Des Hasler at the post match press conference

[Tamwelg]

Have a listen to what he has to say here http://bigpondvideo.com/NRL_Titans/141911

I think he will be fined, but I tend to agree with a lot of what he said.

I'd like to see the NRL implement the coaching teams as proposed by Michael Searle and change the way the two referees work, so that the senior referee is always in control and the junior referee is always the pocket ref. The were more bad calls in the game then the one at the end and all were from the junior referee.

[Tamwelg]

Manly coach Des Hasler apoplectic after Gold Coast Titans defeat Sea Eagles

By Laine Clark
May 24, 2009

Controversy reigned yet again as Gold Coast Titans kicked a penalty goal in the dying stages to edge out Manly 18-17 at Skilled Stadium.

Manly looked to have secured the two competition points when captain Matt Orford kicked a field goal seven minutes from full-time of a game played at a frenetic pace, the halfback having previously muscling his way over to score the Sea Eagles' only try of the second half try to give them a 16-10 lead.

But the Sea Eagles were aghast when referee Matt Cecchin made a diabolical decision on the stroke of full-time, which handed Gold Coast the victory.

Cecchin penalised Orford for taking out Titans fullback Preston Campbell as the pair battled for possession with two minutes left on the clock, a decision that left the Sea Eagles halfback to call out to Cecchin "you'll be in reserve grade next week",

Gold Coast skipper Scott Prince calmly potting the simple penalty to hand the Titans an unlikely 18-17 victory.

Manly coach Des Hasler pulled no punches in his post-match press conference, unloading on the standard of refereeing in the NRL.

Hasler, an outspoken critic of the two-referee system even before this fixture, did little to hide his rage as he called on the NRL to act on the quality of refereeing.

"Week-in week-out we are discussing similar issues, similar situations, and it is time something was done about it," Hasler said.

"The game is professional, the officialdom isn't.

"The (game) was not decided by the players.

"It was ahead of a large TV audience, 17,000 fans at the ground, and it was again a junior referee who decided the issue with, in my opinion, a dreadful error under pressure.

"It is a sad situation for the game, and I feel for my players and the thousands of fans who travelled up to 13 hours to watch this game of footy.

"Rugby league is a great game; it has to be to survive errors like the one two minutes from full-time."

Cecchin's bizarre decision came less than 48 hours after dubious calls marred both Friday night encounters.

South Sydney were denied the opportunity to have a crack at a match-winning field goal against Parramatta at ANZ Stadium when referee Brett Suttor did not allow a scrum to be fed as the full-time hooter sounded at the end of extra-time with the scores tied at 16-all.

And Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens was livid after star playmaker Benji Marshall was sin-binned for repeated infringements as the Tigers went down to Brisbane Broncos 20-18 at Campbelltown Stadium.

The controversial result at Skilled Stadium saw the Titans snap a two-game losing run, putting them back on track to make their NRL finals debut, while ending the Sea Eagles' two-match winning streak that appeared to have put their premiership defence back on track.

Orford, like Hasker, had but one question in the changing room after the match: How did he concede the match-winning penalty?

Orford resorted to quizzing journalists, so confused was he by Cecchin's penalty that sealed the Titans victory.

"I don't know, seriously," a baffled Orford said.

Orford was left scratching his head over the call, despite imploring the referee to explain.

"The call was 'someone got taken out without the ball', that was the ref's ruling," Orford said.

"He didn't say me (took Campbell out), he didn't say anyone.

"I don't know. I'm lost.

"I was the one contesting the ball so I am guessing so.

"I kept looking at the screen and I couldn't find it (infringement)."

Orford said the loss would "hurt" the team as they tried to get their premiership defence back on track.

"I still thought we fought very hard at the end and probably deserved those two points," Orford said.

The result also brought a nightmare end to a controversial week for the Sea Eagles.

The Sea Eagles had their own share of distractions with uncertainty surrounding Manly chief executive Grant Mayer after a boardroom brawl reignited at the premiers.

New Zealand centre Steve Matai, meanwhile, is expected to be out for "a couple of weeks'' after sustaining an ankle injury.

