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Round 12 - Rabbitohs vs Tigers: Saturday 28th May 5:30pm @Accor Stadium

Steenson123

Juniors
Messages
486
3 -Graham
2-Sele
1- Murray
Graham and Paulo dominated the second stanza. They were major contributors to the 32-0 in phase two. Great to see Alex is still here and has broken the record of NM. He is excitement plus and I would like to think Maguire would see him post-game and congratulate him.
Forwards all played strongly and really battered Balmain in that second session. Paulo obviously received a kick in the rear at the half and he played much more aggressively in phase two.
Overall, an essential V by the lads.
 

Veracity14

Juniors
Messages
112
Can't break a tackle, can't make a tackle, can't score a try unless a team mate puts him in the clear, I am off course talking about Jaxon Paulo. I said he would never be first grade material four years ago when a winger, in a Cowboys game, made him look like a fool, let Parra have him for christs' sake.
Keon Kolomatongi whatever his name is, just watch how he goes in the second half. He's supposed to cover for Paulo. Either he is too slow or too lazy, drop him for a couple of weeks, start with Shaqu (?) Mitchell, get some size into this team.
Lastly Demetrio, this team has not improved at all under his guidance, he insists on a few things like Paulo in the side. At the end of this season Russell will look back and, I hope, gets rid of him. He just doesn't have what it takes.

just shut it, you’re a dribbler
 

callmack1

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
11,611
Yoohoo what a special night that turned into! A special Round and we got that special result we were after! Such an important game in the context of our Season and I didn't care how we won as long as we did get the result. Not only did we win, but we won comfortably and actually dominated a side for the first time in a while.

Certainly didn't think this was the sort of post I'd be making after the first half. Wasn't diabolical by any means but I'd still say it wasn't great. We were holding the ball well but seemed flat. There seemed to be a lack of interest and effort as there was no real punch and we struggled. Obviously some terrible defence down that right edge too. I was really not happy at halftime.

However, to the boys credit and to JD's credit, whatever happened at half time worked and it was a COMPLETELY different story in the second stanza. We were dominant for 40 minutes and just completely took the Tigers out of the game. High energy, high effort and we executed the game plan perfectly. Probably one of our best halves of Footy all year to be honest. Was honestly so good to watch and I'm so proud of the boys for having the heart and character to turn it around.

I know it was against the Tigers so we can't get too carried away but this game just goes to show you how good we can be. It's just a matter of the boys going out there and doing it. I'll touch on it more tomorrow but just very happy to get the win!

As I said a very special Round with Indigenous Round and a very special night with the win and AJ breaking the all time try scoring record. A game I'll never forget.
 

callmack1

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
11,611
Alex Johnston sets new record in Rabbitohs rout: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2022/05/28/alex-johnston-sets-new-record-in-rabbitohs-rout/

Match Highlights - Rabbitohs v Wests Tigers: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2022/05/28/match-highlights-rabbitohs-v-wests-tigers/

Desperate Rabbitohs show resilience to turn tables on Tigers: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2...ohs-show-resilience-to-turn-tables-on-tigers/

Press Conference - Round 12: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2...nce-rabbitohs-v-wests-tigers---round-12-2022/

Johnston hat-trick breaks club record in Souths rout, Tigers fade after hot start - 3 Big Hits: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...s/news-story/daa5243f6ff88da1f5f6285bbac7166e

'Special to be a part of the press conference mate' - Johnston's hilarious take on Souths record: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...d/news-story/2b8550b447906a629eae409aeeb0b4d0
 

callmack1

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
11,611
After watching the replay, here's my full report,

Nikorima: Wasn't bad but didn't do much really to be fair. Strangely, even when we were dominating, he made less of an impact than last week. Hardly chimed into the attack at all apart from the odd raid. I'm not saying he was poor, just little involvement. Did have a few nice touches though like forcing that drop out in the first half, a couple of good kick returns and passes. Did put one down at the start of the second half which put us under pressure (luckily didn't cost us) and then later slipped fielding that Brooks kick and went out but again, didn't cost us. Good goal kicking too. So I think I'd still like to see more from Kodi but he is still finding his feet in our team that's for sure.

