After watching the replay, here's my full report,
Taaffe: Not a bad all round performance. His first half was brilliant!! He was pushing up around the ball and really sniffing around for opportunities, as well as chiming into the backline really well for that first half. This is the first time I've really seen him do all of that and put it together consistently in a game. Provided the try assist for Taane's second try through some unselfish play and some silky hands, and then almost broke through a little later off the scrum. What a great show of acceleration that was! Got a well deserved try off a grubber from Cody in the first half and that was great vision from Taaffey to identify the space and call the play, great stuff. His performance did fall away a bit in the second half though it must be said. He made a few errors and didn't do well in all the areas he was excelling in the opening stanza. I also want to say that his last line of defence was pretty bad again, missed a number of tackles in those situations and also allowed Tevaga to slip through for a try. So good signs from him in the first half, probably the best 40 minutes of his career but really fell away in the second.
Johnston: AJ was really fantastic yesterday. One of our best I reckon. While he didn't make a lot of hit ups, the runs and kick returns he did have were super solid and he was breaking tackles all over the place all game through footwork and strength. Super safe at the back, covering kicks and man what an effort that was to get out of the in-goal in the first half!! Hid defence was also pretty on-song. Looked very slippery in good ball attack and his combo with Cody seemed to return. He found himself with room to move many times and looked super dangerous, scored a try, provided a great kick back inside for Lachie's no try (was a real shame we didn't get that because it was amazing), and finally got his try assist in the second half as he made a break, stepped inside a few before finally sending Ilias over. Awesome stuff from AJ!
Graham: I was a bit dubious about him switching over to the right but I must say, it worked a treat as Stretch didn't miss a beat!! He was fantastic as always. Constantly putting in the hard yards coming out of our own end and this all added up to a very good 113 meters from 12 runs. Did his job beautifully in attack as he provided some nice tip-ons, executed his play as a decoy really well and also asked a few questions himself with the ball. It was clear to see how much more comfortable Cody looked with Campbell there on that side and things finally clicked as a result. The lethal left edge returned!! The milestone man also did his job well in defence as always, making a number of great tackles. Well done Campbell and congrats on 100 games!
Paulo: Credit where credit is due, Jaxson was pretty good and his first game back at center can be considered a success I think. There was nothing particularly special from him with the ball but he certainly didn't do anything wrong. Good hit ups to get us out of trouble and he got through plenty of work which all added up to a big 155 meters from him which was the most of the outside backs! Also provided a nice offload in the build up to Cookie's try. I want to commend his work as a decoy as well though as on both our early tries to the right, Jaxson executed his role perfectly and played a part in sucking Montoya in so well done there. His defence was pretty good, some nice stops however, I do think he could have done more to stop the Warriors second try off the kick. He kind of read it wrong I think because when Montoya catches that ball, he's going nowhere but Jaxson still throws himself at him which left Pompey open. Easy to say in hindsight I guess. I know there were two more tries conceded down our right side but I don't think they were Jaxson's fault. Significantly, he has copped a lot on here from many (myself included) but he needs to be commended for his game yesterday.
Milne: A little bit of a mixed game for mine. With the ball, he was really good. Obviously, two really good finishes for his early tries and His carries were strong as he made 124 meters. However, his defensive effort let him down I feel. While Taane did stop a few plays, I think he was responsible for letting two tries in. The first one right on halftime should never have happened! The Warriors didn't really break us down, Taane was just stupidly standing way too tight to Jaxson and he got beat on the outside. There was no need for that at all and it showed a real inability to read the play. His other lapse came right at the end with the Warriors final try as he came rushing in and came up with nothing. No issues with Milne in attack, it's defence which he really needs to work on.
Walker: I'll talk about the first half right now because that was just magnificent!! Cody was back baby!! Back with a smile on his face, back in form and back to his old self. Almost everything he touched turned to gold and everything finally clicked! Firstly, that pass for our opening try was just beautiful to watch. Awesome timing, vision and execution, it had it all. He was then at it again a little later, this time putting it on a platter for AJ with a lovely cut out pass. That play from Cody particularly pleased me as we have seen that play fail so many times this year so it was great to see Cody stand up, pull the trigger, not think and just execute. His third try assist of the afternoon came with that pinpoint grubber to Taaffe. Aside from those try scoring plays, he created plenty more chances and I thought his kicking game was outstanding. Maybe having the captaincy lifted him, I don't know but whatever it was, it was just great to see our man shine again! However, I think Cody would be the first to admit that he deserves to cop some for that second half as it was not up to standard, especially considering what had just happened in the 40 minutes before. That second half was set up for Cody to rip the Warriors a new one but he failed to step up. Made errors, hesitated, went back into his shell and failed to manage the game. Looked much like he has for most of this Season again. Within that time, there was still a few flashes, most notably his hand in Lachie's legit try but it wasn't enough really. A bit disappointing but I think we should certainly take note of his first half and I hope that shows Cody and everyone else he's still got it, it's just a matter of doing it consistently.
Ilias: Lachie's performance kind of mirrored his halves partner as he was brilliant in the opening 40. In fact, I'm going to say that half was the best he's played all year. Had a brilliant hand in both of Taane's try's with some great ball playing as he squared up the defence, created the space and executed the pass. He also played a role in a few of the line breaks down the left by doing the same thing. Was bloody great to see him and Cody combine more and we look so dangerous when that happens. A real shame he just lost that ball for that try late in the opening half because he deserved it but he thankfully jagged one later which was great support play and he showed his strength to get the ball down. His kicking game in that first half was very good as well, controlled things beautifully, constantly turned them around to put them under pressure and he also came up with a few threatening bombs. was a shame to see his performance drop away a little in the second 40 because just like Cody, he failed to control the game and this will serve as a great lesson for the young bloke. Some of his kicks here were really poor and he took the wrong options. Him and Cody also barely combined here which was mentioned in the press conference. So some good, some bad for Lachie but certainly a good learning experience.
