This was published 7 years ago
New name, same story: Brookvale no longer a fortress for Manly
By Chris Barrett
Frustration was the order of the day for Trent Barrett. At the refereeing at Lottoland, but more so at his own players.
The former Brookvale Oval was once a fortress. That reputation has lost plenty of its gloss – Manly have now lost seven from their last nine at the ground and their last three in a row stretching back to last year – and a mistake-riddled outing cost them dearly again on Sunday against Parramatta.
Brand exercise: Fans arrive for the match against the Eels at the renamed Brookvale Oval.Credit: Getty Images
While there was optimism for Manly in their scrambling goal-line defence as well as in the debut of teenage centre Brian Kelly, Barrett couldn't help but seem deflated.
"We didn't do ourselves any favours. You can't expect to win when you make the errors that we made," the Manly coach said. "We made it too hard for ourselves. In the end, to get within three tries to two, that was a good effort.
Another home loss: Clint Gutherson crosses for the Eels on a disappointing day for the Manly faithful.Credit: Getty Images
"We never went away and we won't but we made it too hard for ourselves. You can take the positives out of it, I suppose, and it's round one. I thought our goal-line defence was the best it's been for a while."
The Eels' weight of possession – they ran for 539 more metres, and forced Manly into 98 more tackles as well as seven drop-outs – was only strengthened by a 7-5 penalty count, which Barrett took issue with. On one occasion, when the Sea Eagles were penalised for diving on the ball after Semi Radradra played it when he wasn't held, one of the referees was heard to tell Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans that if he had got a call wrong he apologised.
"All I want as a frustrated coach is consistency in the calls, consistency in the 10 metres," Barret said. "They add up, and they added up today."
Cherry-Evans added: "It definitely felt as though the penalty count was in their favour but again we can't use that as an excuse. Unfortunately we put our foot in it way too many times.
"The most frustrating part was that it was our own fault. I'd like to think we'll learn our lessons quickly this year."