Tyler Field and John Paul Nohra probably stole the show in the Harold Matthews. Field was a threat every time he ran the ball while Nohra continues to grow as a fullback week-in and week-out. His positional and support play are excellent and he is a subtle playmaker from the back. Matt Doorey had another excellent game before a knock to his knee saw him iced early. Kyle Schneider played much like he always does, which is a fair compliment, because the young man is a professional in his approach to the game.
The stand outs for the SG Ball included Josh Curran, Alex Seve, Steve Dresler and Tui Afualo. Curran was hugely productive up the middle, doing some important work in defence as well as chalking up a brace of tries. In the absence of Travis Turnbull, Seve was very composed. Marshaled the team nicely and kicked well. Quite a talented player and probably flying under the radar a bit with some of the hype towards other young halves at the club.
Speaking of halves, beyond an errant pass and a poor grubber Tui Afualo performed extremely well for us as the left-edge half. He didn?t play as a run-first half but the threat of his running game opened up more space on the edges and he executed some lovely plays with Filila Utoikamanu and Noel Auckafolau. His powerful build really belies the vision he possesses and he has a mean competitive streak that you love to see in your young talent.
Finally there is Steve Dresler (aka THE DRESLER) who might just be the recruitment steal of the year, even considering the grade. He shares that chip on the shoulder competitive attiitude with Tui and has a big, athletic frame to back it up. Massive weapon in the red zone against the defences of the SG Ball, testament to the fact the he notched up a further two tries today to his season tally. He has a good motor and a quality offload to him as well. Could be the real deal heading down the road, everyone that has seen him play has left wildly impressed with the quality of his work.
