Hoh, how good was that?!! Great feeling!! What a way to start the Season with a big win over our arch-rivals, especially when no one really picked us to win!!! A bit of a bludger of a game with the conditions but we put in a classy performance of wet weather footy and seemed to frustrate the Roosters into errors which they made a lot of. We just strangled them throughout the 80 minutes and broke them down which was great to watch. It is only Round 1 but this is a huge statement to the rest of the comp, to come out and beat the Roosters like that, wow!!
Considering the condiditons, we were great in attack. Pretty high completion rate for those conditions, good go-forward for most of the game, and we were throwing a lot of shapes at them in attack which was great to see. I noticed the forwards in paticular were running at all kinds of differenrt angles, it was great to watch. We also played patient and didn't get frustrated with not scoring, we just kept building pressure which was wonderful. As a result, we scored some pretty nice tries. I have noticed a bit of an adjustment to our attack, it just seems to flow differently, but I will watch the replay tomorrow and get more of a read on that. However, at times, we really struggled to get of our own end which was a bit concerning and we really lacked go-forward from everyone and I think this is an area that needs to be addressed somewhat. Overall though, a great attacking performance.
Defensively, I think we got the pass mark. Defence through the middle was outstanding, we bashed them into submission with defence, forcing them back at times and/or not allowing them to make much ground. Edge defence however left a bit to be desired I think because there were times when we just looked all at sea in the edges and almost everytime The Roosters spread it to the edge, they looked like making a break. This is a huge part of our game that needs addressing, it will be a work in progress though.
Johnston: Not bad at all tonight, chimed into the backline while trying to create opportunities for those around him. He seems to not be as scared of contact as much either as his kick returns were a lot stronger tonight. Congrats to AJ on scoring too to finish off that beautiful right hand shift. His only error was when Mitchell stole the ball from him.
Gagai: Fantastic. Did make an error or two but was outstanding otherwise. Such strong carries coming out of our own end and he was almost always up above the advantage line. Gags was heavily involved all night and just didn't stop, it was brilliant! Defensively he did look a little shaky as he can't decide whether to Jam in or slide. This has to be fixed.
Inglis: Not too much to say about GI apart from the fact he was solid. This was just a game for him to get back into it and he did that with some strong carries and a lot of aggression in defence. GI certainly showed great signs.
Burns: Wow, wow, wow! Loved his work tonight. Such strong runs with that late left-foot step of his that was very allusive. Burnsy was in the thick of everything too and seemed really eager to get the ball. Him and Graham already have a great combo in both attack and defence. defensively, Manu did stand Burns up a couple of times but other then that, he was just so good! I think he was one of our best.
Graham: Not too much to say for Cammy either but he was solid. Just like last year he chipped in with a fair bit of work, doing some strong hit ups on a regular basis to help out the forwards. Did look a little indecisive in defence at times but that will be fixed. Nice fifnish by Graham for that try too.
Walker: Was good. Back to his destructive best, if not even better!! He just looked so dangerous all game, everytime he touched the ball it looked like something was gonna happen. He had that left edge running perfectly, some of the plays they pulled off were just great to watch, especially in the conditions. great desire to get his try. One thing I will say about Cody is that I feel he kind of went a bit quiet in the last 20 minutes of the first half when we needed him to guide the young guys off the bench but that'll improve I hope.
Reynolds: One of our best for sure! He just had the ball on a string all night with a pinpoint long and short kicking game. The couple he did near the line that hit the posts for two tries were simply genious. He seemed to run more tonight too and goal kicking needs to imp
Tatola: Didn't get as many minutes as I was expecting but still had a good performance. His Pre-Season form carried on with very strong runs and a high work rate.
Cook: Cookie was brilliant tonight, one of our best. Not really the right weather for his running game but he picked and chose his moments as he did still have a few dashes when the markers weren't square. I just loved the way he controlled the ruck, it was Cam Smith like!! His kicking game became evident as he found the grass with a few kicks out of dummy half and he put in that beauty of a grubber for Sam's try. A high workrate in defence as always. Cookie has certainly added some strings to his bow.
T.Burgess: A good opening game for Tom. Actually played more minutes than I thought he would which was good as it allowed him to just roll through the middle all night as he did with some barnstorming runs I think he would've run well over 100 meters as he was huge for us through that middle thid. Also no errors from Tom I think!! I was disappointed he clocked off for friend's try though.
Sutton: Sutto honestly hasn't skipped a beat and he has carried on his form from last year which was seen tonight in a big way. He did plenty of work and it was all quality stuff with that last minute left foot step of his which allows him more momentum compared to the defender and thus, more post contact meters. He was pretty solid in defence too and did a good job against that lethal Roosters left edge.
S.Burgess: He was in everything tonight!! Played on the edge, in the middle and he was busy all game. Constantly wanted the ball in his hands which saw him produce a big output, lead by example and lay a great platform for the rest of the side to work their magic. Got himself a try too!! I still question if he is quick enough laterally in defence to be a second rower as he was caught out a couple of times leading to a line break. He did make a couple of errors but all in all, it was a great game for Sam!
Murray: Well, where do I even start?! Just wow, Murray amazed me tonight. He just got through so much work, he was everywhere!! For a guy of his size, his runs are some of the strongest in the game and tonight was no different as he constantly bent the Roosters defensive line backwards in almost every run and provided a fast play-the-ball. Got through a mountain of defence too, easily one of our best tonight.
Lowe: Pretty solid. Didn't have a heavy involvement but he did do his job well. A few solid runs and I noticed he got through a fair bit of work n defence.
Knight: Despite making an early error, he provided great impact off the bench as he just came on and gave his all. You could see it in every run he did, it was 100% Like what I see from him and he'll be a great impact player throughout the Season.
Nicholls: See Lowe's comments. He played longer minutes than expected too.'
Allan: Not really much to say with his limited minutes but I'm just stoked he's made his debut!!
One thing I will say is that over all, our bench is a little weak. In my opinion, we lost a fair bit of momentum once Tom and Cam came off for a breather and it returned with them.
No doubt defence is still a work in progress too, we have a lot to work on there.
All up, a great victory, especially against them!!! There are no words to describe how much I hate them so a win over them is always so sweet.
It's only Round 1 so we can't get ahead ourselves but we have made a big statement tonight, what a win, I'm so happy!!
