Had a chat to Obscene Assassin, who was in attendance yesterday and will possibly post his own fleshed out opinions but here is the short of it. Bear in mind the French and Fuimaono were a class above:
Bevan French - Outstanding. With out the burden of having to chase down a huge deficit he look extremely composed from the back and the Knights couldn't touch him. Danced through 3 defenders from the dead ball line to get back into the field of play and made it look like that result was never in doubt. Tormented the Knights elsewhere on the field as well and was the chief architect of the runaway victory.
Tyrell Fuimaono - Named in the backrow but swapped positions with Jack Morris to play centres in the absence of young gun Reimis Smith. Finally got quality ball and played accordingly, offering the team a powerhouse option on the right edge. I believe he shadowed French as the best player on the park.
Nathan Davis - Less details here but I he played strongly and it reinforced the fact that he is far more comfortable at centre compared to fullback.
Tepai Tepu-Smith - Played easily his best game of the season and to the standard that was expected of him after a strong 2014. Gave the team the impetus from the bench that it has been desperately missing and allowed us to consolidate a strong lead into a dominant one. Paula Kaufusi followed his lead and focused on running hard and straight to give the Eels ascendancy in the ruck. They both proved to be key in running in three consecutive tries with bullocking starts to each set.
Plenty of other good efforts as well. Atini Gafa continues his impressive form on the flank while Abbas Miski regained his mojo on the back of an improved team effort (as do so many wingers but Miski has been noticeably down on form even so). Jack Morris added some starch to the pack on both sides of the ball. The backrow has been something of an issue for us this year with injuries to Josh Aloiai and Jeff Markus so the return of Morris is most welcome.
The halves did their job without over playing their hands while interestingly Jack Anderson deputised Dylan Izzard at hooker. On that basis I expect Denzal Tonise to come straight back into the team, likely as the starting hooker.
