Round 3 - Roosters vs Rabbitohs: Friday 29th May 7:55pm @Bankwest Stadium

[Valheru]

A view from the other side..

If souths are going to be top 4 again they will have to do it in a different manner to the last few years. They just did not look menacing at all in the forwards which has been their strength for 10 years.

Murray needs to be put back in the middle to sure things up.

Poor Latrell is copping a lot of flack but he was ok, far better than Reynolds. Having said that you saw the reason we moved him to centre last night, his defensive positioning and communication is just not good and i don't see it improving. He is a born centre and you guys will be all the better for it when he moves back.

 

[handyman2190]

AR did nothing last night,imagine a rookie taking 90% of the kicks,ran 1ce and stuffed it, did nothing.
Murray needs to be lock, knight is a shadow of last year and needs to pull his finger out, there was a lot of negatives that even Arrow couldnt fix, we need forwards .

 

[English Rose]

Gone from one of the most feared packs in the competition to now one of the softest in a year! You can’t lose players of the calibre of Sam and Sutton and even George (I know he hasn’t been great for last few years but at least he had a bit of
mongrel about him) without replacing them!

 

[The Mad Hatter]

https://www.titans.com.au/teams/telstra-premiership/gold-coast-titans/moeaki-fotuaika/

We should be after this guy.

And a JWH mongrel merkin.

 

[truthslayer]

Have to say Disappointing, to say the least. Reynolds as captain needs to lead and show more grit. I 've been disappointed too many times with Adam as captain he cannot go quiet. Bennett I have to say must lift as a coach his decision on where to play Murray is not working, Apart from Tom and Murray the forwards showed very little ( amone was good ) Little fight in the play the ball and no impact, Ethan Lowe and Mark Nicholls not exactly putting fright into opposition. Liam Knight took a head knock but he can't have games where he only makes 60 odd metres. He always gives a dumbass penalty away also. Latrell well he was better, not sure if he should be at fullback yet.
Graham showed promise early .Burns- jimmy the jet takes the intercept he scores burns gets run down by a 33-year-old. Gagai was involved but outjumped on the wing. Cook well he needs to lift also. I was really disappointed with the desire to get the speed of play going. Baily Sironon not enough playing time to gauge. We have to do better in the forwards in future who is prepared to lift Wayne must find these players and pick them.

 

[callmack1]

"Plenty to work on" - Nicholls: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2020/05/30/mark-nicholls-media-round-three/

"It's quicker, but you gotta keep moving" - Tatola: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2020/05/30/junior-media-round-three/

Rehab Report Round 3: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2020/05/30/rehab-report-round-three/

I agree with comments that Murray needs to be moved back to lock. Must admit, I was a fan of moving him to an edge but we've seen in these first three games that it is hurting us more than it is helping us. We just need his punch and attack in the middle, as many have said, we need his quick play-the-balls for the playmakers to work off in the centre of the field. I also feel his workload has dropped and he's not seeing as much ball out on the edge. He's one of our forward weapons so that's not a good thing. If I were Wayne, the big change I'd make is shifting Lowe to left edge second rower (and telling him to lift) with Murray back to lock and either Knight or Tatola back onto the bench. I feel that actually helps the over all balance of the side as it'll add some more punch to the bench.

Also, after watching the replay and having more time to think about it, I've calmed down a bit about this game. yes, it was a disappointing performance but I actually do feel now that we did a lot right, it was just execution and focus that let us down. We didn't looked polished and we had periods there where we dropped the intensity a bit and handed the Roosters an advantage. A bit more fight in the play-the-ball, a bit more focus and consistency, and a bit better execution and we're not far off at all. I know that's a lot of work to do but what I'm saying is that this game is a performance we can build off. We just need to make sure we work hard and improve in some areas a lot.

 

[big hit!]

Souths have invested too much into Latrell already to give up on him after three games. He is showing progression in the position and it would be a step backwards to shift him to centre for AJ at the back.
Of the outside backs last night, i felt AJ was the least influential of the 4 and is an easy omission for Roberts when he returns.

Gagai should've never been up against Tupou in the air for their first try. It wouldn't be hard to have Graham at centre dropping back instead of Gagai when the opposition are kicking across field for a big winger. All it takes is a bit of communication between the two and instruction from the coaching staff.

