Big League Weekly Edition – August 01, 2019

4 BIG LEAGUE 2019 Round 20

Raiders captain Jarrod Croker has scored 17 tries in 17 games against the Warriors.�� Melbourne have won 16 of their

ByWILLE VANS

W

ITHthegapbetweenfinalsfootyand

anearlyholidayrazor-thin,therubof

thegreenoverthepastmonthhasleft

Warriorsfansemotionallyraw.

Theirfrustrationreachedanall-timelowin

Saturday’scontroversial24-22losstoParramatta.

Caned9-2inthepenaltycount– highlighted by

multipleincorrectstripping

calls– theWarriorshadtheir

heartsbrokenbya contentious

77th-minuteforward-pass

decisionthatdeniedGerard

Beale(pictured)a match-winning

tryandRogerTuivasa-Sheckone

ofthebestassistsof2019.

TheNZTABtookthe

extraordinarymeasureof

refundingallhead-to-headbets

ontheWarriorsinwhatthey

dubbeda ‘justicepayout’,while

fourofficialswererelegated

fortheirhandlingofthematch.

ButWarriorsCEOCameron

Georgeiscallingforcalm,urging

supporterstofocusontheirteam’s

tightropewalktowardsSeptember.

“Itwastough.It wasaddressed

straightafterthegameby(coach)

Stephen(Kearney)totheplayinggroup,”Georgesaid.

“Asa club,theimportantthingiswemoveon.

Theplayinggrouphada gooddiscussion,I feel

likethey’veleftit inSydney.”

TheresultlefttheWarriorsin12thinstead

ofa shareofeighth– andcontinueda streakof

findingthemselvesonthewrongendofthewhistle.

The Warriors beat Newcastle in Round 16 despite

anincorrectstriprulinginthelead-uptoa Knights

try,a BunkerhowlertodenyKenMaumalo,andthe

referees’failuretostopplayfora concussedPeta

HikuastheKnightsscoredanothertry.TheBunker

thenoverturnedanon-fieldcalllateintheirgolden

pointdrawinBrisbaneinRound17,beforeCronulla

wereawardedtwotriesfromdubiouspassesbefore

theWarriorsfoughtbackinWellington.

“The challengesaretoughtotake.But

we’reina sport,you’vegot

tolivewiththingsandwe’ll

addressit appropriatelyway,”

Georgereasoned.

“ToGrahamAnnesley’scredit,

hewasonthephonetomefirst

thing[Sunday]morning.It was

greattohavethatdiscussion

withhimwhileit wasquiteraw.”

TheBankwestStadium

barnburnerwastheWarriors’

firstregulation-timedefeatin

sixgames,buttheynowfacethe

prospectofhavingtowinallsixof

theirremainingfixtures– fiveof

whichareagainsttheNRL’scurrent

topfivesides.ButGeorgeasserted

theWarriors’seasonisfarfromover.

“Ifthere’sa teamthat’sgoing

tostanduponthebackofsome

adversity,it’sours,”hesaid.

Georgealsoclearedupa tongue-in-cheek

suggestionina radiointerviewthatfans

comedressedasrefereesandbringwhistles

toFriday’shomeshowdownwithCanberra.

“Wedon’twant20,000whistleshere– two

isenoughonthefield,aslongastheyblowat

therighttimeandtheyput their arm up at the

right end of the field.”

Warriors will

keep up the fight

ByMARTINGABOR

T

HEYweren’tabletosendclub

greatJohnathanThurstonout

instylelastyear,sotheCowboys

aredesperatetomakesurethey

playfinalsfootybeforeMattScott

retiresattheendoftheseason.

Theveteranpropcaughthis

team-matesbysurprisewhen

heannounced 2019 wouldbe

hislastintheNRL,withinjuries

finallycatchingupwiththe

formerrepresentativestar.

The Cowboys are three points

outsidethetopeightbutcan

roarbackintocontentionwhen

theytakeontheWestsTigersat

LeichhardtOvalonThursday.

“Itwasanemotionalmeeting

becausenoneofusreally

expectedit,”youngprop

ShaneWrighttoldBigLeague.

“Wethoughthe’dkeepplaying

nextyearoncehegotoverhis

injuries,sothedecisioncaught

usbysurprise.He’sa massive

figureattheclubsowe’rejust

goingtoripinforhim.

“Wewanttoplayfinalsfooty

and we know we have the squad

togetthere.Knowingit’shisfinal

seasonisa drivingfactorand

makesuswantit morebecause

he’ssucha legendoftheclub.”

Whilehe’ssadtoseeScottgo,

Wrightsayshe’llusetherestof

theseasontolearnfromoneof

thegame’stoughestbigmen.

“He’ssoinspirational,and

oneofthemainreasonswhy

I cameuptotheclubwasbecause

ofhimandtheolderheadswho

canhelpmewithmygame.

I’mjusttryingtopickhisbrain

asmuchasI canandlearnfrom

him before he retires,” he said.

Doing it for ‘Thumper’

PHOTO:

NRLPhotos.com:

Robb Cox (McInnes), Nathan Hopkins (Eels),

Shane Myers (Beale)