Roosters star Luke Keary has slammed his side’s first half against the Bulldogs, declaring it “embarrassing” and “not good enough.”
Meanwhile, coach Trent Robinson has questioned the decision to sin bin Victor Radley and send off Dom Young in the 30-26 loss at Accor Stadium.
The Roosters were left shell-shocked after the Bulldogs ran out to a 26-nil lead in the first half of Friday’s clash. They had lost James Tedesco and Sam Walker to head knocks, but things went from bad to worse when Young was sent off in the 26th minute for a high tackle on Blake Taaffe.
Robinson believes the tackle was “definitely” sin bin worthy but it was “a bit over the top” to send him off for the rest of the game.
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YOUNG SENT OFF in wild first half | 00:58
“He hit him in the jaw… but it was open-handed, it was lower than shoulder height,” he said.
“If that’s the standard that’s fine, but that’s a new one for me. I feel like that’s lower than what’s been sent off before. It just feels like we can set a new standard here again.
“We’ve had guys not even go for 10 for less. I feel like that was a bit over the top. There’ll be a lot more send offs in our game, there should be, if that’s the case.”
The Roosters found their mojo in the second half, scoring four tries in four minutes to claw their way back into the game.
Victor may be inflicted with weeks? | 00:37
But their momentum hit a speed hump when Radley was sin-binned for what was deemed to be a hip-drop tackle on Stephen Crichton.
It was actually Connor Watson who made first contact with Crichton and forced him to spin to an awkward position. But he fell off the tackle as Radley fell on top of Crichton’s foot.
Fox League expert analyst Cooper Cronk called the decision “perplexing,” while James Graham said it was “bizarre.”
Robinson was equally confused by what he believes was a “ridiculous” call by the referee.
“Connor’s the one that tackles him from behind and twists his ankle and then he (Radley) falls on that ankle. How they got to that decision, that’s incredible. That was below par,” he said.
For what it’s worth, even Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo thought it was a “pretty harsh” decision.
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The Roosters’ spirited fightback in the second half was too little, too late after what Robinson said was a “really poor” start to the game.
But the coach and playing group spoke about flushing the first 40 minutes and “had a discussion about showing heart and making sure everyone was on in all effort areas.”
Robinson revealed they “believed we could win the game” and the second half “showed the team we want to be.”
“Absolute courage and clarity on how they wanted to play. I was just really proud the effort and also the ability to stay on the game plan and almost do the impossible,” he said.
Robinson had plenty of praise for Keary’s “amazing” second half after the veteran No.6 set up two tries.
“That’s when I love watching ‘Kez’ play, when he’s got a bit of fire in the belly and he’s running, passing, directing and kicking,” he said.
Robbo BLOWS UP after knock on call | 00:36
But Keary, who replaced the injured Tedesco in the press conference was in no mood to answer questions about the positive second half.
“It’s pretty embarrassing to be honest… we shouldn’t have been there,” he said when asked about the dramatic game.
“We’re pretty embarrassed and disappointed by our effort. To turn up like that as a playing group is not good enough. To turn up at this time of the year, it’s not good enough.
“We just need to have a good look at ourselves. We need to sit down and look at each other and figure it out quickly.”
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