Ohh, so close! So close I could almost taste it! What an effort from the boys, like seriously, that was quite incredible. Obviously, I'm disappointed we couldn't get the result but I'm so proud of the boys for that performance. The Dragons are absoulutely on fire, top of the table, early title contenders and we almost, almost knocked them off! We gave them a red hot go, were switched on and we didn't give up all night.
That first half was just incredible, only 30% of the ball and only trail by six, pretty much that whole first half was spent defending our line but we just kept turning them away time and time again. That was real grit. What's more, our heads didn't drop with all the defending unlike previous seasons, the boys just would not give in. This is something we can take a lot of confidence from as St George Illawarra are the best attacking side in the comp and we only conceded two tries, one of which really shouldn't have happened.
And then the comeback towards the end was just like wow! We looked fantastic and almost won it which was incredible to watch.
Honestly, the effort tonight was just there. Yes, it didn't come off but boy were the lads giving it a go. This is really pleasing as in previous years, we would've just laid down and let them walk right over us but we really stuck it to them.
Additionally, I think if Sam plays, we win that game. However, you have to give credit to our forwards as they really stood up tonight and there was a bit lift in this game.
Defensively, we were obviously brilliant for reasons I touched on before. But it's not only that, I thought our line speed as well as the 2nd and 3rd man into the tackle was a lot better. We got lucky with the disallowed try though tbh but finally, a call went our way.
Our attack was clearly not as good as it has been up until we started to come back. I think this is mostly due to the fatigue we had from all that defence though. So many of our passes were too slow and were often a bit behind the player catching the ball, imo, this is wha really stunted our attack. However, our go-forward was pretty good all game and I can't fault that. Attack did obviously improve and loot great late in the game but by then it was too late.
Johnston: Was good. Decent kick returns, safe under the high ball and he was constantly searching for opportunities as always. His effort to hold up McDonald was so good.
Jennings: Really good. His runs getting us out of trouble were outstanding tonight, he ran so hard and made great meters to help out the forwards. I'm really loving his work atm and hopefully Kennar is back next week to further help him out. He didn't get too many opportunities in space but his tough runs were first class and he was defensively solid. A top performance from Jenko tonight.
Inglis: A bit mixed if I'm honest. Had a few dicipline issues in that second hald and was really poor defensively when Aitkin scored. GI literally got stood up which you don't see often. On the other end, he did have a few good defensive reads, some awesome runs and it was so good to see him cross the white stripe again.
Hunt: Not bad. Solid defensively and had some nice runs. Hunt is looking very powerful when he gets his legs pumping and it's good to see. I still feel like he needs to do more of the shit work though.
Gagai: Like last week, was pretty quiet in that first half but as time went on, he really came into the game and ended up having quite a big impact. I still feel that at club level, he is wasted on the wing. Gags is far better off at centre and hopefully with Kennar back soon, that's where he'll go.
Walker: Looked very poor at times, forward passes, knock on's (I was so gutted with the last two) and at times he seemed lost in attack and just went around in circles. Then at other times, he looked really good and he was looking so dangerous. His try was a fantastic piece of play.
Reynolds: Kind of similar to Walker, rocks and diamonds. Did some really nice things and some not so great things. I thought his passing was very average tonight, looked slow and was not accurate enough for a first grade half, I'm sure this will come in time though. What I did like was that he seemed to take the line on more which is a good sign. We need a more complete performance from our halves though.
T.Burgess: Was good. Got through a lot of work, ran hard and made meters in a very solid game for Tom. Both him and George really stepped up tonight.
Cook: Really good. back to his usual self with great service and probing runs. He was probing all night and made a few clean breaks, one of which was brilliant and he just needed someone to run with him in support. Loving his defensive workrate too.
G.Burgess: Like Tom, was really good. He stepped up tonight too and ran hard all night He was aggressive, made good meters and had an awesome workrate. Both the Twins stepped up like I say and one thing I've noticed from them is that their lateral movement has improved heaps.
Sutton: Not bad. Not as busy as previous games but still had some nice runs and tried really hard, his effort was evident. I was pissed when he threw that pass that lead to the Dufty try though, no need for it.
Crichton: Was solid. Nothing special but broke tackles, ran hard and was pretty good defensively. I'll admit after the first two Rounds, I was questioning his attitude but now now, he's really improved the last few weeks. It's like the 2017 Gus again.
Murray: Fantastic as always. Just a workhorse. So many quality runs, and a lot of defence. His work rate is outstanding too and he jus goes and goes all game. I love him, quickly becoming a favourite!
Doueihi: Aweome when he came on. The boys really lifted when he came on and he had some nice, classy touches. I still don't see th point of having a utility if you're only gonna put him on for the last ten minutes, you'd be better off with four forwards.
Clark: Actually had good impact and really did his job well. Hid run to set up GI's try the next play was brilliant. He keeps his spot next week as his defence was top notch too as always. Clark actually compliments our pack quite well.
Nicholls: Was good. Nothing flashy just ran hard, did heaps of work and made his tackles. Provided good impact when needed.
Tatola: Was great, man he's energetic and has a great attitude. You could seee it in this game as he ran hard full of energy and made the effort to try and chase Dufty. Loved his impact off the bench.
Overall, I'm proud. Can't fault their effort and we almost knocked off a red hot side.
Might sound weird but this loss kind of feels like a win considering it was without Samtoo!. We can seriously build on this and we will take big confidence from this game.
