Des Hasler press conference

Des Hasler spoke to the media after Manly�s 34-8 loss to Melbourne in the NRL Grand Final.

Des, how would you sum up your emotions?

I have to start by congratulating Craig Bellamy and the Melbourne side. They were far too good tonight. Minor premiers for the last two years and deservedly won the game tonight.

How hard was it to watch?We probably saved one of our worst performances for one of the biggest stages of rugby league. At the same time, you have to take some positives out of it. The fact that we made a grand final. (I�m) so proud of the boys for doing that. Certainly the resurrection of the club, from where it�s come from. We look forward to next season.

What in particular disappointed you?Ah I think it was pretty obvious. Our execution. Unforced errors. Just conceded them far too much ball, and anytime we were down their end, we came up with some crucial errors, in field position. You just can�t do that to this Melbourne side.They;ve shown that all year.

How�s Brett Stewart and what impact did losing him have?He�s fairly heavily concussed. Obviously, it proved to be a little bit of a disruption, but they were too good on the day.

Any concern over the incident?No. I don�t have any concern with the incident

Did you sense anything before the game? Was everything fine?Yeah it was a good build up. I thought our intensity at the start was quite good. We knew it was going to be a physical confrontation. It certainly was that. But as I reiterated before, the rest unfolded and unfortunately it wasn�t one of our best performances.

Did you have any confidence at half time�Considering the amount of defence we had to do, and the possession certainly favoured them, so at 10-4, we were in with a reasonable chance. But, unfortunately we continued to make mistakes.

The 50/50 calls didn�t go your way�.They�re going to happen. You�ve just got to accept that. You�ve just got to adapt to that

It was a big 10 metres, did that affect your play?I don�t think it did, no.

What did you say to the boys after fulltime?There�s not much to say. It was just a time to say thank you to the players that were leaving. Thanked the team their effort this year. To the staff, for their effort this year, and the club on a whole. There were some positives to making a GF.

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