Valheru
Coach
- Messages
- 17,601
Well it was a win... so that's something at least.
For me the biggest positive was that they came back 3 times throughout the game. We were at the stage where losing was going to become a habit (if it hadn't already) and confidence was at rock bottom so sometimes you just need wins like this to start turning that around.
Overall everyone at least looked interested which was a nice change but the heads well and truly dropped after their first flukey try and they scored straight way again thereafter and I was borderline depressed. Keary and Teddy then stepped up to steady the ship and they were able to get the job done. We are still well off the pace but it is a start and anything can happen in this tight competition.
After the rubbish he copped this week due to one sub par origin performance out of 20, it was nice to see Teddy bounce back and carry the team on his back. He may not be what he was a few years ago but he is still a top line player. Of course the peanut gallery thinks it doesn't count because it was only the Bulldogs.
Rugby Joe had his best game in a while running the ball hard and I'm not surprised that co-incided with spending some time on the wing. He is a woeful defensive centre.
I thought young Pauga had an auspicious debut, I was very impressed. I had heard he was killing it in reggies. He added enthusiasm and speed to our backline. He ran the ball hard for over 150m and was super safe under some testing bombs by Burton. He made one unfortunate error but that happens. It was nice to see him get a try and he is well worth persevering with. Corey Allen meanwhile looks a fish out of water, i know he was only ever meant to be a depth signing but the sooner he isn't in the side the better.
I think we can officially end the Manu at 6 experiment at this point. In a game where there were a lot of points and attack, I barely noticed him, he just isn't a 6. This isn't a crack on Robbo or anyone else as it was worth a try and plenty of people including myself called for it but it hasn't worked and that's ok. He needs to be put back to centre. I know Walker is still a couple of weeks away but may as well try Sandon Smith who looked ok in the 15 minutes he had in the meantime.
Turpin I thought had a good game at 9 making 50 tackles in the middle of the park only missing 1. His service was decent and he added a bit of craft with some grubbers etc. I wonder if we move Smith to the forwards when he returns and leave Turpin there?
3 Teddy
2 Pauga
1 JWH
Penrith next at SFS and playing well at the SFS is one thing we have done right this season. No better time to get them with half their squad being in the middle of an origin campaign and Cleary being out.
I still don't expect us to a win but I damn sure expect a much better performance than when we played them last time and even in a loss it could build a platform going forward.
For me the biggest positive was that they came back 3 times throughout the game. We were at the stage where losing was going to become a habit (if it hadn't already) and confidence was at rock bottom so sometimes you just need wins like this to start turning that around.
Overall everyone at least looked interested which was a nice change but the heads well and truly dropped after their first flukey try and they scored straight way again thereafter and I was borderline depressed. Keary and Teddy then stepped up to steady the ship and they were able to get the job done. We are still well off the pace but it is a start and anything can happen in this tight competition.
After the rubbish he copped this week due to one sub par origin performance out of 20, it was nice to see Teddy bounce back and carry the team on his back. He may not be what he was a few years ago but he is still a top line player. Of course the peanut gallery thinks it doesn't count because it was only the Bulldogs.
Rugby Joe had his best game in a while running the ball hard and I'm not surprised that co-incided with spending some time on the wing. He is a woeful defensive centre.
I thought young Pauga had an auspicious debut, I was very impressed. I had heard he was killing it in reggies. He added enthusiasm and speed to our backline. He ran the ball hard for over 150m and was super safe under some testing bombs by Burton. He made one unfortunate error but that happens. It was nice to see him get a try and he is well worth persevering with. Corey Allen meanwhile looks a fish out of water, i know he was only ever meant to be a depth signing but the sooner he isn't in the side the better.
I think we can officially end the Manu at 6 experiment at this point. In a game where there were a lot of points and attack, I barely noticed him, he just isn't a 6. This isn't a crack on Robbo or anyone else as it was worth a try and plenty of people including myself called for it but it hasn't worked and that's ok. He needs to be put back to centre. I know Walker is still a couple of weeks away but may as well try Sandon Smith who looked ok in the 15 minutes he had in the meantime.
Turpin I thought had a good game at 9 making 50 tackles in the middle of the park only missing 1. His service was decent and he added a bit of craft with some grubbers etc. I wonder if we move Smith to the forwards when he returns and leave Turpin there?
3 Teddy
2 Pauga
1 JWH
Penrith next at SFS and playing well at the SFS is one thing we have done right this season. No better time to get them with half their squad being in the middle of an origin campaign and Cleary being out.
I still don't expect us to a win but I damn sure expect a much better performance than when we played them last time and even in a loss it could build a platform going forward.
