Hell yea boys!! Stick that up ya Rorters!! There is no better win then when we beat them and boy am I a happy man right now! As we've said during the week, it's genuine hate so to get one over them with our backs against the wall is just bloody fantastic.
Yes, they were pretty bad tonight but to beat a title contender in that fashion is just brilliant, you could see it right from the opening set that we were up for this and the boys wanted it bad. We were extremely physical and aggressive, just rolling and rolling through their soft middle and I loved how we were playing so direct and weren't tempted to go wide every time like we have in previous weeks. The forwards really, really stood up tonight, paticularly George and Tom, they were just outstanding and that's their best game in a long, long time for sure. Our backs were going forward and getting dirty too which is good to see. That was real passion and desire on show right there!
Defensively, we were really good again and we were constantly turning them away time after time. The boys are really working for each other and it's great to watch. What's more, we were a lot more aggressive in defence and really stuck it to them.
One thing I wasn't happy with was support play as we should have scored so many times. There were plenty of breaks but no one backing up, where is Reyno, Cody or AJ in this situation?
Johnston: Was pretty good. It's clear to see GI has been working with him a fair bit because his positional play has improved out of sight and it showed again tonight as he just popped up at the right times. He had some good, strong runs and I thought he made a few great tackles to shut down some of their breaks. Still needs to work on his passing though.
Kennar: Well, that just proves how much he means to us. There was a clear lift tonight in the way we started our ses and that was all off the back of Richie, he had some fantastic runs and I just love his work ethic. He always puts his hand up for the tough runs and he does a great job of them. Did a really good job defensively too.
Gagai: A bit quiet early but in the end, he really made his mark on the game with some fantastic runs and he got really busy with this and he'd almost have a run every set. Attacking the line he looked real dangerous so I think we need to work on getting him more quality ball. In defence he was okay, rushed up a few times and also missed a crucial tackle on Mitchell that lead to his try but other than that, he was great.
Inglis: Was good. Like Dane, was a bit quiet early on but really came into the game eventually. He looked fired up and aggressive as he ran hard and some of his defence was crunching. That try was fantastic to pluck it out of the air like that, it was like watching the GI of old.
Jennings: A bit quiet compared to his usual standards. Don't get me wrong, he was fine, he just didn't do as much work imo. The runs he did have were strong though and I loved his kick returns. Rob does appear to be a bit shaky when the ball is in the air however.
Walker: Pretty good. He was constantly probing all game and came up with some fantastic plays. His kicking game was found wanting at times but he just looks so dangerous in a bit of space.
Reynolds: Better. Much better. He looked more settled tonight and not quite so disjointed, Reyno's passes were crisper and he did well to try and create space for others. He still has a lot of work to do though especially on his kicking game as atm it seems to just be a 'bomb and hope for the best' kind of strategy.
T.Burgess: Wow! He was huge tonight, absoulutely incredible. Ran hard, made a lot of meters, busted through a few times, high work rate, crunching defence. It was all there in that performance and I'm really proud of him. His best game in a long time by a friggin mile!!
Cook: Electric. Man he caused headaches for the Chooks tonight and his running game was on point. He was always looking to catch the markers out and did it many times, a lot of which would have been tries if our suport play was better. High work rate defensively too, he was outstanding tonight.
G.Burgess: See what I said about Tom.
Sutton: Was great. Probably his best game in a fair while too as he's been in good form but really stepped it up tonight. I love how he's running back on an angle off Cody and he looked really dangerous with his running game which created many chances. His try was just brilliant too.
Crichton: Was good. Solid runs, a great defensive game and it was good to see him show up his future team mates. His bissare try was great backing up too which was pleasing.
Clark: Full of energy in his 150th. Did his job well and actually had very good go forward. Did a great job to stiffin up the defence and I'm thinking he'll keep his spot on the bench when Sam and Cam are back.
Doueihi: Not much to say as he didn't get on.
Tatola: His impact was huge! He came on and just terrorised the Chooks with his hard aggressive running. I'm loving his attitude too.
Nicholls: Was good. Did his job and I thought he was really busy which was good to see.
Turner: Only had a few runs but they were good and his defence is still great. A successful return and it was good to see him back.
All in all, I'm thrilled with the game! The scoreline flattered the Roosters and we should have won by more but boy, it feels amaxing to beat them and without our two best forwards, what an effort.
The Chook really are 'Forever in our Shadow.'
