Knights 3 2 1s

[Valheru]

3 teddy
2 Cords
1 ikavalu

Tough day at the office.

It was very 2015 PF esque with the disastrous first try early in front of a rabid crowd and from there we made too many mistakes and looked utterly lost without any halves.

I thought the boys actually held out well in the first half after Keary went but then ponga broke it open and that last try on halftime was a killer.

The team looks like they need a break and that happens next week. Robbo is copping some flack for resting cronk but for me he has plenty of credits in the bank and has proven time and again he knows how to pace and build a season. If he says this was the best time to rest cronk than I am going with it.

On the roster itself, I think radley has to go back to the back row and bring in verrils who is an actual hooker. Latrell can't play 5/8 again as it removes our best attacking weapon and serious questions about Manu have to start being asked. He is having and epic bout of 2nd year syndrome even though it is his 3rd year. I fail to see what value Crighton has added as well but this time last year teddy was struggling so I guess give him more time.

At the end of the day we are 8-3 which is a massive pass mark and we have played all the top 8 teams and none of the bottom 4. We pick ourselves up and move on to next game.

 

[Babyface O'reilly]

My three also.
Agree with all your points but still find the Cronk decision a little baffling as there’s a bye next week. Would’ve thought the guy would’ve been motivated after announcing his retirement. Maybe there’s something more to it. As for the rest, the team’s clearly buggered. Tough games with injuries against Manly and Storm then more against Raiders with no bench quickly followed by short turn-around against Broncos. It all adds up. Trell’s been quiet since his epic game against Tigers. Hoping fatigue explains a bit of that too and not the rumours circling. And yes, Radley’s impact and confidence has diminished due to the riggers of hooker.
Thoughts on Ikavalu? I think he’s solid and deserves to keep his spot and is getting better and better with every game.
Don’t know what to make of Manu yet.

 

[Valheru]

After the parra game I had written off ikavalu but he has improved every week and always puts in. Safe under the high ball, solid defensively, makes tough runs from our own half and a decent finisher. For me he is in front of both Morris and hall at the moment.

The other thing we need to keep in mind is we have generally played the form team of the comp in a given week (parra, raiders and knights as examples) and only one game against the bottom 6 as it stands right now (dragons)

 

[Captain Apollo]

3 points: James Tedesco
2 points; Boyd Cordner
1 point: Matt Ikuvalu.

They out played us, no doubt about it.

Problem with Latrell at five eight is he won't run with the ball, which blunts his effectiveness. He is a ball runner, not a ball player at this stage. He can develop those skill but they take time. He needs to run to open the field up. Not his fault we lost, just an observation on what he needs to do if he is going to play five eight. It is what make Luke Keary so dangerous at five eight, when he runs.