Last night's game was a bit of a paradox for me. I was really impressed, but also terribly disappointed. Surprised, yet not.
I was impressed by Price, Phillips & Fale. I think they played above themselves.
Thought Somerton, Luke, Geyer and Laurie showed they can hang in the NRL, even in a well beaten team. All showed really good physicality that I haven't seen consistently from them. Laurie had some really special plays on both sides of the ball.
Alamoti was far too quiet in the first half. We really needed his leg speed and explosiveness coming off our line. And he was MIA, other than knocking out Kurt Mann. Looked likely in the second half - but I really expected more. Didn't play like he wanted Jenkins jersey.
Schneider is an absolute snail. Played behind a beaten pack, but was just terrible. Even when he had time (kicking for touch after a penalty), he just can't execute. Cannot be our #14 for the finals.
Cole had a mixed night. Was chopped and changed between 5/8, Halfback and Centre, both sides of the field. Made some excellent tackles - but also cleaned missed a couple too. Not sure he's an NRL level half - but I think he'd make a fist of #14 - able to cover anywhere in the backline, hooker and lock. He's tough, and has good hands. He just needs better calibre players around him.
I'll also give a shout-out to Eiso. I think the concussion to Somerton (and HIA for Luke) forced him to play longer minutes than planned. And while he's never going to be a game breaker, he kept showing up in defence, and tried his hardest to change the point of attack amongst the forwards.
The biggest takeaway from the game though was how impatient the Bulldogs were. Lots of white-line fever. They reminded me of an Under 12s team who are full of kids that have already hit puberty - so much faster and stronger, always going to win. But they wanted to be flashy, and not work for it.
If the Dogs play like that against any team in September, they'll lose.
This should have been the game that they practiced restraint. Death by a thousand cuts. But they couldn't commit to it. And they've likely lost Kiraz for a few weeks too. They're cooked. Gone in straight sets.
