This isn't gonna be too long because I am just absolutely shattered and really just want to go to bed. There's not too much to report on anyway.
That was a long night. Heartbreaking, shattering, disgraceful night. Wherre was the energy? Where was the passion? It just wasn't there at all tonight and as a result we got completely outplayed. I don't understand how we can go from being up for three weeks and looking good again to then dish up that crap, in a Finals game where it means everything. I just don't get it. Yes, the Roosters probably played their best game of the year but a lof of our guys looked like they didn't want to be there and we got outplayed. I'm shattered.
Attack was almost non - exsistent. It seemed in the early stages we'd just do nothing with the ball and then make an error to hand over cheap posession and good field position, it was shocking!! We honestly just had nothing in attack that whole game.
Defence wasn't all that better. The goal line defence was just horrendus, it was all over the shop and the Roosters scored almost all of their tries off shocking defence from our boys. We looked so resiliant last week and then we come out this week and produce the exact opposite. Left side was especially poor. Plus the line speed was shocking and dicipline was poor. Not a great night at all.
Johnston: AJ was awful, had an absolute shocker. His first drop set the tone for the rest of the match. From there he was average, producing weak kick returns, making a couple more areas and just thaving no impact really. Doueihi should have stayed at fullback. The only positives for AJ are his two try saving tackles.
Doueihi: Not too much to say as he was okay but was hardly involved. Was certainly better at fullback. Had a few good runs tonight but that was about it.
Roberts: Was he even out there? I hardly saw/noticed him. Had the odd decent run but otherwise did nothing. It's not good enough from Jimmy.
Graham: Cammy tried his guts out but wasn't really that impactful. Had a couple of good runs and defensive reads but that was about it really.
Allan: Was okay. He was outstanding in defence, coming up with try savers once again! And then in attack, he chimed in every so often but seemed to get dragged around. I still want to see him more involved.
Walker: We needed him to really stand up and once again he couldn't. Apart from a few good kicks and due to our lack of attacking options, he was hardly sighted and hardly made an impact in the game. I think this is more down to the forwards though because there's not much you can do as a half when your pack is getting hammered and can't hold their own.
Reynolds: See above for first half. However, he seemed to come good in the second as he looked to really feed the side and try to spark something. Brilliant try scored by him. Not happy with his defence though, that's a worry.
G.Burgess: Not much to say as his first stint was short and quite bad, made no impact. However, to his credit he came on in the second really fired up and he did make a difference I feel. It was just too late.
Cook: Cookie was very quiet, I'd say he only ran twice. The only really good part about his game was his defence as he made over fifty tackles.
Knight: I actually thought Knight was pretty good. He made one error but the rest of his game was good. As always, he ran with aggression, intent and he was able to generate some second phase play at times.
Sutton: Probably one of our best. He tried very hard, his effort was there unlike some other players and he made a decent impact. His pass for Reyno's try was awesome. However, I was disappointed with the way he gave up on Tedescos try, he could have stopped that.
Su'A: Not much to say as he played little minutes. Apart from that big tackle he didn't do much. It was him that was at fault from Cordner's try as there wasn't much Reyno could do.
Murray: For someone that demands high standards, that is of the worst games he's played. He had a few good runs but overall, his impact just wasn't as great. He wasn't able to get quick play-the-balls and he made some errors.
Lowe: Was solid. Some very strong runs (especially one that made 25 meters) and he didn't do anything wrong.
Nicholls: Similar to Lowe, he came on and tried his guts out and he just did his job. A decent amount of runs and tackles. He didn't let anyone down.
Tatola: Junior was pretty good actually. He ran with intent in his stints and made no errors.
T.Burgess: Tom looked great when he cam on, a real barnstorming performance in both attack and defence as he was swatting guys away all over the lace.
We lost that in the forwards tonight. They were able to get a roll on way too easily which meant our boys weren't laying a platform and thus, nothing flowed. From there, the Roosters just outclassed us. Just so devastated as I really wanted to win that game and to put on a shocker like that in the first game of the Finals is just not acceptable. It's not good enough. I now have a few doubts about or Premiership chances. In saying that, it's not over yet, the fight doesn't end today. We just have to reset and go again.
So yea, sorry this is small but I'm just exausted and so, so gutted. I'm shattered to be honest but hopefully we'll rebound next week. No more second chances!!!
