That season was a ripper. It's not often we make the finals at all and to do it playing some scintilating football, riding a bunch of kids we've all been waiting to see come through since Gus arrived.
Firstly Griffin. Huge tick from me. I wasn't a fan of making him coach. He has got the big decisions right for the most part. He's had balls and has drastically changed the team while keeping the team really tight. Players improved out of sight under him, complete rookies, seasoned pros and budding superstars alike. He even showed towards the end of the year once he had a few pieces in place what he can do tactically. Penriths attack hasn't looked this slick for over a decade.
Players. Moylan warmed into the season and absolutely caught fire at the end. He is probably in the top 5 players in the world right now. Mansour probably the best winger. Dallin also warmed into the season but ended in career best form. If he carries that into next year, I would be happy to see him at the back. Centers obviously also fantastic. We are probably two years closer to our final form halves than I thought. Whether it's Martin next year or Moylan, we should be there when everything is at stake this time next year and another point of attack would seriously OP our attack. I like Martin because he'd complete what looks like watertight edge defence.
Forward I think our back row is great. Merrin is a beast. Yeo has become so much better than I thought he would. Black-hole in defence and can run some nice lines and link with his backline. As most Im still puzzled by the Cartwright call. Regardless, his stats have improved in every metric this season. Outside of that he started to show better decision making and adjust defensively. With less responsibility and defending one in I think he is in for a real breakout year.
I think the props were our downfall in the end. Matagi is great but not a starter. Latu, really good but not the physical presence we need of we want to match it with the best sides early. Tamou will help and hopefully brings these young props along for the ride. They all have so much talent but need to be able to do the tough stuff error free. We currently rely on our backs too much.
Wallace has been a revelation. His service, defence, organization, kicking and courage have been incredible. Happily have him for a few more years. We do need to start figuring out his replacement though. We barely use our fourth bench spot so it might as well be on a hooker. Katoa or Luke both seem good options. Given the type of player Griffin is using at hooker at the moment, I wonder if ZDC would suit our style of play and what the side needs from a hooker..
I think we also lack a power runner. JFH on short minutes or Kikau would be great to see as a wrecking ball. All the good sides have them. Swing momentum for you at crucial times.
Anyway to wrap up this rambling. I think we made a lot of progress this year. We know who we need to build around. We need to make some decisions about which really good player to put where next year. We will also get the luxury of preparing for a full off season with every player fit, knowing what their role in the team will be. Then we have the whole season to work on it. We aren't the complete article this year. Next year we will have better playing talent, more experience, better preparation and better strength and conditioning staff I hope!