Johnston: What a special night for Alex the great!! I think that's what we should start calling him from now on. A hat-trick of tries to become our all-time top try scorer in Indigenous Round, it doesn't get much better than that!! Very special. Great finishes for all. The first, he had one defender to beat and showed some slick footwork to do so, his second was a nice finish as he threw his body over the line with great timing and then the final history making one was nice vision from AJ to put himself in a position to take that pass. Just incredible to watch and well done to him! Aside from all his try scoring, the other parts of his game were on song too. His hit ups were solid, safe at the back, no errors and he was strong defensively. A fantastic night for Alex the great!! So special to watch.

Graham: Speaking of special, how good was that performance from Stretch?! just so solid and reliable all game. Heavily involved in our attack as he provided the final pass for all of AJ's tries, two of which where he showed us great skills with his quick hands to get it out there. Then a great show of agility and strength to free his arms and get the ball away to AJ for his third try assist. Just brilliant stuff from Campbell! Was rewarded with a burrowing try of his own too at a crucial stage of the game. What's more, his yardage carries were so impressive as he constantly put his hand up to take a run and this all contributed to a massive 169 running meters! The most impressive was obviously that 30 meter run he made in the second half from on our own line, god that was class!! No issues what so ever defensively either. Awesome stuff from Stretch, showing the NSW selectors he is all class yet again.

Paulo: A mixed night but I do think he ended up with more good than bad. Deserves to cop some criticism for that first half as it simply wasn't good enough defensively. He was all at sea and just had no idea what was going on it seemed. Failed to show effort and compete for the ball in the lead up to the Tigers second try, got turned inside out a number of times after that through failing to read the play. If it wasn't for others around him saving his ass, we would have been in even more trouble because of him. He also contributed to the poor defence down the right for the Tigers third try. However, credit where credit is due, he came out in that second half, tightened up his defence and came out looking like a completely different player. A shift to the wing probably helped but even then, there seemed to be a clear attitude shift from Jaxson. Played a huge role in that second half domination and it was actually him that turned the tide with that amazing one-on-one steal off Naden. That completely flipped the game as we scored the next set. He then showed us that he can actually read the play later in the half by taking that intercept and streaking away to score which was a nice moment. So an up and down game but credit to Jaxson for turning it around.

Milne: He was obviously a part of that poor defence down the right in the first half however, I actually don't think he was too bad. A lot of those lapses were not his fault. We were getting caught about being too compressed constantly and it is drummed into wingers that they follow what their center and inside players do defensively so this is all Taane was doing, like I say, not really his fault. He did show us a few good reads in defence that's for sure. With the ball he was pretty good, his hit ups and kick returns were all strong on his way to 114 meters which is a pretty good effort.

Walker: Indigenous Round meant there'd be no excuses for Cody to not stand up and have a good game so it was great to see him rise to the occasion and play a starring role in the win. He was in everything. Some lovely quick hands to contribute to AJ's first, and then a nice cut out ball to Graham in the lead up to AJ's second. Again, it was Cody creating for AJ's third as he threw a face ball out to Graham again. These were all great plays by Cody and it was great to see the left edge on fire once again. A few other good examples of Cody finding form with his ball playing throughout the game but they didn't lead to tries. Awesome to see him nab two himself in Indigenous Round! He was Johnny on the spot for his first but the second was great to watch. Good vision and combination with Lauchie to indentify the space, jump back on the inside, call the play, beat a few defenders and crash over. That was one of the highlights of the Season so far for me, that try. It could prove a very important one as it hopefully gave Cody the confidence he's been lacking to spring back into form. Great night for Walker!

Ilias: A bit quiet in the first half aside from a few nice kicks and that magnificent try-saving ankle tap on Naden but I thought he really rose to the occasion and came to the fore in the second stanza where he looked great. A Reynolds-like combination with Cody a number of times there which lead to three tries. He executed his role in the build up to these tries perfectly. They looks so good when they combine together. I especially loved the combo for Cody's second try, god that was good to watch from our halves! Aside from that stuff, I thought his game management in that second half was good and defensively he was very solid. A great tackle on Laurie late in the game to save a try. We done Lauchie!
 

callmack1

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
11,611
Nicholls: A very successful return for the Goat who certainly made his presence in the middle felt. He didn't do anything super special but played his role, had some quality runs and quick play-the-balls and was just super solid in general on both sides of the ball. 129 meters off 11 runs, 20 tackles with none missed and no errors in 39 minutes of game time. A very successful return, great to have him back!

