A devestated Luciano Leilua has fallen on his sword, offering a heartfelt apology to the St. George Illawarra faithful after the Dragons lost to the Manly Sea Eagles on Friday night in what is the worst start in the joint-venture's existence.
Leilua pointed the finger squarely at himself for the result, referring to a costly kick that trickled inn the in-goal with 18 minutes left on the clock and Manly clinging to a 22-18 lead.
The Dragons backrower opted to boot the ball rather than exploit a clear overlap with teammates waiting on the left edge.
The ball went dead and handed the Sea Eagles a seven-tackle restart, and they needed just six minutes to rub salt in the wound with a converted try.
“I had two s*** errors, I could've been better,'' Leilua said on Triple M radio.
“I didn't realise we had a three on two at the end there and so I kicked it.
“It was pretty dumb from me.''
Leilua agreed with coach Shane Flanagan's sentiments about their execution.
“Our effort is there, we just lack execution,” Leilua said.
“Like me, like what I did. I should've put it through the hands.
“F....ing oath I take it personal, I'm sorry for swearing, but pressure is a privilege.
“We play a game that we need to win and we're just not playing well enough to win games.
“I honestly just feel sorry for our coach and our coaching staff because they give us all the details and we're just not doing it out there.
“I feel sorry for our fans. I apologise to our fans. We're trying, we really are. This is our livelihood.''
