Flanagan claims Sharks robbed of NRL win

[LaT]

http://www.nrl.com/flanagan-claims-sharks-robbed-of-nrl-win/tabid/10874/newsid/66116/default.aspx
Irate Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan claims referee Jared Maxwell robbed the Sharks of a season-opening NRL win as premiership favourites Wests Tigers got out of jail with a 17-16 golden point win on Sunday.
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Tigers superstar Benji Marshall sent the sun-drenched Leichhardt Oval faithful into a frenzy with his 35-metre field goal three minutes into extra time, completing a remarkable escape act after the game looked gone for the home side on more than one occasion.
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But while the Tigers players were relieved and their fans delirious, Flanagan was fuming.
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The Sharks mentor pointed out three decisions he claimed Maxwell got wrong, including his decision to penalise the Sharks for offside after Todd Carney's field goal in the opening seconds of extra time was charged down.
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**Flanagan's assertion that Colin Best should also have been awarded a try 16 minutes from time with his side up 14-12 received some support from an unlikely source in video referee Steve Clark.\
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Clark said he would have awarded the try, but he never got the chance to rule on it with Maxwell refusing to send the decision upstairs after ruling a double movement.\
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"… in the end, yeah, it did cost us the game," Flanagan said of the controversial rulings.\
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"The Colin Best try, that's a try every day of the week.\
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"The video referee is two boxes up from me and he says it was a try.\
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"We've got video referees and don't use it - if we're not going to use it, get rid of them, save some money."**
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Added Sharks skipper Paul Gallen: "They're (the referees) under a real lot of pressure but it's just hard when their decision can decide the game, it's just unfair and you just feel a bit gutted at the moment."
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The calls killed off a dramatic Carney-inspired comeback, with the 2010 Dally M medal winner scoring one try and setting up another in the second half after the visitors had fallen behind 12-4 after early tries to Benji Marshall and Beau Ryan.
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Carney's individual effort just before the hour gave his side its first lead at 14-12, and when he added a penalty six minutes form time, an unlikely win looked probable.
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Ryan's chip-and-chase try three minutes from time left it locked up at fulltime as Marshall's sideline conversion went across the face of goal.
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Carney's restart for extra time amazingly hit the crossbar and the Sharks regathered possession, but when his field goal attempt was charged down, the comeback had amounted to nothing as Marshall finished off the job.
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"They're hurting at the moment," Flanagan said of his players.
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"I can't give them an answer ... they've trained really hard over the off-season and to come to today, it was taken away from us."
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Tigers coach Tim Sheens sympathised with his opposite, but with 646 games under his belt, he knows what goes around comes around.
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"I feel for Cronulla in that respect but we've had our fair share over the years of losses," Sheens said.
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"We're all going to be upset with the officials at some stage, but I think we've got to look at ourselves sometimes and say we had plenty of chances both sides and bombed some chances."
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It wasn't all smiles for the Tigers, however, with debutant fullback James Tedesco suffering a suspected season-ending ACL injury.

That was 100% a double movement. I can't believe it could be ruled any other way. Sharks fans are going off at this as well as the Carney charge down.

 

[king_sirro]

Hahaha…double movement every day of the week. Funny he didnt mention the sharks first try off a forward pass and the terrible decision to rob the tigers of a scrum feed early in the game after the ref ruled we took our advantage...we had them under the pump and it would have been 12 nil.

 

[softlaw]

sharks first try was off a pass that went a mile forward and then that absurd 'advantage taken' call when the ball bounced into Galloways foot.

 

[innsaneink]


 

[Tiger_Watto]

Always thought Steve Clark had no idea… I suppose this proves it. The only continual movement was a twisting motion by the player. His attempt to then move the ball over his head was clearly a double movement.

 

[T-D-C]

Add to h fact there were 3 occasions where the sharks where a mile in front of he ref, with the ref calling them back and still not blowing the whistle.

Both sides had bad calls today!

 

[Guest]

Well said Ink, well said!

 

[White_Tiger]

Flanagan is fast becoming the biggest whiner in the NRL..excuses after all his losses…
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[Jazza]

No mention of the forward pass for the first try. I suppose if he was asked about that we would of heard the "I didn't see it excuse".
Also I think he is saying twisties if he said the video ref thought it was a try. Either Clark was stirring or Flanagan twisted his words because no way was that a try.

 

[supercoach]

LIKE MOST 50/50 calls people only talk about the ones at the end of the game, they never talk about the ones in the first half. Okay the Sharks got some calls that may have gone the other way on another day but we also got some calls that also could have gone the other way. The way I see it our class got us out of jail

 

[Deano1]

I was sitting about 30ft away directly in line with where the ball was put down and it was fair dinkum a pretty obvious double movement far as I'm concerned. He did twist around in the one movement, but was stopped from there. Whatever he did after that deserved the penalty. How many goes at scoring a try to these guys want?

 

[Long_Distance_Tiger]

I agree that the refereeing left a lot to be desired today but I think both sides were disadvantaged at times and the bad decisions were probably evenly distributed. Swings and roundabouts….
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[underdog]

Need to email Flanagan one of these:


Flanagans' real problem was that HE did all the talking regarding the Ex Tigers Players during the week, and talked up the great deal of the century HE made to get Fifita and Gibbs.

We played crap, and took the lollies. Nuff said.

 

[RatedRKO]

Double movement every day of the week. Both teams had bad calls, but I think that we were the better team overall.

Funny how he didn't mention the forward pass that led to their first try. I also remember an obvious knock on off a kick that the sharks dropped that was ruled to have gone back.

 

[Goose]

Definate no try for colin best.

I thought we had a real bad run with the 50-50's but got it all back with the most important call of the match with the penalty for offside at the death.

 

[cunno]

Flanagan would be bitterly disappointed but he'd be wise to keep it to himself as his points are highly debatable. Couldn't help but notice how gutted Bryce was when Benji kicked the field goal.

 

[Sabre]

If you are on the ground and have to place the ball back behind your head to score a try how is that not a double movement.

 

[Gurry]

..loosers, weepers.

 

[Gothetigers]

I though the decision to give the Sharks the scrum feed after the two Cronulla players collided in the 7th min was huge. We were up 6-0 and would have had a full set of six 5 meters out. It was a clear knock on.

Then they score of a forward pass.

You are kidding Flanagan
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[GoldXR50Leroy]

Watched the game on Foxsports and the commentators were in no doubt that the no try to Best was a double movement. if he had taken the tackle we were still in trouble.
I bet that if you asked Steve Clark for a opinion he would disagree with Flanagan's statement!, how come the only time that Colin Best looks like a first grader is when he plays against the Tiges, when he left the Raiders he was a try machine and then went to Souths and the only time he looked like scoring against anybody was at the SCG when Merritt kicked the field goal in the dying seconds to snuff us out.