Cook: One of our stand outs. No try assists or line break assists or anything like that but played a huge role in our dominance through the middle. Jeez he was dangerous out of dummy half and it was great to see him run at any opportunity and ask plenty of questions. A total of 7 runs from dummy half for 57 meters and he threatened to tear the Tigers apart on a lot of those darts. Made 123 meters over all as there was also some really scheming runs from him off offloads too. His defence in particular was just insane though, a huge 40 tackles with NONE missed and NONE ineffective! That's an amazing effort!

Burgess: Just while we're on the topic of amazing efforts, how good was big Tommy B last night?!! Wow he was amazing! Close to our man of the match in my eyes. Huge carry after huge carry all game, constantly bumping guys out of the way or carrying them with him in his barnstorming runs. Played a huge role in getting dominance through the middle. The stats mirror his effort with a game high 235 meters, far more than anyone else out there. Hats off to you Tom!!

Arrow: Jai was very solid all game. A little bit quiet but solid. He didn't put a foot wrong and did what was asked of him. Some really nice carries in there for 100 meters gained. Played his role in a number of our tries out there on the left by being a decoy. I want to give a wrap to his defensive effort too, most notably in the second half as he was constantly leading the line speed and putting on some big shots.

Koloamatangi: About the only player out there last night that I don't have much praise for. Love the bloke but his form has fallen off a cliff and he's gotten very lazy. I have no issues with his work with the ball as he made a lot of meters for us last night and threatened to score a couple of times but he does have an issue with his ball handling. Two errors again last night. It's mostly his defence I'm talking about where he has got lazy. Infuriated me in the first half when Naden made a break, Keaon was right there and could have made the effort to tackle him from behind and shut it down but no, he was lazy and pulled out. Again, late in the game where Laurie makes a break for the Tigers, Keaon could have made the tackle but he was lazy. No effort shown on both plays and that is simply not good enough. In a closer game, those are the sort of things that will cost you. This may sound harsh but Keaon needs to be dropped for an attitude adjustment I think. The unfortunate thing is that we have no one to drop him for so he probably just needs a good ass kicking.

Murray: Another very successful return, this time for the skipper! Not his most outstanding game but far out he was still very, very good through that middle and you can see already how much we missed him for two weeks. Provided some great punch and potency through the middle with his direct, darting runs as he constantly threatened. Made a huge 151 meters all up. His ball playing was also top notch and you can just see the difference it made to our attack. What's more, in recent weeks we've looked very vulnerable through the middle third but with Cam back, that was not the case at all last night. Well done skip!

Taaffe: Came on late in the game but didn't really play much of a role to be fair apart from his goal kicking. Had one good kick return for 26 meters but that was it. Still very cool for him to get out there, represent his culture and get some minutes in his very first Indigenous Round.

Sele: Hame was HUGE off the bench! Probably one of the best games I've seen in his career to date. Provided great impact and energy and played a huge role in turning the tide in our favor. Just went at it while he was on the field. Hard, aggressive running and keeping those big legs pumping for a shitload of post-contact meters as he proved very hard to put down. Made 146 meters which is a huge effort off the bench. Some great shots without the ball too. Awesome stuff Hame!

Havili: Very similar to Hame in that he was one of our best forwards and played a massive, massive role in swinging the momentum our way, perhaps the biggest role. Came on full of energy and just looked so hungry! Every run he had just about was a good one as he constantly barged forward with purpose on his way to a massive 164 meters. The highlight of his performance was obviously his try, a show of real strength and determination!! Loving this bloke more and more with every game he plays!

Mitchell: Would have also been a very special night for him as he wasn't expected to play but found himself playing in Indigenous Round last minute. He went really well too! A few barging runs, bumping and fending guys off. it wasn't a long stint but it was an impactful one. Proud of him.

Just great to get the result in such a special Round!! Goes to show you how good we can be when the boys get it right. The completion rate was 80% and I think that is probably the biggest factor in our win because everything clicked off the back of that.

We obviously weren't without our issues, that right edge defence in particular simply wasn't good enough and needs to be looked at as that really hurt us but over all, I thought we were great!

Can't get too carried away as it was against the Tigers but just great to get the result and take a huge step forward heading into the bye.
 

assess5

Juniors
Messages
403
just shut it, you’re a dribbler
Well thanks for letting me express my opinion, and the personal abuse.
Water of a duck's back from a clown like you.
I've met losers like you at every game, ever, and your just plain ugly dumb, you stop people from attending what is, at best, a boring game.
I'd like the chance to give you dribbler you ^%$# mutt.
 
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