fLIP
UFO Hunter
MANLY skipper Matt Orford took aim at the Sea Eagles younger brigade, revealing he was "filthy" at some of the play dished up in Friday night's opening NRL trial loss to Melbourne at Bluetongue Stadium.
Down seven top-grade regulars due to injury and suspension, the Sea Eagles were battered 56-10 in a display that wouldn't have left Manly coach Des Hasler feeling too good about his club's playing depth.
Hasler ran out his top-grade stars only in the middle 30 minute period, the NRL regulars holding their own as they went down 12-10 against the top their Storm squad.
But it was a different story in the opening and closing third when Manly - with the majority of their back-up players on the field - were hammered to the tune of 44-0.
“I though our first 30 was pretty crap,†said Orford, who only played the middle period.
“We came up here with a plan and we were going to work on five points and we didn't achieve any of those in the first 30 so I was pretty filthy about that.
“No one wants to lose trials - we came up here wanting to put in a good performance. With the young blokes, they need to understand that you need to put in a lot more work and the Storm, even their young blokes, they're at a really high level.
“They set a benchmark all the way through from their juniors to their seniors.
“We need to step up and be ready for our next trial because you can't go into the season with a performance like that and I'm sure Des will make that clear in the next two weeks.â€Â
Orford also admitted he wasn't a big fan of the experimental two referees system employed in Melbourne.
Grand final referee Tony Archer and Gavin Badger shared the duties with one taking charge of the ruck and the other the ten metres before swapping roles as possession was turned over.
Orford believes the inconsistencies in interpretation between referees made the experiment untenable.
“It's just two different opinions out there - you don't know which bloke to actually go and talk to and say. 'What's that ruling for?',†Orford said.
“It could change a game a whole lot more, the tempo of the game can change from ref to ref.
“The dominant calls and the surrender calls are different ... you've got to move quicker with one ref or slower with the other.â€Â
Down seven top-grade regulars due to injury and suspension, the Sea Eagles were battered 56-10 in a display that wouldn't have left Manly coach Des Hasler feeling too good about his club's playing depth.
Hasler ran out his top-grade stars only in the middle 30 minute period, the NRL regulars holding their own as they went down 12-10 against the top their Storm squad.
But it was a different story in the opening and closing third when Manly - with the majority of their back-up players on the field - were hammered to the tune of 44-0.
“I though our first 30 was pretty crap,†said Orford, who only played the middle period.
“We came up here with a plan and we were going to work on five points and we didn't achieve any of those in the first 30 so I was pretty filthy about that.
“No one wants to lose trials - we came up here wanting to put in a good performance. With the young blokes, they need to understand that you need to put in a lot more work and the Storm, even their young blokes, they're at a really high level.
“They set a benchmark all the way through from their juniors to their seniors.
“We need to step up and be ready for our next trial because you can't go into the season with a performance like that and I'm sure Des will make that clear in the next two weeks.â€Â
Orford also admitted he wasn't a big fan of the experimental two referees system employed in Melbourne.
Grand final referee Tony Archer and Gavin Badger shared the duties with one taking charge of the ruck and the other the ten metres before swapping roles as possession was turned over.
Orford believes the inconsistencies in interpretation between referees made the experiment untenable.
“It's just two different opinions out there - you don't know which bloke to actually go and talk to and say. 'What's that ruling for?',†Orford said.
“It could change a game a whole lot more, the tempo of the game can change from ref to ref.
“The dominant calls and the surrender calls are different ... you've got to move quicker with one ref or slower with the other.â€Â
