Well the tale of the tape for that one is simple. Errors, errors, errors. That's all it was, just too many bloody errors. I feel pretty gutted and a bit deflated after that. We did so much right in that game, so much and the Storm really were there to be beaten but instead, we decided to beat ourselves. Should be happy with that performance but in the end I'm actually fuming and pretty friggin gutted. Man, we should have won that!!
Big improvement attacking wise tonight. You could notice the changes to the pack straight away as there was just a lot more punch and we were marching up the field quite well that whole game to be honest. I was happy with the way the forwards played (apart from the errors) and the changes certainly paid off. Our attacking shape and plays were far better close to the line too and we looked so dangerous everytime we were down there. Asked a lot of questions of one of the best defensive teams in the comp tonight and that should not be underestimated. The attack was great. But, as we all know, it was the errors in the second half that just absolutely murdered us. They just kept coming, and coming, and coming. Melbourne are a team you simply just can't do that to and that showed tonight. So when you take all those incomplete sets out of it, I was actually quite happw with the attack.
Defensively, we were rocks and diamonds tonight. I mean, look at how much ball the Storm had in our own half and yet, we managed to hold them out time and time again. That was impressive. Line speed was of a high intensity and we did a much better job of slowing down the ruck. In saying that, we were poor defensively sometimes and it was in the key moments too. We just clocked of at times and let them straight through which was evident in the Storm's first two tries. That needs work.
Mitchell: First time I've said this all year but Latrell had a great game tonight. You could see he just wanted to be into it and wanted to be involved. His kick returns were very strong, as were a lot of his ordinary runs. Plus, how good did he look on attack?! Some of the passes he threw tonight were just exceptional, especially his cut out ball for AJ's try. He created a lot of chances for us with fantastic touches of the Footy on both sides of the field. It was grreat to watch.
Gagai: Pretty solid tonight without being spectacular. His runs were strong, especially out of our own end, safe under the high ball, pretty good defensively and he got through a lot of work. He did make a couple of errors but man, he was unlucky not to score tonight. Latrell would seemingly put it on a platter for him but the Melbourne defence was sadly too good.
Graham: Another great game from Cammy in that right centre spot. Like Gags, he did a lot of work coming out of our own end and proved hard to put down, making a decent amount of meters on every run. He was defensively sound and got close to scoring a couple of times.
Burns: Was solid. His runs perhaps weren't quite as strong but he did get through a hell of a lot of work. Over all his defence was solid but he did have a few poor lapses that need to be worked on, most noteably their first try, that all came about beacuse Burnsy showed no energy to get back into the line which opened the space.
Johnston: Pretty good tonight. Wasn't afraid to get in and do the hard yards, his kick returns were strong. Wasn't bad over the whole game defensively either (he got a really bad bounce for Vunivalu's try. An incredible finish to score his try too!
Dargan: Have to be a bit harsh on him tonight sadly but I just wasn't a fan of the way he played. To be honest, I just feel he didn't create a lot. Generally, whenever we got an opportunity, it was created by someone else and he just had a hand in the play. He had a few soft defensive moments, in paticular a real lack of chase on the Storm's first try. And finally, he had two chances to step up and take our final chances at the end of the game but he didn't execute. Threw that poor pass that Vunivalu intercepted and then there was that obtruction penalty where he should have just surrendered and not passed. They were two key moment that he didn't ice. I guess we cna't be too hard on him though, it's his second game.
Reynolds: A much better performance from Reyno!! He actually really stood up and led from the front. Right from the opening minute, he was busy and was demanding the Footy. He was actually digging into the line more on attack which was creating space for his outside men. I was impressed with his kicking game too and he forced a couple of line drop outs with the ball on a string. I guess hif job was made easier by the forwards laying more of a platform but it's just good to see him stand up.
Tatola: Much improved! Back to his normal self tonight thankfully. Really led the way for the forwards as he was very busy but didn't show any signs of slowing down. Fantastic runs that certainly set the platform for the night and was great in defence also. Much better Junior!
Cook: Speaking of improvement, I thought Cookie was a lot better too. Our forwards weren't getting dominated so I guess he had more of a platform and more time to work off but it was good to see him pick his runs and just go for it, his running game was a lot better. I feel his service was also because he didn't seem to overplay his hand. Our top tackler for that game too!
Burgess: Didn't seem to get as many minutes but still put in a good shift. No errors with some good, hard running and making plenty of yards, that's all we want from Tommy and that's exactly what he did tonight.
Lowe: I gotta be honest, he was quiet. Really not that much to say about him. God, he needs to lift!
Su'a: His best game in the Red and Green by far! He was so powerful tonight, it was Te'o like! He just looked like a different player, it was brilliant! he seemed hungry and ran with a lot of power and aggression which saw him pick up plenty of meters. Not only that, but he went close to scoring a couple of times and was even creating opportunities for Campbell and Gags outside him. His defence was outstanding too, made his tackles but also put on some big hits.
Murray: Well, his move back to lock was an instant success and you could just see how much more formidible our pack looked. Cam on a personal level had a great game. It was the Cam Murray of old at lock with a lot of involvement, very stong runs with a quick play-the-ball, offloads and text book tackles.
Knight: Not his greatest of nights for Liam. Most of his game was top notch and I thought he brough great impact off the bench. Was taking his hit ups well and generally charging up field. However, his hands were a real issue and I think he made two or three errors in the end which is just not good enough.
Nicholls: Mark was okay, better than last week. He did his job and I was actually quite surprised at the amount of post contact meters he was making. I was however, disappointed in a few errors he made.
Amone: Tom's running game was great once again. I am seriously blown away by his ability to just keep moving forward with defenders hanging off him and we saw that again tonight, he provided great impact off the bench. But it was him that initially caused the Vunivalu try because he got drawn into some niggly stuff at the ruck and completely took his eye off the ball, that was disappointing.
Koloamatangi: Massive congrats to Keon on the debut!! We didn't get to see a lot of him as he only had a few runs but they were very good. Hope to see more this year.
So all in all, a very frustrating game because I feel like we really could have and should have won that. Hold onto the wall and we may have done just that. It's so disappointing as we've just missed a great opportunity. In saying that, while we still have A LOT to work on, I think we can take some real confidence from that because we've seen how we can play if we execute.
