I have to say that was one of the most lackluster performances that I have seen from our team. I'm scratching my head as to why we only played for around 30 minutes of that game? This was a game we should have won easily! I've heard some commentators mention the short turn around but in my view that is bulldust. The Storm and other teams manage it fine and we have done so in the past as well so that doesn't necessarily fly with me. Moreover, we didn't seem to have any problems cutting the Eels apart down the stretch in the last 10 minutes; where was the urgency earlier in the game? What I was seeing defies belief - missed tackles, players not getting back in position or being alert, no line speed, tired and lethargic running etc.
Our attack was again a big concern for me tonight. This may surprise many people but we had plenty of chances to get back into the game and even win it! Put simply, when we build momentum in games we are not converting it into points. This was the case tonight and has been the case pretty much all season for us. Aside from Robbie Farah our halves don't seem to be creating much and Cody Walker again seems to be drifting out of games too much. The move was designed to increase his involvement simply because to rectify that problem but is seems to be recurring; we need him getting his hands on the football when we are in the opposition's red zone. He had a bad night under the high ball at fullback, which was surprising for me because he had been doing ok there since he was moved to the position a few weeks back. His positional play has been a bit questionable at times but, like I said, he hasn't been too bad. Going forward I think the composition of the side may need to change again. I thought we produced our best performance of the season with Cody Walker and Sutton in the halves.
However, Adam Reynolds is the biggest concern for me. His last tackle options are non-existent for mine and they have been for the majority of this season. Our forwards are doing a decent job for the most part but its the likes of Adam Reynolds who need to cap of their good work with a decent play at the end of the set. Too often does he misplace his kicks, make an error or simply not know what to do and it is costing us big time. You hate to pin point one player because its a team sport, but like I said in the previous paragraph, Adam Reynolds needs a spell.
In terms of the positives tonight, I thought Zane Musgrove's carries brought as back into the game. In short, he needs to start the game and I really thought he should have been given more minutes, especially in the first half. Sam Burgess tried hard and put in a sterling performance as always but Angus Crichton for me continue to prove why he is the future of this club. Everything he does screams class and I just love the fact that he is multidimensional! For instance, he is fast, strong, possesses good works, runs good lines and is sound defensively. What a player!
The hooking debate has proven to be one of the most controversial, if not the most controversial topic on here! Robbie Farah again proved why we are so lucky to have him! With Adam Reynolds badly out of form, he along with some of our forwards was behind pretty much everything good that we did in the game. For example, most of our plays in the earlier tackles when attacking Parramatta's goal line were orchestrated by him. The fact that plays much like a halfback who brings a controlling presence from dummy half really suits our team given that we have technically limited halves in Sutton and Reynolds. In saying that, the guy needs help from his halves - that is why they are such coveted players - because they are the ones who are pretty much responsible for putting points on the board.
Looking forward I really don't know what to expect from us. We seem to play really well against the top teams but falter in those gimme games. I really do think we need to make changes in the halves so we can look to build pressure and put points on the board. However, the most important thing is that we start games with a sense of urgency because if we are as lethargic as were were in the first half again, we will struggle to beat the likes of Mascot's under 13Ds!