The Sea Eagles were already reeling from news that Brett Stewart may not be back before the finals, with his knee injury now expected to take another four months to heal.

Stewart - who was injured five weeks ago - is due back in court on Tuesday after pleading not guilty to two sexual assault charges.

AAP

www.foxsports.com.au

[DIEHARD]

Hasler slams ref over Titans win
Luke Turgeon

FURIOUS Manly coach Des Hasler launched a stunning attack on the NRL and its officials last night as another shocking refereeing blunder cost the Sea Eagles victory against the Titans at Skilled Park.

Taking the unusual step of reading from prepared statement in the wake of the 18-17 loss, Hasler said the NRL needed to act on its standard of refereeing or risk turning people off the game.

``Thirty-four players took part in a game of rugby league today, he said.

``They battled away for 78 minutes.

``In the end of a tremendous game the decision was not decided by the players.

``It was before a large TV audience and 17,000 fans at the ground and it was again a junior referee who decided the issue which was in my opinion just a dreadful error under pressure."

With two minutes remaining and the Sea Eagles leading 17-16, whistleblower Matt Cecchin awarded an incorrect penalty to the Titans just 12m out from the Manly line.

It came as the Titans were on their fifth tackle and with halfback Scott Prince preparing for a shot at field goal, Gold Coast fullback Preston Campbell made a dart from dummy half.

He put in a grubber and toed it ahead before Manly skipper Matt Orford made a diving attempt to regather the ball, taking out Campbell in the process.

Orford, who landed a field goal three minutes earlier to put the Sea Eagles ahead, finished with the ball in his arms.

Cecchin awarded the penalty, claiming Orford took Campbell out without the ball.

Titans halfback Scott Prince calmly slotted the penalty goal from just to the left of the uprights to snatch the two competition points.

''You take them, they don't have to look pretty.''

With a wry smile Nathan Friend summed up the mood in the Titans dressing room.

The Titans were happy they won, but annoyed they were far from their best.

It wasn't looking like the Gold Coast's day. The Titans were 'steam rolled' in sections of the game, a large chunk of the disappointing 16,125 crowd were Manly supporters, but the Titans got the job done and cemented a spot in the NRL top four.

It was an important victory for the Titans who had lost their last two and steadied their season as some league pundits had begun to question whether infamous mid season fade-outs would continue.

Despite the break the Titans will return to regular training at Runaway Bay this week to fine tune their game.

Titans coach John Cartwright last night implored his side to play with more composure after they all but handed Manly victory late in the sea-sawing affair.

''In all honesty we probably threw the game away in the last 10 minutes, we just played with no composure,'' he said.

''I thought any time we got quality ball we came up with points, I just thought we lost our way that last bit.''

It was an absorbing clash which Manly dominated in large chunks, but the Titans held their composure to say with the Sea Eagles for the majority of the clash - until the last 10 minutes.

Composure went out the window as the Titans tried low percentage options.

The play which won the Titans the game was a prime example.

Cool headed skipper Scott Prince was standing on the 40m line waiting to take a shot at field goal, but the ball never got to him.

''Those last 10 minutes we didn't build for a win, we just tried for a miracle play so that was a bit disappointing,'' said Cartwright.

Manly's powerful forward pack dominated much of the middle, but as they have so many times this year the Titans defensive line held strong when they needed to.

''They turned up with an aggressive attitude, they're not the premiers for nothing, they play off their go forward and it was hard to contain at times and I thought our boys hung in there and worked our buts off,'' said Prince.

''I guess the (half-time) scoreline flattered us, but the next 40 is what its all about.''

Deadlocked at 10-10 at half-time Sea Eagles skipper Matt Orford gave the visitors the lead in the 58th minute after he darted from dummy half and faked a pass which fooled Anthony Laffranchi and Mark Minichiello.

Ashley Harrison sealed an origin birth when he steamrolled over several Sea Eagles defenders to score under the posts after a nice inside ball from Prince a few minutes later.

Orford looked to have won the game when he slotted a field goal with four minutes to go, but the Titans got home.

Comeback kid William Zillman started on the wing, having spent a large chunk of the season on the bench, and looked short of a run with a couple of mistimed runs.

