Round 7: Parramatta Eels vs Gold Coast Titans

[Chaos]

Who needs Hayne when you've got the referees?

The refs have been bad all year but there has still been 8 winners each week

[teke]

Who needs Hayne when you've got the referees?

I hardly ever bag refs and thought Thompsons penalty was tough BUT Atkins did the same thing minutes later which was worse imo.

[karnage]

Good teams win without relying on the referees. Their calls didn't cost us the game, our inability to score points did.

We should have put such a space in them that the calls didn't matter. If we had converted pressure into points the dodgy call against Thompson would not have mattered. If we had just locked up the ball before halftime we would have led by 8 instead of 2.

I don't get all the plaudits for Greg Bird either. Sure, he scored a try but all he did was run past a poorly positioned Mortimer. He encapsulates everything it means to be a Cronulla Shark - poor ball security, poor discipline - I hope he gets picked up somewhere else and we spend the money on someone else.

A really awful performance by the best team we can put on the park. I can't be certain that anybody, with the possible exception of Tomane, can make a difference to that team so as supporters we have to suck it up, support the team and hope that we get better.

[Titanic]

I totally echo karnage's comments ... I have no confidence in this mob at all ... I am a Titans man and will pitifully be watching/praying again next week but this group of under-achieving, ill-disciplined, one-dimensional players transcend any poor refereeing, imho.

[Steelers]

My last post tonight, I'm way too emotional ATM.

How many posts you made since then Coaster?

[Rage]

I'm not gonna hold my breath on Carty changing the team and players around because he rarely does that. Instead, I'd just love to see heavy emphasis on discipline so we don't cough up so many dam penalties

[eelectrica]

Titans and Souths fighting it out for this years under achievers award.
Titans gave a lesson in throwing the game away today.

Mini, what were you thinking with that last attempted pass? Just needed to play out the set, get a good kick and that would have been the ball game.

Parra can't attack unless you give them field position - which the Titans did several times.

[Coaster]

How many posts you made since then Coaster?

LOL.

I can't help it, I'm addicted to footy. Love me Titans, we fight sometimes and they treat me bad, but we always kiss and make up

[Rage]

David Beniuk AAP Sun, Apr 24, 2011 - 7:20 PM


Furious Gold Coast coach John Cartwright blasted his side's "arrogance" as the Titans remained firmly entrenched at the wrong end of the NRL table following Sunday's last gasp loss to Parramatta.

The Titans led from the eighth until the 80th minute at Parramatta Stadium before Eels forward Shane Shackleton scored, the try coming moments after a coach-killing error from backrower Mark Minichiello.

The representative forward attempted a miracle offload on his own 40m line in the 77th minute with his side up 18-16, allowing the home side the field position to snatch the win.

"I was cranky with the arrogance of where we turned it over," Cartwright said.

"We were just not respecting the opposition, we were pushing offloads in stages of the game there at the end.

"We pride ourselves in winning tight games, we tried to offload the ball on two occasions and we came up with loose balls.

"And that was the game, it was just total disrespect for the opposition."

Fancied before the season began, Gold Coast slumped to 2-5 to be 13th and in the company of Penrith and South Sydney who also have just two wins.

Only Canberra, who blew a 12-0 lead to capitulate to Newcastle 22-12 in the national capital, sit below that trio.

"It was poor, it was lacking in basics and it was lacking in attitude," Cartwright said.

"It was an inept performance and it was just a very poor showing."

If Cartwright needed any evidence his side was disrespectful of the struggling Eels, he didn't need to look any further than skipper Scott Prince.

"With all due respect to Parramatta, if we're going to do that against good teams we're going to get our **** smacked," Prince said.

That assessment didn't rile Eels captain Nathan Hindmarsh though.

"It was a fair point today," Hindmarsh said.

"We didn't play our best footy, I think everyone could see that, we were well off.

"But I think the positive thing that came out of this game was that we hung in there."

The Eels moved to ninth on the ladder and the Knights seventh, while Melbourne and St George Illawarra can join leaders Brisbane on 12 points with games against the Warriors and the Sydney Roosters respectively on Monday.

The Rabbitohs were awaiting scans on injured duo Sam Burgess (ankle) and James Roberts (arm) but were hopeful of best possible scenarios with both.

Canterbury prop Michael Hodgson is also expected to be right after fainting during Saturday night's win over Souths.

"They seem to think maybe a middle ear infection that I wasn't aware of or ... because I'm back and forth all the time from Canberra trying to live two lives (his family lives in Canberra), they think it might even be a case of just pushing myself too hard," he told ABC radio.

"It is very bizarre. I remember absolutely everything, so they said that's good for my brain."

[Rage]

^ Wow correct me if I'm wrong but that's one of the first times in a while that I've heard Carty 'blast' our side. Normally he refers to poor refereeing or how we didn't get the 'rub of the green'. Maybe he will actually drop some players?

[Coaster]

^ Wow correct me if I'm wrong but that's one of the first times in a while that I've heard Carty 'blast' our side. Normally he refers to poor refereeing or how we didn't get the 'rub of the green'. Maybe he will actually drop some players?

I am glad he seen it for what it was, the excuses need to stop or the improvement can't be made

[Rage]

Oh I definitely agree, I was always a bit envious of how other team's coaches always 'blast' or 'spray' their teams because if the respect for the coach is there, they'll always lift their game and discipline. However, reading what Carty said, I can't help but feel he's singling out Mini

[matti]

He is prob sick of it just as much as we are , this week is going to be interesting

[eelectrica]

New territory for Carty as coach. I'm pretty sure this is the worse start to a season We've had. In seasons passed there have been flat spots mid season, but not the start where we're normally so good.

Hopefully after throwing this game away, the playes realise they need to do more than just turn up to get the win.

[titansrawesome]

I am glad he seen it for what it was, the excuses need to stop or the improvement can't be made

im very happy with carty being like this, it should mean we will play way better and hopefully he picks tagatese,walker and tomane to come in and our training will be a lot harder and better hopefully