What do you mean by invested? I thought Souths were getting him on the cheap. Or do you mean time and effort with getting him to play at FB? In such an important position, we don't have time for him to progress slowly. He needs to show he is making an effort in all facets of the FB role.

 

[Travitoh]

What do you mean by invested? I thought Souths were getting him on the cheap. Or do you mean time and effort with getting him to play at FB? In such an important position, we don't have time for him to progress slowly. He needs to show he is making an effort in all facets of the FB role.

Souths didn't recruit Latrell to play centre. They released their FB at the time in Doueihi because Latrell was coming in to play at 1.

To scrap him as a FB now after 3 games will only damage the clubs recruitment plans for a premiership tilt in the next few years.

 

[Rabbits20]

Hardly surprised with the result I saw it coming. Our pack has too many toilers and no mongrel.

 

[Pauly1]

"WANTED" 1 x half back that will run the ball and have a go.
Reynolds is finished.Ever since he broke his jaw, all his confidence has gone.
He won't tackle/run the ball or lead as a captain.He is so slow to watch I think even Bennet can out run him.Time to find a new half back for 2021.
Anyone coming up in the grades?
Damien Cook has also been found out, would have preferred Korosau when he came on the market.
Goodwin should have been in the centres for Burns.At least Goodwin can tackle.

 

[Travitoh]

"WANTED" 1 x half back that will run the ball and have a go.
Reynolds is finished.Ever since he broke his jaw, all his confidence has gone.
He won't tackle/run the ball or lead as a captain.He is so slow to watch I think even Bennet can out run him.Time to find a new half back for 2021.
Anyone coming up in the grades?
Damien Cook has also been found out, would have preferred Korosau when he came on the market.
Goodwin should have been in the centres for Burns.At least Goodwin can tackle.

Burns completed 16 of 17 tackles Friday night. Better than both Easts centres.

I don't want to agree with you on Reynolds but it's hard to make a valid arguement at the moment. Dargan was alright Friday night and was highly thought of coming through for Brisbane.

Cook needs to get off the leash and just run. It's his greatest strength.

 

[callmack1]

Player of the Game - Round 3: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2020/05/31/player-of-the-game-round-three/

Let's just see how Reyno goes this coming week. He needs to lift big time!

 

[big hit!]

Souths didn't recruit Latrell to play centre. They released their FB at the time in Doueihi because Latrell was coming in to play at 1.

To scrap him as a FB now after 3 games will only damage the clubs recruitment plans for a premiership tilt in the next few years.

It was bad recruiting because Mitchell is not a FB.

Souths have did well over the past decade with smart recruiting under Richardson which also netted a premiership. But the last couple of years with Bennett having influence have been average at best. S'ua has been the best of them. The club needs to go back to recruiting far and wide rather than merely bringing in players who have played for the coach before, or has beens he is fond of.

Souths have some talent in pathways. Suaali, only 17, from all reports will be a gun. He play first grade next year when he turns 18. He will be a FB from 2022. If not at Souths, then elsewhere in rugby league or rugby union. Taafe had a break out year in Flegg last season and a future half for the club. Likewise Illias. There are good forwards in Rodwell and Gardner too. Alongside Murray, Graham, Amone, Tatola and 'smart' recruiting elsewhere - this is our future.

Mitchell is no Inglis.

 

[Travitoh]

It was bad recruiting because Mitchell is not a FB.

Souths have did well over the past decade with smart recruiting under Richardson which also netted a premiership. But the last couple of years with Bennett having influence have been average at best. S'ua has been the best of them. The club needs to go back to recruiting far and wide rather than merely bringing in players who have played for the coach before, or has beens he is fond of.

Souths have some talent in pathways. Suaali, only 17, from all reports will be a gun. He play first grade next year when he turns 18. He will be a FB from 2022. If not at Souths, then elsewhere in rugby league or rugby union. Taafe had a break out year in Flegg last season and a future half for the club. Likewise Illias. There are good forwards in Rodwell and Gardner too. Alongside Murray, Graham, Amone, Tatola and 'smart' recruiting elsewhere - this is our future.

Mitchell is no Inglis.

I agree that Mitchell shouldn't have been recruited as a FB and debated it in this forum. But he's at the club now and it's in the clubs best interests that he works out given time. There isn't exactly an abundance of rep standard players available to sign as a replacement at FB.