I'm still shattered and feel a bit lost but after a bit of time to recover, I feel like my head is finally clear enough to write my match report, sorry for the delay.
Man oh man, what a heartbreaker that was. So, so close. A rollercoaster of a game that could well have ended up in our favour if a few things went a bit differently. That has to be one of the bravest performances I've ever seen from a South Sydney side. In a Preliminary Final, up against the Minor Premiers, all kinds of disruption, injuries and we were as busted as ever yet still kept fighting til the end. Put up one hell of a fight that almost got us into a Grand Final. However, we didn't, we came up just short. To lose a third Prelim in a row is beyond agonising, I can't put it into words. Devastating.
Despite only scoring three tries, I thought the attack was pretty good considering who we were up against. Penrith are the best defensive side in the comp and it showed the other night as they were able to shut us down for the most part. They certainly did their homework. However, such is our attacking prowess that we were still able to break them down and score three fantastic tries that could have nearly won us the game. We did okay in terms of making yardage. Not once did I feel we had the momentum due to our poor defence yet we were still charging up the field well enough to make it really hard for Penrith. One of our downfalls the other night was slipping into old habits in terms of errors. We made far too many, there's no doubt about that. We can't afford to do that in the big games and that was proven again.
Despite the boys resilience, I thought over all, the defence was pretty poor and it's ultimately what ended up costing us the game. It was particularly around the ruck that we were poor. Failed to slow the play the ball, failed to get back on side in time, failed to generate line speed, and the defence around the ruck was just far too loose. As a result, the Panthers hammered that middle corridor and made massive inroads all game. Koroisau tore us to shreds. This had us back peddling for a lot of the game and we conceded pretty massive meters it felt like. Yes, we did extremely well to hold them out on our line a number of times, that was great, and we restricted them to only three tries but I feel that the defence around the ruck was where the game was won and lost. The boys were so brave but ultimately, this area of our game was not good enough for a Preliminary Final and that was the difference. Our inability to defuse high balls really cost us too.
Allan: Was inspirational to be honest. Started the game brilliantly with a cheeky strip that set up our first try and got us off to a great start, that was a huge play. But then followed it up with a poor missed tackle in the Panthers first try. Picked up that cork and was pretty much on one leg for the rest of the game, yet he kept going. He kept taking hit ups and tried his guts out. His try was freakish, an amazing bit of skill that put us back in the game.
Johnston: I'm gonna be harsh here but have to admit, he was poor. In a big game, we needed more from our winger. A fantastic take to score his try, that was beautiful. But after that, he didn't do a lot except gift a try to Penrith by spilling that bomb. Do have to give him credit for the huge try-saver on Crichton though, what a tackle.
Murray: Wow, where do I start with Cam? If you ever wanted proof that this guy is a future captain and one hell of a player, all you need to do is watch that game. He started at right centre before being shifted back to the middle and he was then shifted again out to the left edge. Despite this, he lead the way and was our best player the other night. He never stopped trying and put his hand up for a run almost every set, quality runs too I might add. His linebreak through pure power and determination set up Gagai's tryu in the second half and with that, we were back in the game. Tackled his arse off all game and was distraught at full time. Collapsed through pure exhaustion and devastation. What a performance.
Gagai: Gags was huge, he was busy all game and never stopped trying. 19 carries for 129 meters. In a bacline that was struggling, he really stood up and showed great leadership. The hunger to reach a Grand Final for him was evident. He did his job in defence and scored a crucial try in the second half that put us back in the game.
Paulo: I though Paulo was pretty average to be fair. He was pretty safe at the back I guess but really struggled to get involved in attack and he was pushed back in a lot of his runs.
Walker: Was pretty quiet in the first half. That's not to say he was poor, I think he did everything right and tried hard but it's more a credit to the Panthers. They really shut him down and with a forward pack that had no momentum, there wasn't a lot Cody could do. However, the second half was a bit different as he began to find space. Here, Cody stood up. He probed and probed and was creating a few opportunities. The big play came with his try assist for Gags, that was a great slight of hand as he held it up just enough to draw in May before delivering a perfectly timed ball to Gags to go over. That was a big play. I've seen Cody critisised elsewhere but I thought he did all he could. It's a credit to Penrith for shutting our forwards down and shutting him down.
Reynolds: What a kick for AJ's try to start the game, that was all class. Great vision and execution for one of his best plays all year. Reyno was clearly targetted in defence but I thought he did a pretty good job as he came up with some really good reads and generally, didn't let much get past him. he did his best to get stuff going in attack and his kicking game was on song, just found it tough to play behind a pack that despite putting up a fight, had no momentum. Reyno almost pulled off the clutch play of the year with that near 40/20. That was one hell of a kick in such a small corridor, a huge play. I was screaming at that point. But Rugby league is cuel game sometimes, a game of inches. I really feel that we could have gone on to win if that was a genuine 40/20. Gutted.
Tatola: Tough night for Junior. he did have some great runs but came up with two errors and was missing a lot of tackles through the middle. He then had his night ended by a high tackle. Losing him was huge really, we never recovered from it.
Cook: I've seen Cookie get blasted again too and some are crying "it's the third year in a row he's lost us a Prelim!" I am not one of those people. Cook did all he could. Truth is, the Panthers forwards were well on top of ours so Cookie had no chance to do anything really. Not many quick play-the-balls and buggar all space. What is he supposed to do? When a game is like that, all he can really do is focus on defence (an area he was fantastic in the other night) and giving good service from Dummy Half which he did. Cook did all he could. yes, Koroisau outplayed him but I guarantee you that if the rolls were reversed and Koroisau and Cook swapped sides, Cook would have had a field day too. I must admit, it was very, very poor defence from him that lead to Yeo's break to set up the winning try though. That was extremely poor. But in a performance like that where the boys were so brave, I refuse to blame an individual for a loss. So lay off him, he was in tears after his interview at fulltime, really broke down and that broke my heart.
Burgess: Not his finest game in the Red and Green sadly. we needed him to stand up and he didn't. A few good carries but it was otherwise a lacklustre performance. Made a crucial error and struggle in the middle missing seven tackles. I hate to say it but we need better from our forward leader.
Su'A: Not a bad game as he had some really charging carries and I found myself cheering "Great run Jaydn!" A few times but he just struggled to inject himself over all. A few good hits but that was about it.
Sironen: A quiet game sadly. Not too much to comment on as his night was ended early with that knee injury.
Knight: Looked pretty tired early when it was super frantic but he managed to find a second wind and recovered well. I actually though he had a really good game, some strong carries, was good in defence and he managed to make over a hundred meters.
Nicholls: Not a lot to comment on as it wasn't his best game. Came up with an error and missed the first up tackle on Yeo that lead to that try.
Cartwright: I thought he was actually really strong considering the circumstances. He cam einto the game and the Panthers clearly targetted him but he held his own. Had some good hit ups.
Sele: very solid off the bench in his first game in three weeks. He provided some good impact with over a hundred meters and he got through plenty of defence.
Koloamatangi: Was great. Brought huge energy off the bench and was as impactful as ever. Tried his guts out. Sadly, it wasn't enough.
I'm still absolutely shattered as before the game, I really felt like we could have gone all the way. But you have to be so proud of the boys, I don't know how you can't be proud. As I said, it's one of the most brave performances I've ever seen. The big underdogs, completely busted, everything going against us yet we came within a wisker of making a Grand Final. You can't fault the boys effort and while it hurts to come up short again, we must be proud.
I will do a proper Season review in the week after the Grand Final but we've had a pretty remarkable Season that we should all be extremely proud of. We have one hell of a side here. I love this club. Glory, Glory!
