Premier League

[Macca]

A good win to the boys in PL over a top 8 side.

Early on they looked like they didn't want to be out there and missed a thousand tackles to trail 14-0. Then in the last ten minutes of the first half they piled on 22 points through a few Souths mistakes and a few dummy half tries.

Same sort of thing in the first part of the second half. Souths got back in front but we finished over the top of them in the last ten minutes.

A great game by Travis Burns saw us get home in the end.

I thought Aitken was ultra quiet in attack but very solid in defence, made alot of tackles on their forwards.

Jason Williams was head and shoulders above anything on the park and should go back up to the top side for Bickerstaff IMO.

Shaun Wessel and Daniel Dumas were also fantastic for the pigs, Wessell will be in line for a call up should people get injured. Perish the thought.

Kevin Kingston and Dale Newton were also very solid.

Bosnich just got in the way. He's one we can release to free up some cash.

For the backline, Makisi and Pelo looked ominous all game without really doing anything spectacular. They are both very strong.

Franze and Kent didn't really standout at all, although Franze made a couple of good runs.

Saleh was pretty good but isn't a fullback IMO.

The rest weren't great, nor were they bad.

Beattie and Russo didn't play.

MoM - Travis Burns just in front of Williams.

BTW Jersey Flegg won by a point in the last 30 seconds 18 - 17.

That's two weeks on the trot we've won in all three grades. Keep it up boys.

 

[NthCronullaLocal]

Some major points to come out of PL for me watching it.
- Williams still needs to address some defensive issues and i can now see why he is in PL. He went too low on several occasions one leading to a big break by Souths.
- I liked the look of Pelo once again.
- Dumas had a strong game.
- I hate to say it but Franze still has some issues to sort out IMO with regards to his defense his attack was ok. BBB2 Kent also let his opposite center get around him twice leading to two of South's first three tries. McGoldrick definately derserves to be Vagana's partner at this stage.
- I noticed Aitken playing down the right side rather than his usual left. Could this be preperation for a promotion to first grade working with Vagana and Merritt down the right side. On Aitken also he was very quiet but when he did touch the ball it always looked like something was going to happen.

Lastly i find the way our PL team plays a bit stale and boring. It is very forward orientated around the halfback and dummy half with lots of little plays in and around the ruck. I think it is murdering our PL backline and players such as Aitken, Franze and the like are not being able to fully show their stuff to warrant selection in first grade. Does anyone else share that view?

The penalty that saw our Flegg win was controversial but im sure they will take the win nonetheless.

 

[tommy_bishop]

Great report !
I don't get to see much of the PL side but am interested in how they're doing so any match reviews like this are much appreciated.

 

[Macca]

NthCronullaLocal[/b]]
Does anyone else share that view?

Absolutely. There was nothing doing in the backline at all. It's all up the guts stuff. Most of our tries were from Dummyhalf or from one pass off the ruck to big forwards pushing over.

I guess Peter Gentle has implemented that style. Aitken doesn't get the ball enough but that could be due to Burns over calling it. Burns had the ball in his hands alot tonight although he did direct the forwards well.

I agree that Williams probably does go a little low but how good were his hit ups? He must have run a mile tonight.

 

[imasharkie]

Thanks very much NCL for the match report especially on Kent and as a full on shark man I would appreciate a report on the PL and Jersey each week as we are lucky to get a report on the main game up here. Thanks to all who contributed to this thread.

 

[Macca]

I'll do my best to do a report on PL every week. That way Reefy can pick the shit out of it. ;-)

 

[blacktip-reefy]

Didn't make it.
Fargen work.
Makisi didn't standout?
We are still down a winger then in firsts as Merrit is awful.
Absolutely the most awful back in the club.
Some twats want to free up some money in the club to buy other players??!! . Start with this one!! Please!

 

[ali]

NthCronullaLocal[/b]]
Does anyone else share that view?

Absolutely. There was nothing doing in the backline at all. It's all up the guts stuff. Most of our tries were from Dummyhalf or from one pass off the ruck to big forwards pushing over.

I guess Peter Gentle has implemented that style. Aitken doesn't get the ball enough but that could be due to Burns over calling it. Burns had the ball in his hands alot tonight although he did direct the forwards well.

I agree that Williams probably does go a little low but how good were his hit ups? He must have run a mile tonight.

I'll third that opinion. IMO it's really frustrating the way we are playing in reserve grade and that was the game that probably took the cake. What got us home was the fact that we had a very strong side on the park. But I think we should have done far better. We probably only strung together half an hour of good footy, but it was enough to get us home.

Burns did play quite well, but he is a hog. I think he had a few relos down from QLD and was looking to show off. With Dallalana playing dummy half for a fair portion of the game and Burns at half doing the kicking between the 2 of them, Aitken never got a lookin. I don't think he made one kick and took at least 15 minutes to touch the ball, where he threw an intercept. Maybe he is injured, but it baffles me as to why they don't use him more. Our 2 best performances of the year were when Aitken played half, against the premiers Canberra and then Parra a week later, where we attacked well but were run down by Parra and the brilliant Michael Witt.

Williams was great going forward, and so was Wessells. Makisi didn't make any errors, wasn't outstanding, but looked the part. I hope he keeps the wing spot for the duration of the year. I'm not sure what his background is, but he a nice balanced runner, who maybe with a little bit more strength, could be dynamic. In this case I hope he hasn't done much weights, and has great strength improvement left in him.

I didn't see Flegg but heard the story on the radio. 17-16 down with 30 seconds left, Bronx Goodwin shoots for a field goal, which hits the cross bar and bounces back into the arms of a Souths player who dives on the ground. He rises to play the ball without a hand laid on him, and the ref blows a penalty for a voluntary tackle. We win 18-17.

As I said in the week, we should be winning all 3 grades with our current good run with injuries. Lets hope we can keep it going.