Yeehaaa!! How good does it feel to get back on track a bit and get back into the winners circle? Feels great that's for sure! We needed to put on a bit of a performance this afternoon and we did that, the result was never in doubt really. I was very happy with the way we just went about our business in a clinical display and never really let the Titans into it. There was a lot of good signs out there but I don't think we can get too carried away because (with respect) it was against the Titans.
Offensively, we were awesome today. As we all know, the execution hasn't been there these past couple of weeks but it certainly was in this one. It all started from our ability to dominate possession through a high completion rate, especially in that first half. We made minimal errors and I think completed at around 85%. Significantly, that is a lot different to how it has been the past couple of weeks and everything flowed off the back of that. That allowed the boys to gain a bit of momentum which saw us pour through the middle through the forwards and we had no problems making meters today. Off the back of that, we played patient Footy and built pressure which lead to points. As I said, the execution was a lot better and we scored some brilliant tries today. Slick, sweeping backline moves, classy kicks, and damaging short balls. The lads had it all today. It was just really pleasing to see the boys put on some great plays and see them get it right a number of times. So good to see stuff finally come together and we looked super dangerous. If anything, we maybe went into our shell a bit in the second half and maybe let the foot off the throat a bit so that's a work on but even then, I wouldn't say we attacked poorly, it was just solid.
The defence tonight was also pretty solid. We had the odd lapse but it was otherwise good. Admittedly, the Gold Coast were struggling in attack during that first half but we kind of made them play that way if that makes sense through some great pressure defence and they found it hard to crack us. The second half was particularly impressive as the Titans really lifted and threw a lot at us but (apart from Cartwright's try) we didn't budge and just kept turning them away. If anything, I think our defensive dicipline could have been better, we gave them a lot of piggy back penalties and six-again ruck infringements which we can't afford to do against the good teams. Otherwise a decent defensive performance.
Mitchell: Well, where do I start?! What a game from Latrell!! Easily his best since joining us as he continues (and hopefully will in the future) to improve. One line break, two line break assists, three try assists, eleven tackle breaks AND his first try in the Red and Green. What a night. He didn't have a massive amount of running meters but jeez he had a big impact on the game. You could just see he wanted to be involved from the start which was great. He was popping up everywhere in attack and had some absolute class touches, his second try assist for Gagai takes the cake, thought his first was great but that second one with dazzling footwork and then the pass was just incredible. Was awesome to see him get what is hopefully the first of many tries for us. Defensively, he was everywhere too. He covered the ball well at the back and made some really good decisions in our in goal area. All topped off by a fantasic interview at the end of the game in which I loved his attitude and some of the things he said. I'm just really proud of him, he's starting to scilence the haters and I really hope he continues to just get batter and better!
Gagai: A lot better today. He was far more involved and you could tell he just wanted to get his hands dirty and get stuck in, loved some of his runs coming out of our end. Gags had no issues with his hands thankfully and he put on two great finishes for two great tries. I liked his defensive game too, he didn't make any errors there and and he was safe under the high ball.
Graham: Not as outstanding today as he has been the past two games but that's not to say he was bad, he was still incredibly solid. All his runs were solid and he did a fair bit to help out the forwards. Made some great decisions in defence to shut down a number of the Gold Coast's attacking raids.
Burns: Not sure what to make of his game really as he did a lot right but also got some things wrong. Scored a nice try through some good hands and his running game wasn't bad all night. However, he did come up with an error and made a reall poor defensive effort for the Titans first try. He just planted his feet, came in too far and wasn't quick enough to react which saw Sami get on his outside and Burnsy was never able to recover. A poor effort there. So yea, I'm just not sure what to make of his game.
Johnston: Impressed me again tonight with a good, consistent display. Showed no fear with his hit ups, in particular his kick returns whixh were fantastic. I feel that he didn't have the best night under the high ball but it was great to see him bag a try off the back of a nice kick from Cody.
Walker: Speaking of, how good was it to have Cody back?! Our attack clicked into gear finally tonight and it's no fluke that it coincided with Walker's return. He really sparked us today with his great combos with those around him and his skill. He created plenty of opportunities for those around him and looked pretty damn dangerous. His return freed Reyno up quite significantly and it was great to see those two gel once again. Cody put in a great little touch for AJ's try which was probably the highlight of his game tonight.
Reynolds: Reyno was on tonight, especially with the boot. Cody seemed to really free him up. He hit all his long range kicks sweetly which put a lot of pressure on their back three and his short kicking was also on song as was his goal kicking. I liked his work with ball in hand and like Cody, his passing game created a lot of opportunites down that right side. Made a great decision to let Cody's grubber in the left-hand corner go past him for AJ to score, a selfless and smart play. The one bit of constructive criticism I have for him is about his defence. I lost count of how many times he was the only one rushing up out of the line which made two massive holes in our defensive line each time and we just can't do that against the top teams.
Tatola: Another really good, solid game from Junior. As always, just hard running, high energy, good post-contact meters and pretty good defensively. He seems to be getting fitter and fitter as he was full of energy in both stints this afternoon. Went very close to scoring a try and would have had a try assist too if he wasn't offside.
Cook: Awesome game from Cookie! I don't think he made as many tackles but I liked his attacking game a lot more. Less hesitation close to the line with better pass selection and quicker service, he brought the forwards onto the ball really well. A great running game tonight as well as he just pinned the ears back and ran. Almost poked through a few times. Very dangerous and this is perhaps the first time we've seen him really take advantage of the new rules.
Burgess: What a performance from Tommy! He just kept going and going all arvo in both his stints. His fitness has really improved this year and it's showing. He was a forward leader out there, eating the meters and fighting for every inch. Had a big impact through the middle and I really enjoyed his game.
Su'a: A bit more quiet tonight compared to last week. Still had some decent runs and was fine defensively but I wouldn't say he made a huge impact. Really silly shoulder charge there too, that was stupid and will no doubt see him miss a couple of weeks sadly.
Lowe: He wasn't really bad but I was diappointed with his game tonight. Two errors and didn't do a hell of a lot. I just feel that he's becoming a bit like Nicholls in the fact that he has no real 'oomph' in his runs and we saw that a lot today. Need more from him.
Murray: Brilliant again! A typical Cam performance! Just great running through that middle third, poking his nose through the line and finding a quick play-the-ball more often then not. He didn't stop the whole time he was on and he really lead the way. We've looked so much better since he's been at lock. What a player!
Knight: A better performance from Knighty and he had some really good impact off the bench with hard running. No errors too which was a big plus.
Mago: Big congrats on his club debut and he certainly didn't let anyone down. He did only have a few runs but they were all pretty strong. He can build off today's game, hopefully get more minutes and continue to improve.
Amone: Another impactful game from Tom. I'd still like to see him get more minutes but the minutes he did have were quality. He's just so strong man, I remeber one run he had in the first half around out 40 meter line, from a standing start he carried three defenders and still made around 8 post contact meters. Incredible really.
Sironen: Not a lot to say about Bayley as he didn't have a huge impact unfourtunately. Needs to get more involved when he's on.
So all in all, I'm pretty happy. This is the first time this year we've put in a close to complete performance and it was great to see a lot of stuff finally come together. However, with all due respect to the Titans, we can't get too carried away as they weren't that great either. We still have a lot to work on but today was a massive step in the right direction!