Young outside backs Esi Tonga and Kevin Gordon continue an impressive start to their first grade career and looked dangerous down the left side.

Source: http://www.goldcoast.com.au

[titanstattman]

I would have to say he would get a fine but where was the cspt i couldnt see him sitting there?????????????

[Tamwelg]

I would have to say he would get a fine but where was the cspt i couldnt see him sitting there?????????????

I commented on the same thing to my wife. I have a feeling Des told him not to go to this one, because he knew there would be trouble after he read his prepared speech and didn't want Orford in trouble as well.

[titanstattman]

I commented on the same thing to my wife. I have a feeling Des told him not to go to this one, because he knew there would be trouble after he read his prepared speech and didn't want Orford in trouble as well.

Yeah he must of got that down on paper wen scotty was kicking the winning goal...........

[TITANS007]

I think it was another one of those 50/50 calls that for once actually went our way. I can't really say for sure if it was or wasn't a penalty so I'm just glad the ref was ballsy enough to make a big call at that stage of the game in our favour!!

[dean]

Didn't hear a single word from Hasler and co when Manly were given the victory over the Broncos with a couple of disgracefull calls a few weeks ago.
Stop whingeing Hasler, what goes around comes around.

[amaline]

Didn't hear a single word from Hasler and co when Manly were given the victory over the Broncos with a couple of disgracefull calls a few weeks ago.
Stop whingeing Hasler, what goes around comes around.

And during that game Manly looked like they knocked the ball on in the play the ball twice, one was Lyon on their own 30 metre line. Then there was Preston dropping the ball back and being ruled a knock on.

[hully gully]

didn't hear any manly fans complaining while the call of 2 2 2 2 was going on lol

[GCT_07]

I TOTALLY agree with him...... While officially and by the rules it was a penalty, there are sooooooooooooo many calls at the moment where you are just dumbfounded by it. You just sit there and cant believe the call. Then to make matters far worse the other team capitalizes on it and scores.

There was one there on Sunday that took me AGES to get over. Presto knocks the ball backwards to the degree where he actually has to turn around and go backwards to pick it up and its called knocked on. The line was there as well to show how far back he knocked it back...... but it was still ruled to have been knocked forward.

The standard of the Refs is not upto par and something has to be done.

[teke]

I havnt heard a Titan fan screaming with delight because their team won a premiership and i dont think i will for the next 5 yrs

...bloody hell we needed that 2 pts

[GCT_07]

Gee that was a quick edit Teke.......

"I havnt heard a Titan fan screaming with delight because their team won a premiership and i dont think i will for the next 5 yrs ;)"

Let me just say.......You can hear me scream with delight every game......... and secondly....... you will need ear plugs when we do win a premiership... which I m certain will be in the next year or 2.

The great thing about the Titans.... is that we are 2years old and yet our strengths hold us quite strongly up against all competitors....... even those that just won the last premiership. (what the hell... I 'll rub int in again) so just imagine what a force the Titans will be when they have been in the competition as long as Manly has.

Infact it s probably the main reason why we dont have a Leagues Club yet..... they cant find floorplans big enough to carry all the premierships we will have:D

[teke]

We will both be gerriatrics by the time Titans win a premiership. I might need some hearing aids and bi-focals by then :D

Premiership within a year or 2 hahaha

[GCT_07]

Are you kidding me..... I already am a Gerriatric...... I already wear glasses and I cant hear a thing (some call that selective hearing)

As for you... dont care how old you are.... your not a true Titans supporter:p Your just a part timer;)

And YEP.... 2 years... that s my call and I m sticking to it.:D

On that note.... this old bird is going nite nite

[teke]

hahaha

Titans are ok, im proud to be a part timer.

Up the Eagullz :thumbsup:

[Tamwelg]

haven't you run out of tissues yet teke.

[TITAN PETE]

We will both be gerriatrics by the time Titans win a premiership. I might need some hearing aids and bi-focals by then :D

Premiership within a year or 2 hahaha

You better head off to the doctors for your prescriptions as the Titans will give this Premiership a Shake ;)