Merewether Coach slams unsafe conditions despite win over Blacks

The Greens' ran in six tries in atrocious conditions at Marcellin Park on Saturday to end the premier's seven-game winning run.

Other round-eight games between Wanderers and Hamilton and Southern Beaches and University were washed out.

The battle between the Greens and Blacks was set down for Townson Oval, which was ruled unplayable.

"We called it and were happy to postpone the game to the designated wet weather weekend in July," Munro said.

"Then we got a text from the competitions manager saying that according to the by-laws the game had to be played if another ground was available.

"The game should never have gone ahead. It was a safety issue. I don't think enough consideration was given to the players' welfare.

"We played in conditions worse back in my day. It is a different environment now. The kids are a lot stronger and a lot fitter. The hits are harder and the game is faster.

Maitland coach Luke Cunningham said Marcellin Park was inspected on Saturday morning and deemed fit for play.

"I felt it was in a better state than what it had been for the past couple of games against Hamilton and Uni," Cunningham said. "Through second grade, we got a heavy downpour and it turned into a bog hole.

"I wasn't concerned for the boys any more than normal. It was just a wet-weather slog. The back end of the game was atrocious. "

Merewether centre Bill Coffey dislocated his shoulder during the match. A Maitland player suffered a serious knee injury in second grade.

"Billy carried the ball up, got tackled and lost his footing," Munro said. "He put his arm out to brace and it slipped. On a dry field, his arm would have held. His arm slipped and the shoulder popped. He will be out for a few weeks.

"After two minutes you could not tell one team from the other. I told (assistant coach) Bobby Harrison not to worry about taking statistics, I won't be able to work out who is who.

"Our defence is something we have worked really hard on. Again the boys stepped up."

Merewether handled the conditions best and jumped to a 19-5 before conceding a try on half-time for 19-12.

"Credit to Merewether, they well and truly turned up ready to play," Cunningham said. "They out-enthused us in a lot of aspects.

"The way they held the ball and controlled possession in those conditions was the determining factor.

"We let ourselves down. We were very passive in defence, getting off the line and making our one-on-one tackles. Our first-up primary tackle was slipping off. We let Merewether get in behind us."

Munro said they kept the game plan simple.

"It was wet-weather footy," he said. "Keep it tight and plug the corners. The team who made the least amount of mistakes got away with the win.

"Toby Wait had his best game for us. Sam Bright has been doing a lot with him behind the scenes getting his game managing and chat right. He is improving out of sight.

"Tight head prop Nik Sykiotis was outstanding with his ball carries. He got three points and shared players player with fellow prop Dave Puchert and [fly-half] Toby Wait."

After Saturday's washout, University have three catch-up games to play. Southern Beaches and Wanderers have two, Hamilton has one .

"I expect they will have to push the competition back by a week," Munro said. "Uni have so many young kids out there. For them to try and play three make-up games mid week. It is a safety issue for me."