What an effort! I certainly didn't see it coming as I thought the flat track bullies would carve us up by 24+ points.
Our weakest point was that first 20 minutes. I felt if they cracked us early in a soft sort of way, we would have been in trouble. But our tight defence led to us gaining some confidence and building our game from there. The encouraging thing is that we played better as the game went on. Nulla kinda put up the white flag early into that second half which is so good for us.
Last week, I said that only one change should be forced (Bud). It is nice to be proven right and the guys were certainly better for last week's run.
Bula: Great to see more involvement from him as things panned out more for him to play his game than last week. He did the little things right (the very things that make him great) and looks to be building nicely.
Staines: He did his job but, in all honesty, did not have that much to do. He f**ked up an opportunity from Faatape which simply needs to be taken in future weeks. As far as Im concerned, he keeps the spot again next week, but it is still a spot that is up for grabs if Naden or a lower grader shows that they are upto it.
Faatape: Great to see the guy build on last week to deliver a better performance tonight. He seems very capable of setting up his winger and did a reasonable job in marking probably the toughest centre to put down in Talakai. An enthusiastic performer who definitely deserves another run regardless of who is fit. He has good potential.
Olam: Fantastic debut and Im glad it was in front of a Leichardt crowd who fuelled him after every good play he made. He has cult hero written all over him if he continues to play like tonight.
Tupou: Unpopular opinion....but he is our best option at wing in 2024. While we are in finals contention and he plays reasonably well, we have to continue with this guy. I won't say he was great....but he was solid.....which is enough for our 2024 roster to seal a spot.
Galvin: He will be a very good NRL player....already is. Very busy and tries things that don't always come off...but I like that he is learning all the time. Due to his age, he'll need looking after in the early years of his career.
Sezer: While Brooks is working well at Manly, Sezer is exactly the kind of half we have missed for a very long time that we sorely needed but never had for a long time. He will make Galvin and our backs purr as the year rolls on. Im glad he is on our side.
Stefano: I bagged him hard last week but boy he was good and crucial to our side getting the two points tonight. Fantastic performance which we need him doing on a regular basis.
Api: His best game in a Tigers shirt for sure. He did some good things last week....but f**k, he was amazing tonight. Our most important player....f**k, it was good to watch him dialled in.
Klemmer: I was worried about him last week. I still think the engine is not what it was but he brought an intimidation factor tonight and was very crucial in that tough first 20 minutes we had. A step forward for Klem tonight.
Paps: A step forward for Paps in terms of effort. Still not Parra Paps in terms of execution but tonight was the first step towards the possibility of "Parra Paps" finally playing like that in our club. It takes good halves to make that happen so hopefully some combinations can develop there.
Bateman: The man looks out of form....but it was good to see him competing on both sides of the ball tonight without being very penetrating with the ball. He is a class player.....hopefully, he builds on tonight.
Pole: One of our few decent players last week.....and built on it with a better performance tonight. Keep him in the 13 jersey....important in those early stages of a game to gain control.
Bud: He had 13 minutes to shit the bed and tried hard to do just that. A waste of a selection. He needs NSW Cup time to build some form and confidence because at the moment, he has neither.
Seyfarth: Much better than last week. Enthusiastic and certainly threw himself around out there in both attack and defence. Definitely deserves to stay in the team based on tonight.
Twal: Barely noticed him.
Fainu: Two good games on the trot from Fainu. Good impact player who finally had some support from his forwards this week. Im glad to have him.
Our weakest point was that first 20 minutes. I felt if they cracked us early in a soft sort of way, we would have been in trouble. But our tight defence led to us gaining some confidence and building our game from there. The encouraging thing is that we played better as the game went on. Nulla kinda put up the white flag early into that second half which is so good for us.
Last week, I said that only one change should be forced (Bud). It is nice to be proven right and the guys were certainly better for last week's run.
Bula: Great to see more involvement from him as things panned out more for him to play his game than last week. He did the little things right (the very things that make him great) and looks to be building nicely.
Staines: He did his job but, in all honesty, did not have that much to do. He f**ked up an opportunity from Faatape which simply needs to be taken in future weeks. As far as Im concerned, he keeps the spot again next week, but it is still a spot that is up for grabs if Naden or a lower grader shows that they are upto it.
Faatape: Great to see the guy build on last week to deliver a better performance tonight. He seems very capable of setting up his winger and did a reasonable job in marking probably the toughest centre to put down in Talakai. An enthusiastic performer who definitely deserves another run regardless of who is fit. He has good potential.
Olam: Fantastic debut and Im glad it was in front of a Leichardt crowd who fuelled him after every good play he made. He has cult hero written all over him if he continues to play like tonight.
Tupou: Unpopular opinion....but he is our best option at wing in 2024. While we are in finals contention and he plays reasonably well, we have to continue with this guy. I won't say he was great....but he was solid.....which is enough for our 2024 roster to seal a spot.
Galvin: He will be a very good NRL player....already is. Very busy and tries things that don't always come off...but I like that he is learning all the time. Due to his age, he'll need looking after in the early years of his career.
Sezer: While Brooks is working well at Manly, Sezer is exactly the kind of half we have missed for a very long time that we sorely needed but never had for a long time. He will make Galvin and our backs purr as the year rolls on. Im glad he is on our side.
Stefano: I bagged him hard last week but boy he was good and crucial to our side getting the two points tonight. Fantastic performance which we need him doing on a regular basis.
Api: His best game in a Tigers shirt for sure. He did some good things last week....but f**k, he was amazing tonight. Our most important player....f**k, it was good to watch him dialled in.
Klemmer: I was worried about him last week. I still think the engine is not what it was but he brought an intimidation factor tonight and was very crucial in that tough first 20 minutes we had. A step forward for Klem tonight.
Paps: A step forward for Paps in terms of effort. Still not Parra Paps in terms of execution but tonight was the first step towards the possibility of "Parra Paps" finally playing like that in our club. It takes good halves to make that happen so hopefully some combinations can develop there.
Bateman: The man looks out of form....but it was good to see him competing on both sides of the ball tonight without being very penetrating with the ball. He is a class player.....hopefully, he builds on tonight.
Pole: One of our few decent players last week.....and built on it with a better performance tonight. Keep him in the 13 jersey....important in those early stages of a game to gain control.
Bud: He had 13 minutes to shit the bed and tried hard to do just that. A waste of a selection. He needs NSW Cup time to build some form and confidence because at the moment, he has neither.
Seyfarth: Much better than last week. Enthusiastic and certainly threw himself around out there in both attack and defence. Definitely deserves to stay in the team based on tonight.
Twal: Barely noticed him.
Fainu: Two good games on the trot from Fainu. Good impact player who finally had some support from his forwards this week. Im glad to have him.
