ANZAC Day 3 2 1s

[Valheru]

Well we held on for the win and I have been around long enough now to take any ANZAC Day win we can get, weird things always seem to happen and the dragons always seem to play far beyond their level.

I did think that the dragons were outright lucky to still be in the game at halftime, we were far and away the better team in the first half. It was only an "unlucky" penalty (the ref's words) which led to their first try and then a complete fluke off the back of the no try and subsequent penalty when Smith passed off the ground.

From there things turned in the 2nd half. For the 2nd week in a row the ref couldn't find us a single penalty in the 2nd half. Our left edge defence was what allowed them back in it. I wonder if the Sualli experiment at centre has to end at this point, his strength last year was eating up metres from the back and finishing on the wing. His defence is suspect and his combination with Tupou just hasn't gone anywhere. With Toops being out for (possibly) a while it might force Robbo's hand as I am sure he wants to maintain aerial threat. The right side defence was rock solid with Manu, Crighton, Momo and Paulo so I would potentially look at shifting Momo to the left and bringing Smith to the right if he is ready to go.

Manu will obviously take some time to find his feet at 5/8 but I saw enough there to continue with it. Just getting him the ball in his hands more often is already a positive. Walker will come back at some point but don't think it will be for a few weeks yet.

Rant time - Victor Radley. I said 2 weeks ago against the storm that he just needed to be better and not give the refs a chance to bin him when he hit the storm player late, he didn't need to do that. Well what happened to him yesterday was complete BS. It was a head clash first and foremost and an accidental one at that. He didn't come out of the line like a maniac nor did he even try to put a big hit on. I'm glad teddy told the ref that he binned him based on his name and doubled down after the game because that is exactly what happened. When Victor was interviewed after the game you could tell he was at a loss as to what he is expected to do. There is no chance anyone else on our team (even JWH) gets binned for that. The officials and NRL are hiding behind the whole "the bunker has additional angles"... well if he gets charged the roosters should challenge it and force them to produce that angle because I haven't seen it yet.

The overwhelming positive is that they did hold on when down to 12 and did enough to get the win. I reckon Robbo will want to see some improved defensive performances very soon though.

3 JWH
2 E Butcher
1 Keary

 

[Babyface O'reilly]

The mollycoddling of Suallii can end now that he’s leaving us so yes @Valheru, move him back to the wing especially with Toops leaving for a spell. Sammy is going to come back at some point, you’d think so the two Joeys can rekindle their combination which has served us very well in the past.

I know there’s improvement to come but I liked Manu at 6. Got a lot of yardage in and felt like he must have gone close to topping the line-break stats. It was also great to see Kez take the line on more. Thought he looked down on confidence earlier this year but great effort yesterday and thought Eagan had his best game for us so far.

I still can’t believe the Rads sin bin. Side view clearly showed first point of contact was head to head. If he had a neck like DCE, the shoulder would’ve come in five minutes later. Too many judging it from the fore-shortened rear view. It’s almost 24hrs past and I’m yet to see these mystery extra angles that the bunker get the benefit of. We won’t see them cos it’s bullshit. We won’t fight the fine because he risks two weeks but the club is entitled to see these other camera angles so I’d be making demands.

I think we’re the worst team for leaking points when a man down so keeping Saints to nil was a true reflection of both teams for me - especially when you consider that fatigue would’ve been a factor given it was late in the game. We were the far better side but our inability to close out a match again is a cause of concern and too many errors invited them back into the contest. We were a bigger threat to ourselves but you have to admire the opposition‘s courage.

It was a great day yesterday and the camaraderie amongst both sets of fans, pre, during and post game gets better year on year. The banter was great without ever crossing the line. Loving the jealousy coming out of some rival fans now. I thought yesterday’s rendition of the ‘last post’ was pretty special. Hats off to that young digger who performed it.

3. Kez
2. Eagan
1. Lindsay

 

[Valheru]

The mollycoddling of Suallii can end now that he’s leaving us so yes @Valheru, move him back to the wing especially with Toops leaving for a spell. Sammy is going to come back at some point, you’d think so the two Joeys can rekindle their combination which has served us very well in the past.

I know there’s improvement to come but I liked Manu at 6. Got a lot of yardage in and felt like he must have gone close to topping the line-break stats. It was also great to see Kez take the line on more. Thought he looked down on confidence earlier this year but great effort yesterday and thought Eagan had his best game for us so far.

I still can’t believe the Rads sin bin. Side view clearly showed first point of contact was head to head. If he had a neck like DCE, the shoulder would’ve come in five minutes later. Too many judging it from the fore-shortened rear view. It’s almost 24hrs past and I’m yet to see these mystery extra angles that the bunker get the benefit of. We won’t see them cos it’s bullshit. We won’t fight the fine because he risks two weeks but the club is entitled to see these other camera angles so I’d be making demands.

I think we’re the worst team for leaking points when a man down so keeping Saints to nil was a true reflection of both teams for me - especially when you consider that fatigue would’ve been a factor given it was late in the game. We were the far better side but our inability to close out a match again is a cause of concern and too many errors invited them back into the contest. We were a bigger threat to ourselves but you have to admire the opposition‘s courage.

It was a great day yesterday and the camaraderie amongst both sets of fans, pre, during and post game gets better year on year. The banter was great without ever crossing the line. Loving the jealousy coming out of some rival fans now. I thought yesterday’s rendition of the ‘last post’ was pretty special. Hats off to that young digger who performed it.

3. Kez
2. Eagan
1. Lindsay

Completely agree re: Sualli - We are no longer under any obligation to develop him at centre with a view of him being a half or fullback one day. Put him back to the wing where he has proven to be useful.

On the rads sin bin, you are 100% right, it appears the NRL is hiding behind that rear view as are the likes of Paul Kent. Problem with that is it only shows his shoulder in line approximately with his chin, it doesn't show impact as it is obstructed by Rads' back. The front view clearly shows a head clash. The roosters won't (and haven't) challenged because a fine vs 2 weeks is too great a risk. I might be going down tin foil hat road here but it wouldn't surprise me if the MRP gave him that grade knowing due to his priors an unsuccessful challenge would be too big a risk so now they can say "well they admitted guilt". I really wish he didn't have those priors because the club would have challenged the moment the charge came in. I would still hope the club persistently asks for the this mythical angle that the bunker has.

 

[H.H]

3 - Egan
2 - Jared
1 - Lindsay

That was a real Rooster performance. Such a dumb team at times and the way we allow tries after errors or ridiculous penalties is unbelievable. Stoked with the resolve shown when we were down to 12 men though, I thought we were done for sure.

A huge amount of improvement needed to be able to compete with the best at year end, but there is time and the talent is unquestionably there.

Great to see Gus and Sitili back too. Gus definitely needed the run but I thought Sitili looked pretty good.