After watching the replay, here's my full report,
Attack
Jeez, we bounced back in a BIG way here, didn't we?!! Supremely impressive. The conditions were absolutely shocking. Honestly, the TV probably didn't do it justice how bad it was, probably some of the worst conditions I've ever been in live. Yet, despite this, the boys weren't deterred at all, and they played near perfect wet weather Footy. Our completion rate was ridiculously good in those conditions, 92%!! That's our highest of the year which is a testament to the boys' focus, execution, and attention to detail. Hust so impressed by that with the weather, it truly is amazing.
This allowed for a great attacking display in the wet weather. Our yardage sets, for the most part, were really good. Hats off to the entire forward pack who really rolled their sleeves up, showed some hunger that we haven't seen in many weeks, and really ripped in. We were certainly the more dominant team through the middle and that's no mean feat against this Warriors pack so well done to everyone for their yardage carries. Just great to see the entire team get that intensity back with their carries.
With the platform laid, the lads played a really good brand of wet weather Footy. A perfect mix of keeping it tight in the middle, but still playing Footy, using the ball, and shifting to our edges. We weren't overly conservative, and I thought our shifts looked really, really dangerous. Execution was top notch. The weather didn't make the boys go into their shell, they were still willing to throw it around and test the Warriors edge defence. We played patient Footy with the right mix of measured one percenters and dazzling, off the cuff play. This put the Warriors under a lot of pressure, especially in that second half.
Loved some of the tries we scored; they were all brilliant in their own way. I'll break them down a bit later when I do player-by-player, but to put 28 points on this Warriors side is a great effort. They're a good defensive side this year that shows a lot of resilience, so to break them down the way we did was awesome!
I just loved the energy over all too. You could see everyone was switched on and giving 100% for the first time in a while. The excitement, passion and energy shown in the try celebrations was great to see.
Defence
This was certainly the most pleasing part of Friday night's performance for mine. We all know the story of the past five weeks and how poor our defence had been, so the boys simply had to respond. And respond they did!!It was a fantastic defensive performance, back to the standards we set in the first 11 Rounds and we looked like that defensive unit once again.
The attitude was great! There was energy in our defence again which has been sorely lacking lately. The line speed was much better, our kick chase was how it should be, and you could just see all the effort areas that are so underrated, were back to the levels we were priding ourselves on earlier in the year.
Unlike recent weeks, the first contact was much better all round, and we were a lot better at both containing offloads, and actually getting the ball carrier to the ground by taking the legs. That was good to see.
On the goal line, we looked very hard to break down once again. Yea, they got us once, but that was it. Only one try in 80 minutes against a side that was in red-hot form coming into the game. We can't complain with that. Finally, our lads showed some real resilience to keep denying them time after time, no matter what they threw at us. I was particularly impressed with the defence in the first 20 minutes. This is what really set up the win. Our discipline was poor, and we were 5-0 down on the penalty count early on. This put us under immense pressure and the Warriors just kept coming. However, Red and Green jerseys just kept turning up for each other and we turned them away time and time again. Folded once, but that's it. We really weathered the storm in that period and in my opinion, that's what set up the win.
Just like our energy with the ball, it was great to see the energetic celebrations without the ball. Whenever there was an error from NZ, we dragged the ball carrier into touch, our denied them, you could see how pumped the whole team was. They all ran in and got around each other. I absolutely loved seeing that!
Player-By-Player
Taaffe: Nothing really super special, but I did think he had a good game. The weather was always going to be hard for any fullback, but he didn't put a foot wrong all night, did his job really well. Didn't have a particularly big hand in our attack but he did execute his role when needed. Was tested with a few bombs and caught every single one. Loved his try!! just the effort and desire he showed to get there, I watched it many times in awe. Taaffy comes from a mile back, waaaay back. He has to cover more ground than anyone else, yet it's him that got to the ball first. An amazing showing of effort and desire. His goal kicking was a bit mixed but it was really tough conditions so you can understand that.
Johnston: Great game for AJ. Firstly, I want to talk about his performance under the high ball because it was amazing. Constantly pressured, constantly peppered by Johnson, yet he swallowed every single one and made it look easy. That would have been so hard to do with heavy rain like that and a swirling breeze that was actually quite strong. hats off to him there. His carries were solid, and he put his hand up when needed. Awesome finish for both his tries (which now takes him to equal third on the all-time list). The first, Richie got him the ball early with a bit of space on the outside, and he showed us some great acceleration straight off the mark to completely burn DWZ and get the ball down. Then, his second try, he reads Cody's mind so well, anticipates the play, and gets himself in perfect position to take that kick and score. Brilliant!!! Well done AJ.
Kennar: Probably the real surprise packet out of the game. For me, he was my biggest concern coming into the game and I was really worried what the Warriors might to him. But man, what a game he had!! Happy to admit I was wrong about how he was going to go in this game. The conditions probably suited him as it was a heavier track and as a result, NZ couldn't really test him. However, you can only play what's in front of you and he did really well. Handled literally everything that came at him defensively, his hit ups were huge, and I liked his work rate. 112 meters from 17 runs is a great effort and it really helped take the pressure off the forwards. Had a hand in AJ's first try and that was a really good bit of play from him. Cody did the work inside to create the overlap, but Richie did well to realise DWZ had turned in slightly, and he got a nice pass away to AJ early before DWZ could recover. Underrated play because I reckon if he tries to go to the line and draw and pass, the Warriors right edge probably slide and cover it. But by giving AJ early ball, DWZ couldn't get across in time because of AJ's acceleration into space. I tip my hat to you Richie!
Milne: Much the same as Kennar, he was a bit of a worry coming in but proved me massively wrong. Again, the conditions probably did favor him but there's no denying how good he was. Man, I was impressed!! Probably our best back, and up there with our best for the night to be honest. Has carries coming out of our end were just huge! Constantly gave it everything he's got and as a result, he constantly won the collisions he was in. Countless times he was dragging defenders with him over the advantage line. His efforts are shown in the stats, 17 runs for a massive 164 meters! Second only to Hame for run meters. Very impressive. What's more, he had a few offloads early in the game that really helped to get us on the front foot and get some momentum going when we were under the pump. Defensively, he barely put a foot wrong apart from that high tackle late in the game. brilliant stuff Taane!! One of our best in his hometown! Pretty cool.
Munro: Woooohoooooo!!! I think we all know this kid is something special, but I certainly didn't expect him to come out and play that well in his first game. As an 18-year-old, to come out and debut like that away in a different country with a lot of pressure on you is amazing. Clearly, nothing phases this kid. While he did get rag dolled on a couple of runs, I thought he held his own pretty damn well with the tough stuff. he certainly wasn't shirking it and he was keen to rip in, put his hand up and get involved. Even covering kicks, he handled all that well. Did have a couple of errors but they were in some tough situations so you can't be too harsh. Fantastic to see him score, a reward for his hard work. He had a fair bit to do to get to that kick but look at the effort he put in. Of course, his speed helps but that's all effort and want for mine. Even once he did get there, it's not easy to take a kick like that in the wet, at speed, and with a lot of pressure on you but he nailed it! Very classy. We got to see him at it again late in the game as he made that break down the right, showed us a bit of his electric speed, and then put in a beautiful kick that was perfectly place and weighted for Taaffe to score. Amazing play on debut! finished up with 13 runs for 84 meters, 2 line breaks, a try assist, 1 try, 1 tackle with none missed, a few kicks defused and just a couple of errors which you can't blame him for. One hell of a debut! I know it's just one game, but I hope we've now found our right winger. I'm impressed!
