That was definately a loss that came from the short turnaround. Manly played in the second half like they were very very tired. Combine that with a period of 100% possession to the Tigers and you saw the result.
Look at St George today, the played on short turnaround too, and I reckon they look soft after the first 20 minutes. They, like Manly were no longer bustling in defense, and were just holding Souths out.
It was very nice to see, and makes me content that the loss was not a result of loss of form or confidence. Manly will not play on short rest in the semis so they will be fine.
The other factor is that referees this year do not give those impatience penalties in the ruck anymore, what I mean by that is, in the past, when a player was in the ruck trying to get away, the referee gave a penalty to the team in possession even if it was not that players fault. Now, they use more common sense. This means that games have less penalties and stoppages and are even faster and more intense - hence short rest teams can really blow in the second half.
I'd like to see the Tigs now back up and waste St George next week too. Hate both teams, but in reality its Saints that are the bigger threat when the games get serious. Manly would easily hold the tigs on normal rest, but not sure about St george yet.
NYEagle