Not sure how many people got to see the game, so here's a little review of some of the notable players... imo of course:
KOD - very strong. big workrate in attack and defence. biggest asset, as with every time I watch him, was his ability to use footwork and a good footy brain to make the most metres possible in every run. he never really has a bad carry, always seems to have more time running at the line and between defenders than some forwards. I remember when Snowden came into first grade with us he often seemed to be getting met by the defensive line way before he had got wound up... KOD is the opposite.
Sinbad Kali - what a game! he was immense off the bench. every hit-up was powerful, brushed off defenders easily, scored an excellent solo try using footwork (not bad for a prop) to beat the cover defence. Also made some handy covering tackles popping up right place right time and led the kick chase on occasions. haven't seen much of him before, but this match was hard to find a single flaw in his performance. how old is he?
Taufua - pretty typical Mark T game, i think he'll be back in the top 17 very soon, if not this week in fact.
Tetevano - slightly disappointing, mainly because our forwards were so dominant and he wasn't so much. I've got big hopes for him but I didn't rate him as a prop in this game. back to a wide running second-rower please.
Mika - excellent. Scored a good try with his line-running and generally ran the ball well. also made his stock standard one massive bell-ringing tackle.
Filipo - more and more impressed with him every game i see. reminds of Joe Galuvao (the good years) in running style and his passing game is underrated - he threw some neat balls both pre-line and off-loads.
Simon Williams - fantastic runnning game. was the most dangerous back on the field, either made or threatened to make a line break with every touch, and got 2 try assists (one with a Gidley flick pass whilst being tackled). Made the correct decision every time in attack, but you could say the opposite for a lot of his defence. wasn't proactive enough in D, watched and waited and got caught out back-peddling.
Likiliki - looked injured to me. didn't get involved much and didn't look like a player who thinks he's close to first grade. he's strong, but does more damage with his dummy half runs than anything in open play.
Kev Naiqama - ordinary. i used to rate him, but on this match he's gone backwards.
Lulia - could be one nuffie WB keeps. nothing flashy (same as always) but solid and teams just don't score tries on his side when he defends in the centres as he did a lot. his defensive reads really are phenomenal... wish he had an extra yard of pace.
Stig - great game. ran the ball well and often.
Mata'utia - good but not great. has the physique and the skills but i don't know, just something missing.
