Aloiai vows to atone for golden point blunder
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Sea Eagles forward Josh Aloiai said his crucial knock on in last week's golden point loss to the Rabbitohs was inexcusable and has promised to make up for it.
After scores were locked at 12-12 at the end of regulation time, Aloiai knocked the ball on inside the first minute of golden point and gifted South Sydney with good field position.
A minute later Lachlan Ilias kicked the winning field goal to hand Manly their first loss of the year.
Speaking on Monday, Aloiai said the error simply wasn't acceptable, but that he was heartened by the supportive response from his teammates and the wider community in the aftermath.
Ilias with the golden boot
"It's just not good enough. I'm one of the leaders in this team, one of the more experienced guys in this team. Just a really bad error at the worst possible time," he said.
"I am not going to shy away from it. Such a critical part of the game and I will be the first one to own that I really hurt us.
"[The response] has to be the positive part of it... Just the support by my teammates, by my coaches, but wider than that as well in the Manly community.
"I was expecting to jump on my social media and get absolutely slapped... but I got so much support from the Manly community.
I am really grateful for that [support] and I am going to return it tenfold, I promise you that much.
Josh Aloiai
"I'm gonna return the favour."
The effort to rally around Aloiai, ahead of Saturday's match against the Knights in Mudgee, is part of what Manly players believe is an improved bond across the playing group in 2023.
Match: Sea Eagles v Knights
Round 5 -
home Team
Sea Eagles
5th Position
away Team
Knights
6th Position
Venue: Glen Willow Oval, Mudgee
Veteran centre Brad Parker said the 'Duty of Care' groups established by new coach Anthony Seibold have been a particularly important addition, with players now meeting weekly away from the club in a bid to strengthen relationships.
"Each week you might go get a coffee or something like that, or go bowling... it's groups that you wouldn't normally hang out with," Parker said.
"We've put a lot of effort into trying to make us a closer team on and off the field.
"It's something you don't even think about, but if you can trust someone off the field, or they are helping you out off the field, you have got this weird subconscious thought that they are going to do it for you on the field.
"You can see how we play together, you can see that we are actually turning up for one another."
