South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett has taken aim at the officials over a missed error at the play the ball that led to a crucial try for Manly who kicked clear to win 28-14 to celebrate Kieran Foran\u2019s new deal to coach the side for the next three years.<\/p>\n
The game was in the balance at 10-8 when Manly\u2019s fill-in fullback Clayton Faulalo sliced through to extend the lead just moments after he suffered a low-grade hamstring strain that isn\u2019t expected to keep him sidelined for long. <\/p>\n
But replays showed edge forward Ben Trbojevic bobbled the ball as he tried to play it, with the Steeden appearing to stick to his hand.<\/p>\n
Referee Adam Gee missed it and the bunker didn\u2019t have the power to rule on it. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t play the ball properly, did he? It\u2019s as simple as that, they pay all this money for the bunker and we still don\u2019t get it right,\u201d Bennett said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe weren\u2019t playing well, so I\u2019m not going to use that as an excuse. But the bottom line is that\u2019s what they\u2019re there for. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey play the ball, they\u2019ve got to go back to the play the ball because a try was scored and that was all in the one movement. And if that\u2019s an acceptable play the ball, then the game is going to change enormously really quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s gone now, I can\u2019t bring it back, so I\u2019m not going to carry on about it. The game will have an excuse for it, so you\u2019ve just got to live with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett said that bunker officials should take as long as they need to get decisions right, otherwise there\u2019s no point investing millions of dollars into the decision review system. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a bunker, it\u2019s supposed to be perfect because they expect us to be perfect,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey have all the opportunity to make a decision and to see it. And they still get it wrong. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a fan of no bunker, I can tell you. I\u2019d rather just the game played on with life and accept it like we always accepted it. <\/p>\n
\u201cBecause they don\u2019t get it right all the time, and they should, because they\u2019ve got the benefit of hindsight, and there\u2019s no time limit on their decision making.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thursday\u2019s loss was their third in a row, with Bennett frustrated with their high error count which meant their vaunted attack never got going. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not anywhere near where we should be, and we\u2019re well into the season,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should be playing some good football and we\u2019ve gone backwards, we\u2019re not going forward at the moment. Our performances are going backwards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manly\u2019s win was their eighth from 10 games under Foran and saw them move back into the top four ahead of next week\u2019s bye. <\/p>\n
It capped a huge week for the club legend who signed a new deal, had the stadium renamed Foz Pines Park for the night and even had his face superimposed on Colonel Sanders at a local KFC.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the way here, everywhere I drove had \u2018Fozball\u2019, \u2018Foz Pines\u2019, Kieran Foran Chicken, so I\u2019m like, \u2018geez, we better play good,\u201d said Manly skipper Jake Trbojevic. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a lot going on but it was a really good performance.\u201d<\/p>\n