run it on the last to no avail but nonetheless this is great for footy.
46th minute - Tony Williams hits Gareth Ellis with a bone rattler.
47th minute - 'Wishbone' fails to get up from a Kieran Foran tackle. Justice? The Tigers have had the majority of possession this half. No points yet. 3 penalties in a row for them and momentum definitely with the boys from Campbelltown/Leichardt.
50th minute - Credit to the Manly defense for holding out. They are a hard working pack and are rewarded by a Moltzen error after another fantastic kick chase.
54th minute - Mental note: The fox sports commentators are strange. They are not making much sense at the moment. Meanwhile the Manly defence is everywhere, trying as hard as possible to prevent a Tigers comeback. Benji still not really in this game for mine.
56th minute - Weight of possession tells. Tigers score and now trail 20-10.
60th minute - Last quarter begins and according to our preview - this is when the Tigers are dangerous. They score through Benji Marshall's lead up work for 'wishbone' to cross the try line. Manly 20-14. Jason King slightly lazy at marker.
Manly coach Des Hasler looks like he either has a severe rash on his backside or just cant sit still because he wants to be on the field so desperately. Just on this - imagine they let Hasler on the park for a few minutes. What would happen? Would he take his anger out on the opposition or would he look more like parent dragging their kids around by the earlobe to teach them a lesson. I can picture Des, dragging King and Kite by the ears all the way to the sideline. Just picture that for a second.....
64th minute - Glenn Stewart is a great defender and is doing all he can to protect the Eagles lead.
67th minute - Momentum killer for the Tigers. They give away a silly penalty and Manly take the shot at goal. They lead 22-14.
70th minute - Is it possible for Laurie Daley to resign from his position as President of the Jamie Lyon fan club for just 1 season? No. He is obviously preparing for the origin selection meeting where he will convince Bob McCarthy that Jamie Lyon must play for NSW. Horrible.
72nd minute - Chris Lawrence try. Possession for the Tigers usually turns to points. Even if their discipline is less than impressive. Manly lead 22-20. Des Hasler has a mild stroke but is tough enough to play through it.
75th minute - The Tigers give this blog’s match preview a hint of credibility by storming all the way back from 16 points down. They score a magnificent 80m try, moving the ball left to right for Gareth Ellis to pounce on a Robbie Farah grubber kick and the Tigers lead 26-22. Brett Stewart injured during the play.
78th minute – A Steve Folkes sighting on the Tigers bench. I admire Steve Folkes. His career timeline will tell you why:
1998: He started as conditioner for the dogs and was apparently only interested in fitness training for his former club.
1999: Begins coaching first grade
2004: Wins Grand Final
2005-2008: Endures the end of a tumultuous and damaging era for the Bulldogs club and finishes his coaching career with a wooden spoon.
2009: Takes a break from footy. This would normally mean a coach disappearing for a while. Steve did... but found a paid holiday in the form of a position as strength and conditioning coach for the West Indies cricket team. Can you imagine how motivated Chris Gayle and the rest of the calypso crew would have been to run laps of Barbados? Can you also picture where Folkes lived for this period? Magnificent career move.
2010 - Back to where it all started. He is named as fitness guru for the Wests Tigers, a job that fulfils his sadistic desire to physically destroy young footballers in order to mentally prepare them for 1st grade. It has worked. They looked fresh and fit in the last 20 minutes on Monday night and with the competition so close this year, most games will no doubt be decided during the last quarter. The Tigers could be making comebacks like this all season.
78th minute - Manly with possession 30 metres out from the Tigers try line. Folkes' off season training comes to fruition and the Eagles fail to break the Tigers line.
80th minute - Biff! George Rose collects a falling Daniel Fitzhenry. The teams come together and Anthony Watmough looks like he can hold back about 4 opposition players by himself. Tough kid.
Tigers win 26-22 and for some reason the Dally M player of this match is Benji Marshall. Having said that - I guess Benji knows he can run amok against tired forwards at the back of end of games. He cruises through 60 minutes tonight and is fully aware that premierships are not won in March.
Note - Laurie Daley is the Dally M judge in this match and awards Jamie Lyon 2 points. Let’s just store it in the memory banks for now.
See you next Monday night for Canberra v Brisbane from the nation’s capital.
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