Sorry for posting a bit late but I've just been taking a moment to really enjoy that win and have a few beers haha.
Yea the boys!! Glory, Glory!! What a great game, what a great performance that was! Probably the best we've looked all year right there, just fantastic, that's energy, that's desire, that's free flowing footy and a side playing with a lot of confidence. How good is it to see? I was a little disappointed we let the foot off the throat a wee bit but I'm sure that utter ruthlessness will come and it's something we can work on.
The attack tonight was just brilliant. You could see that unlike previous weeks, all our passes were sticking and we looked flashy. All the boys were on the same page and our execution was on point. The free flowing footy was soooo good to watch and we were scoring at will at times there.
Our forwards were all very good tonight too led by the Burgess boys. The hard running and determination really set the tone for that game and gave us the upper hand. In the end, I think we ended up running about 300m more than them.
Defensively, we were okay but imo, not as good and not where we should be. That right edge defence is a real concern and the Raiders really targeted that side. I think the biggest issue with our right side is the inability to slide in defence. In that game today, they just came up and held or jammed in instead of sliding. This needs to be fixed or else other teams will exploit it.
The rest of our defence was fine though as I thought Canberra were really good in attack and we did well to repel them at times.
Johnston: Pretty good. Strong running game with his kick returns, safe under the high ball and did nothing wrong defensively. A lot more threatening in attack tonight and his try was brilliant.
Jennings: Was great. Once again, outstanding work coming out of our own end with his runs. He got busy and ran with real intent. Great to see him bag a double and that was well deserved.
Inglis: Outstanding! Where do I start?! He absolutely terrorised Canberra today. Got involved heaps and was just a menacing figure in both attack and defence. Seeing him run 80 and finish it off with the Goanna was one of the best sights I've seen in a long time, just beautiful!! Our man is really building here.
Gagai: Was good. Attacking wise, he was brilliant. Did a lot of the shit work and looked really dangerous, his offload to Kennar for his try was brilliant. I also like how he's becoming even more involved and getting early ball. However, his defence was a little dissapointing and that is a big work on for him as he missed a few tackles which should really have been made.
Kennar: Much the same as Gagai. Very good with ball in hand, I love his running game as he goes so hard and does a lot of work which gets our sets started so well. We've been missing a big, strong winger like him for a while. Loved Richie's try. In defence he was a bit shaky but I think that was more due to those inside him.
Walker: Was great. Having Reyno back has really freed him up and he can just focus on running, that showed today. He probed all game and made a few half breaks. On set plays down that left side he's so friggin good and he had a hand in some great tries down there, scored a great one himself actually.
Reynolds: A lot better today again. His kicking game was much improved with many probing kicks, it took a lot of pressure off us while putting a lot on them. In particular, I liked his short game. Yes, a few went dead but had the chasers been a bit more onto it, it would've been a different story. Reyno has also fixed his passing and he's now in the groove and building each week. It's defence which needs big improvement as he was targeted today for sure. I'll have a better look at it when I watch the replay tomorrow but he looked indecisive but is not getting help from those around him.
T.Burgess: Great again. How good is it to see him finding form?! Ran hard again and boy he made a lot of metres, I think he was around the 100m Mark just from his first stint which is just great to see! Tom is developing some footwork and is actually becoming very dangerous. We need someone always pushing up with him as he got the arm free a lot tonight but no one was there for the offload. One more thing, what an absolute dog shot from Whitehead on Tom! That was disgusting and how he didn't get sent off, let alone put on report is beyond me. Tom was in a lot of pain and I just hope he pulls up okay.
Cook: Played a bit of a different role tonight but was just as good. He wasn't as explosive but still questioned there defence many times and he was picking his moments well. I love the work he does in getting the forwards onto the ball and we looked so direct today. Cookie has certainly been working on his defence since last season too and once again, he did a good job in that regard through the middle.
G.Burgess: Good again. Really aggressive in both attack and defence and just ran all over the Canberra pack with great metres made. I love how he's starting to find form too. Him getting put on report was a little unlucky because Bateman I think it was, was falling in the tackle and George didn't really have time to react, we'll see I guess.
Sutton: Just continues his charge. He was really good again today with his running game and I'm really liking how he's starting to run off Cody at an angle and he posed a big threat to the Raiders tonight. He's looking so fit too and just went all game in a great performance.
Crichton: Good for most of the game. He was his usual self for most of the game with his good runs and high work rate but a few errors and bad defence let down his performance. He needs to do a lot more to help Reyno and it'd be good to see him get those silly errors in out of his game.
S.Burgess: I'm gonna come out and say it, that's the best performance by a middle forward this year, he was that good!! Outstanding work rate and he just tore the Canberra pack to shreds with monster runs and crunching defence. I noticed we has doing a lot of ball playing too which was amazing and it adds a whole new element to his game. It's a shame his performance was marred by that incident with Sezer, It's good to see Sam with some aggression but in the game scenario, there was no need for it really. Sadly, I think he's in trouble with this and could well end up with three maybe four weeks. I don't think the incident warrants that much but we know what the NRL is like with Sam. I'll be furious if Sam gets a harsher punishment than Whitehead as Sam's was no where near as bad as that disgusting act. Still, it was an amazing performance from Sammy.
Hunt: Not much to say really as he didn't do an awful lot. I think Seibs brought him on too late.
Clark: What a game from Clarky! A great impact off the bench and was all energy. He seems to have an even stronger running game as he's not getting forced back as much. Man, it was great to see his try, a rare try for Clarky!! If I was Souths, I'd be seriously considering re-signing him, he deserves it.
Nicholls: A great, no frills game. He did his job to perfection and that's all you can ask.
Tatola: Was good. Immense impact off the bench and I loved his enthusiasm. He does everything at 1,000,000 miles an hour in both attack and defence.
All in all, a brilliant performance which was so, so good to watch. There are a few things to work on defensively but that match is full of positives. It's great to see us running out as convincing winners after a game like that and I'm very happy.
We're really building something here I hope.
