2021 R1 Thu - Melbourne 26-18 South Sydney @ AAMI

[Perth Red]

Storm start season same as they finished last, big lead then hanging on in at end.

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

What a cracking game of footy. Awesome to start the season.

PS - I like Souths numbering. Love it actually. Get rid of those ugly borders..

 

[Sphagnum]

Storm start season same as they finished last, big lead then hanging on in at end.

And nothing but cheating and moaning in middle

 

[84 Baby]

A very small, almost nonexistent part of me wants Scum to win the GF this year just for the commentators to ask the players just what it was like to play without Cameron Smith

 

[Saxon]

Johnston still had his legs on the ground but the ref calls held as he was being dragged to the sideline.

"Must keep Souffs in game"

It certainly seemed like the refereeing changed once Storm got 18 points up.

 

[84 Baby]

Olam waving to his family who’ve made the trip from Micronesia

 

[King hit]

Papenhuyzen is one of my favourite players for a reason. What a great game he played tonight

 

[Nerd]

As expected the Storm really missed Cam Smith's kicking game in the crucial moments.

 

[mozza91]

Good game of football to kick the season off. f**k I’m glad it’s back.

 

[moffla]

When we have momentum we are frightening. Still too early to say how we are going to go in games where it’s a bit of a 50/50 wrestle, but we haven’t missed much of a beat.

 

[Mr Spock!]

Cook was so poor he must've thought he was playing in a final.

 

[King hit]

When we have momentum we are frightening. Still too early to say how we are going to go in games where it’s a bit of a 50/50 wrestle, but we haven’t missed much of a beat.

The big test for the Storm this year will be how they handle the pressure without Cameron Smith. They looked a bit nervous on a few occasions in that second half. In those occasions you would see Smith guiding them through like the master he was but in this game I thought South’s mistakes helped Melbourne get the points.

Storm will still be a very strong team this year. As long as Bellamy is in charge they won’t drop off

 

[This Year?]

To me it felt like the Storm shut up shop after half an hour of the party and I'm sure the only reason why they did was because they were gassed. Those offloads absolutely slayed Souths at the start of the game and I'm still in awe of the Pap try where he burnt Gagai, then went in the corner. Also Munster's defence is amazing for a bloke his size. He absolutely smashed a couple of 2nd rowers (one I think was Sua?).
To Souffs credit they didn't give up even though it wasn't their day, they still managed to make the score somewhat respectable. The commentators said Wayne would be filthy on them for the errors but also I reckon he wouldn't have been happy with how they allowed the Storm to get out of their end so easily.
Absolutely loved the game day thread which made me LOL many times.
Footy is back baby and Melbourne finally got to see a live game.

 

[big hit!]

This is going to sound naff given how it looked when Melbourne got out to the early lead, and won the game, but......

Souths were actually the better team for most of the match once both sides settled into the grind of playing footy.

The first 30 mins killed them. Too many errors, lack of completions, and really bad defence both in yardage and goodball in the opening qtr killed them. Melbourne turned up to play from the opening whistle. Souths just thought it was going to happen for them again like it did against St George in Mudgee.

Being the better side on the night doesn't matter though when you're so bad you give up 22 points in half an hour against the defending premier.

 

[Someguy]

This is going to sound naff given how it looked when Melbourne got out to the early lead, and won the game, but......

Souths were actually the better team for most of the match once both sides settled into the grind of playing footy.

The first 30 mins killed them. Too many errors, lack of completions, and really bad defence both in yardage and goodball in the opening qtr killed them. Melbourne turned up to play from the opening whistle. Souths just thought it was going to happen for them again like it did against St George in Mudgee.

Being the better side on the night doesn't matter though when you're so bad you give up 22 points in half an hour against the defending premier.

Storm well on top till the bench came into play. Lack of depth for the storm will be an issue as the season goes on. A few early cheap shots on playmakers shows that lack of depth wasn’t lost on Wayne.

Latrell was massive in attack for the bunnies, breaking tackles with ease and looking dangerous every time he touched it. On the flip side his defence is lacking commitment and he doesn’t read the game well. Going to be a big factor this season winning and losing games for souths

 

[Generalzod]

Is Brandy dumber than usual tonight or what?

Wasn’t that Great tonite lol

 

[The_Frog]

The first 30 mins killed them. Too many errors, lack of completions, and really bad defence both in yardage and goodball in the opening qtr killed them. Melbourne turned up to play from the opening whistle. Souths just thought it was going to happen for them again like it did against St George in Mudgee.

Good sides continue to find holes in them. This is what held them back last year.

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

Storm well on top till the bench came into play. Lack of depth for the storm will be an issue as the season goes on. A few early cheap shots on playmakers shows that lack of depth wasn’t lost on Wayne.

Latrell was massive in attack for the bunnies, breaking tackles with ease and looking dangerous every time he touched it. On the flip side his defence is lacking commitment and he doesn’t read the game well. Going to be a big factor this season winning and losing games for souths

Some good points there.

Re Latrell, he hasn’t played a comp game since he blew that hamstring last year. Yep there were some things to tidy up from last night but geez he looks ominous. He did look frightening in attack last night... and like a racehorse after a spell, I think he needs a few more gallops until he gets to his peak...

Indeed he could challenge Tedesco as the “number one number one” in the comp if he peaks. The other one that could possibly challenge then both is the guy in purple last night - Papenhuyzen..

 

[big hit!]

Good sides continue to find holes in them. This is what held them back last year.

For all their skill and attacking threat, Souths lack consistency and defensive resilience. A premier does not let in 22 points in half an hour, no matter the opposition or how badly it's going error wise. And it wasn't just try line defence either. Yardage defence was abysmal with Melbourne making easy metres.

Defence is an attitude. It's not the fun part of rugby league but it's the non-negotiable standard of champion teams. Just look at Melbourne and Roosters in their winning season recently.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

The early excitement of Souths winning the comp looks like premature speculation.