Few points from the game.
The ‘controversial’ storm no try. The only angle that looks like he got it down is the weird corner one. The other angles show there’s an arm underneath. Good call. Also, Howarth? Didn’t get up celebrating and claiming he’d scored a grand final try. Furthermore, I’m assuming bunker has time synced footage where they can compare angles.
The ruck was horrendous. Both teams were giving as they got, but imo it looked worse because the Storm were out on their feet and struggling to get to their feet. Both teams were renowned for their ruck slowing. Klein is also a bit of a numpty for that stuff, puts the whistle away for big games instead of trying to get on top of it.
I’m used to Fox commentary, and while 9 was a little different, god they have some cooked takes. I don’t know who ‘fatigue’ is, but he was running the ball every play.
Panthers must have called AOB during the week, they seemed pretty determined not to give paps any broken field kick returns, gagai esque smash the receiver as they catch it and only challenged the winnable balls.
Cleary running the ball so much was great. Luai and Martin were great. Edwards an absolute machine taking so many carries. His team were gassed and he took at least 2 runs in a few sets to help them out. Great team player.
Sneaky question whether Sorensen had his foot in the air when he caught the kickoff. No replays shown. Not super important but caught my attention.
Munster ‘bite’. If I’m Alamoti, I’m not leaving my hand there while it’s being bitten. They both react simultaneously. I’m not sure if Munster is THAT clever that he feigns he’s been hit in the mouth at the exact moment alamoti claims he’s been bitten. I don’t know what to make of it. Munsters reputation as a fierce competition may count against him here.
Anyway.
Happy with a panthers win. Their players stepped up. They missed Cleary for a chunk of their season and probably win the minor if he plays a few more games.
It safe to say, Cleary can’t achieve anything else at the panthers. If he really wants to be as good as Joey, he needs to come to Newcastle to win 2 premierships. Until then, Joey is king.
