I don't think anyone can have too many complaints about tonight's effort. I thought the boys really put in tonight against an opposition that has been the benchmark team for the last few years in the competition. The tries that we conceded were pretty much due to brilliant play by Melbourne rather defensive mistakes on our part. Many people are going to have a whinge about our attack and say it is not up to scratch, however I think the reason why we didn't come up with more points was simply due the high quality of Melbourne's goal line defence. In saying that, I thought we made a massive tactical error in not taking shots at goal when we were continually awarded penalties in front of Melbourne's goal line. Given the inclement conditions and the high quality opposition that we were up against, it would have made perfect sense to take the points when they were on offer - we would have had the opportunity to, at the very least, level the scores!
In terms of the positives from tonight's game, I thought our defence was admirable. Yes Melbourne Storm gave us nothing but we didn't give them much in return either. What was most impressive was how we managed to whether the Melbourne Storm momentum in the first half and keep them from scoring repeatedly. I also thought our forwards really put in a decent shift tonight, as did our hookers. I've said this repeatedly but our hookers and forwards have been decent all season; it has been the defence and our last tackle options that have been the problem! In particular, I think Robbie Farah really did a good job out there tonight. He acts like an extra halfback and most of the questions we asked of the Melbourne Storm defence were a product of his good work. Overall, I thought our discipline was pretty good too. Given the wet conditions, we held onto the ball exceptionally well while still being able to play some attacking footy. Correspondingly, we didn't give away too many penalties either which was really pleasing.
The main area of concern for me from tonight's performance was our last tackle options. Although they have improved from the last two weeks, I still think we could be doing more in terms of earning repeat sets and threatening the opposition goal line. Adam Reynolds' form is improving and its no coincidence that when he is on song with his last tackle plays, we are a much formidable team.
Our best performers tonight were Sam Burgess and Angus Crichton. I think the reason why Burgess gets unfairly maligned on here at times is because his performances are so consistent that nothing surprises us on here any more. Basically, he has lost his entertainment values because we expect him to do what he does week in and week out. Angus Crichton on the other hand is really proving to be a quality player and I love the fact that he is able to combine determination, foot worker and power into his game. I hope that we see him in the red and green for many years to come. Other shout outs go to Cody Walker and Zane Musgrove. In particular, I really like Musgrove's carries and I don't think he is too far away from earning a spot in the run-on team.
While it won't be an easy game, I think if we play to the standard that we have been this last couple of weeks, then we should easily beat Parramatta who will be missing some key personnel.
