We slew the Dragons from St George, South Sydney marches on and Glory, Glory. That was actually f**kin crazy and I'm still in shock and a bit of disbelief tbh, what an insane finish to the game!! Not gonna lie, we were pretty average for most of that game, were kind of going through the motions and just didn't look like we wanted it for most of it. However, after Reyno's try, something really clicked and the fire in the belly certainly engulfed the side. We were running rampant again and put ourselves in a position to win it at 12-11. But then the strip-athon began and I think I almost had a heart attack no joke!!!! I thought we were gone after that penalty goal, enter Cameron Murray. What a massive play and then Reyno with the two field goals to send us to a Prelim baby!! A lot of credit has to go to the boys the way they rebounded and found the heart after a disappointing first half, it was just incredible.
As I alluded to earlier, in attack, we just looke disinterested in that first half. Despite not being able to tick the scoreboard over, the start was good but then we just went into our shell and there was just no 'umpf.' To be honest, it was all a little bit pedestrian and the Dragons were just out enthusing us which was really disappointing due to the hugeness of the game. We weren't really able to fire a shot despite some nice looking shapes, completion rate was a big issue and put as in trouble, and our execution was lacking. I think St George Illawarra's defence was really good and we tried to combat this by shifting the ball a bit too much which created errors. However, something really clicked after reyno's try and the boys found that rampant form again with high energy and momentum shifted our way. From there, it was actually a pretty amazing performance.
Defence wasn't too bad for most of the game. Throughout the period that we were poor, I think we conceded so many meters due to the fact there was just no aggression there as well as no line speed so they were winning the physical battle pretty easily. Our dicipline was also a little poor with some silly penalties that gave them a leg up through their dominant period. Despite this, I reckon we actually defended our line pretty well as we only conceded the one try where the Dragons had a lot of opportunites. The only real blight for the defence was an individual error from Sutto so overall, it wasn't a bad defensive performance.
Johnston: Was good, chimed in a lot more often than he has in recent weeks and actually looked quite good as he almost sliced through on a number of occasions. I thought his kick returns were a lot stronger tonight too and defensively, he didn't get caught in the defensive line too much. The only negative was the pass to jennings which almost cost us the game near the end, that was unneeded and he should've just gone into contact.
Graham: Wasn't bad. Did come up with a few errors and had the ball stripped from him but at the same time, his running game was really good with the strong carries and high work rate. I also loved his effort in the kick chase everytime but the Dragons did a good job to stop this threat.
Inglis: A quiet first half by his standards but came alive in the second. In the first half, he was alittle quiet due to the fact that we just couldn't put it together down that left edge. He didn't see as much ball so his work rate wasn't high. However, when the momentum shifted to us, GI came alive and looked very threatening with those very strong aggressive runs. I also really enjoyed his high involvement. Let's hope he doesn't have too much to worry about with that crusher tackle.
Gagai: Was good all game. I thought he really did lift tonight as he became a lot more involved. Took a lot of runs coming out of our own end and they were all very good runs too which got our sets going. Defensively, he was better and I loved his aggression on the kick chase.
Jennings: Solid performance. Wasn't seen much off the end of a backline sweep but did a great job with his hit ups as always. Just such powerful runs everytime, he absoulutely threw himself into the defence and picked p a lot of post-contact meters which was really great to see.
Walker: Wasn't bad. Probed all game and although he was pretty well contained in that first half, that was more due to the forwards not laying much of a platform for him to work off so he couldn't really do an awful lot. I was a little diappointed with a few of his passes when we tried to sweep left and they killed the move but then when we found some momentum, he looked pretty good again.
Reynolds: One of our best tonight for sure!! The little general stepped up when we needed him most that's for sure! Apart from a few kicks that skewed off the side of his boot, his kicking game was great, constantly bombarding their back three with bombs which trapped them in their red zone. I though his short kicking game in paticular was really good as he was able to thread the needle and earn a repeat set on multiple occasions. Scored a great try and man, oh man, a couple of massive, massive clutch plays at the end with the two field goals. That was truely amazing to win us the game!!
T.Burgess: Was pretty good all game with strong running that generated quick play-the-balls and he managed to poke his nose through many times. Was pretty good defensively and I noticed he got through a fair amount of work there. However, Tom really grew another leg in that last tem minutes and in my opinion, is a big reason why we won tonight. Some of his runs to march us up the field were fantastic and he put us in a great position for Reyno to do his thing.
Cook: Also one of our best as he was great all game. A lot of work in defence as always, put it on a platter for the boys with his passing and even when the forwards were being dominated a bit, he took advantage of every fast play-the-ball and took some awesome runs which looked very dangerous. Again though, like Tom, he went up a gear in the final 20 minutes and terrorised the Dragons with this running game that threatened to break them apart so many times.
G.Burgess: A solid game from big George. Had to have that HIA early on but once he returned in that headgear, he did did an okay job for us in the middle but it was just that - okay. Much like most of our forwards he appeared to just go through the motions a little which was still solid but not what we want from George, we want more. Thankfully when the momentum returned and to his credit, he did lift.
Sutton: Not too bad. Solid for most of that game without being outstanding and he had some really good runs towards the end of the game to help put us in a position to win it which was good to see. I was a little disappointed in him letting Hunt through for his try though, he should have just come up on him and shut the bloke down but instead, he got caught ball watching and Hunt went straight through.
Crichton: Not gonna lie, I was a little disappointed in Gus tonight. Still had some great runs and the play for Reyno's try was awesome but other than that, he didn't really do an awful lot all game. Did make some errors and he gave away about three penalties so he wasn't at his best tonight.
S.Burgess: Was a little quiet too for his standards. maybe he has been impacted by that scandal because he didn't seem his usual, inspirational self. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't bad, just wasn't as involved as normal.
Hunt: Didn't come on.
Murray: Outstanding, seriously good. All game he just went 100%, very strong runs all the time where he fought for every meter and dragged defenders with him, awesome in defence as always and then that strip to put us in a position to make it 12-12. That was just a magnificant play!!!
Clark: Not an awful lot to say but he did his job well.
Britt: Kind of the same as Clarky, he did his job quite nicely.
So yea, I don't think we had a bad player through that period while we were being dominated, it just seemed that as a collective, the boys were going through the motions a bit and we need to be better than that. In saying that, what an amazing win and it shows how much ticker this side has.
Loved the huddle at the end of the game! We're through to a Prelim!!!! I'm absoulutely buzzing!!
