Horror Sequel For Sea Eagles Sharks Sink Hasler's Men At Fortress

Sun Herald

Sunday March 16, 2008

By Will Swanton Brookvale Oval

CRONULLA 16

MANLY 10

MATT ORFORD is yet to sit down and watch the horror movie that was last year's grand final.

Guts, gore and a gruesome ending to a genuine bloodbath - it's an 80-minute slasher film of the flogging from Melbourne that would still make the Manly captain's stomach churn.

As of last night, he has another replay to avoid.

On a night of high drama, Cronulla prop Ben Ross was knocked unconscious and rushed to hospital for emergency scans after a sickening head clash with Josh Perry.

Perry's face was left bloodied and battered, but Ross was out cold and on his way to nearby Mona Vale Hospital after their high-speed collision in the fifth minute.

They had each other's number from the opening whistle, pushing and shoving as an all-in brawl was only narrowly averted before most people had taken their seats.

Ross went charging straight at his target, Perry, in the fifth minute but was left motionless on the 40-metre line as an eerie silence descended over a packed house.

A gaping wound on Perry's face was taped up as Ross failed to move a muscle. A stretcher was rushed onto the field.

The players dispersed when they realised how serious his condition had become.

Few sights on a league field are as harrowing as an unconscious player being placed on a stretcher and led up the darkness of the tunnel.

Back to the game, and Manly coach Des Hasler said video referee Phil Cooley "got it wrong" by disallowing a late try to Michael Bani because Glenn Stewart had hit Greg Bird high in the build-up. Sharks counterpart Ricky Stuart agreed it was harsh.

"You talk about coach killers - that's very, very hard," Stuart said. "I don't feel sorry for Des because it will happen to me at some stage this year, but it is a very tough ruling.

"It could have been a try but it went the other way and it's our penalty. Tough for a team, tough for a coach."

Both mentors were referring to Stewart's 68th-minute tackle on Bird, which the match review committee might look at.

The Sharks led 16-6 at the time, with 12 minutes left, but the video referee disallowed the try because of Stewart's involvement and gave the visitors a penalty.

Game over.

With tensions rising after Ross's departure, referee Jared Maxwell overreacted when he penalised Manly fullback Brett Stewart for a supposed high tackle on Sharks No.7 Brett Kimmorley.

The initial point of contact from Stewart was around Kimmorley's chest.

Sea Eagle Anthony Watmough opened the scoring off a Matt Ballin pass in the 10th minute before Luke Covell's penalty from the Stewart tackle made it 6-2 just five minutes later.

But the Sharks led 8-6 at half-time after winger Bryson Goodwin's four-pointer, which Covell converted from the sideline.

The last 30 minutes descended into a dogfight, which had Stuart looking tense enough to crush his walkie-talkie in his bare hands.

The crowd was 15,424 and when four Sea Eagles slammed Cronulla fullback Brett Kearney back into his in-goal, they were witnessing league at its punishing best.

The kicking games of Orford and Kimmorley were spot-on.

But the little stuff kept going the Sharks' way, including a few penalties and speculative passes that stuck.

© 2008 Sun Herald

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