Yeeya!!! What a fantastic win!! No Origin players, no worries!! I really though we were going to be up against it without some of our stars but gee wiz, that was outstanding! The way we stepped up tonight, the way the boys covered those positions was just outstanding and tbh, I didn't expect us to go that well. We just bet a team that had one six straight, in the top four and scored 48 last week without our best players, how good is that?!
It's a friggin fantastic sign that we can continue to chug along without our Origin stars and tonight showed that our depth is really quite decent. We have guys that can step in and do a job for us, a great job in fact and that is a friggin beautiful sign!
In attack we put on some absoulutely brilliant plays, especially for Tom's first and Cammy's tries, they were just wow! The attack did look very slick at times and I was suprised at just how good it looked without the regulars there. Yes, there were a few times that it looked a wee bit sloppy but that can be forgiven due to the personnel changes. I'm just really proud of the way some of the guys stood up tonight. What's more, we were on a role through the middle for most of the game and were gaining meters with ease. We well and truely bet them in the forward pack tonight.
Defence was also outstanding up until that last ten and even without some of our best, it honestly didn't look any worse. I was really pleased with our resilience defending our line as we turned them away time and time again, this seemed to really frustrate the Sharks and force them into errors. It was also interesting tactics in defence. It was clear the Sharks came with a game plan of trying to play through us so we really compressed our line to combat this but we were able to spread when they went wide, it was great. Not only goal line defence, but we were bashing them right throughout the game with bit shots and the boys were getting really agressive to force them back at times. The last ten we dropped our focus bit by conceding those two tries but as Pommy said, we can forgive that as it was most likely due to a slight lack of polish in our Origin players absences.
I'm just loving the hunger and passion we're playing with.
Doueihi: Mr fix it!! Was great tonight and he looked really, really comfortable at the back. Safe under the high ball, decent involvement in attack, nice kick returns and some amazing positional play for someone who's hardly played there, he just seemed to turn up at the right moments. He did lose his a way in attack for a few of his runs but it was otherwise a great performance.
Graham: Was great! First of all, I want to say what a try!! Absoulutely amazing! I've honesly never seen a winger leap like that, fully stretched out in front, it was just incredible! His whole game was solid though, strong runs and he came up with some great reads in defence out wide to shut them down.
Hunt: Really good tonight, probably his best game so far this season because he was consistent in all aspects of his game. A really strong running game today and he really got those legs pumping. I think he was right up there for most meters run in the game due to this aswell as his high work rate. In defence, he was solid as always.
Burns: Unfourtunate that he got injured as he was looking really strong up until then. He might not have stayed on for long, but I've seen enough to say he is a way better centre then a winger, Burnsy looked way more comfortable there.
Jennings: Outstanding, a truely great game in all aspects. How good was his defence? He came up with massive plays to shut their edges down countless times and was just a menace out there in defence tbh. he defused most of their attacking kicks fantastically and his running game was excellent coming out of our end. One of our best today.
Walker: I feel like I say the same thing for Cody every week but he does it so friggin well! Constantly making little probing runs and seems to create so much space for those around him, that didn't change tonight. Those numerous dummys he does when he gets the ball always keeps the defence honest and we saw that with Cronulla tonight as Cody looked so dangerous. His combo with Sutto is growing stronger and wow, that play for our first try was insane.
Reynolds: Wow, what a great game from Reyno, one of his best in a long time. He's been excellent all year but today, he went to the next level and really stood up. A pin-point kicking game highlighted by forcing that dropout off a bomb Graham's try., his kicks were just so good. Almost every one of them pressured Cronulla's back three whether that be in the air or by turning tham around. He just had the ball on the string tonight. Reyno's defensive game was really strong too, he chased all his kicks and was often the first one there, he came up with some good stops.
T.Burgess: Was on fire tonight and when it rains, it pours. A try scoring double from big Tommy!! Just wow! They were both fantastic plays. He was so strong the whole game though with his barnstorming runs and high work rate. I loved how all three Burgi played all over the top of Fifita tonight!! Absoulutely loving Tom this year.
Farah: Impressed me tbh and had a good game. He is looking a bit slow because he isn't able to catch markers out like he used to but he still did a great job tonight. He wasn't trying to be Cookie but at the same time, he looked like he fitted in better than last year and he wasn't trying to play for himself. He did start to overplay his hand towards the end of the game but other than that, he was solid and it's great to know that we have someone who can step up and do a great job in Cook's absence.
G.Burgess: Was great again tonight. he just played with so much aggression and it was really good to see, especially off the kick off where he just goes full tit. Almost every run George had, he bent the line due to his ever developing footwork and generated a quick play-the-ball which allowed those aroung him to work their magic. Nice work Gorgie!!
Sutton: Where do I start? Haha, what a performance from him! I think he's doing so well this year because his first instinct when he gets the ball is to run and he's constantly looking for those gaps in the defensive line back on an angle like Gus was for us last year, Sutto hasn't had this running instinct in years. The play for Tom's first was amazingas it showed the fantastic combination between him and Cody. But then the ability of Sutto to fake to the outside and then quickly switch to the inside to find Tom was all class!
S.Burgess: Just your typical great performance from Sam! Running hard, high work ethic, constantly trying to put a shot on in defence and just inspiring those around him. I prefer him roaming in the middle but he did do a good job at covering the second row this week and he looks like a real weapon attacking a bit wider. Another great performance from Sam.
Murray: Came back into the starting side and didn't disappoint at all. He just went hard all night in attack with his strong running game and ability to pick up gret post-contact meters He was playing against some big guys but I just loved how he was able to put them straight on their ass or drag them back, a top Cam performance.
Fuimaono: Good to see him back, with a full leg tat now too!! He was good tonight covering centre, didn't do anything outstanding but did his job and that'sall you can ask, especially in his first game back since Round 2. It was great to see that raw power and aggression back out there.
Clark: Like every week, he came on as a bundle of energy and I thought he was going to score of his first touch that time he nearly went over. Clarky is not only doing his jobs, he's actually providing some good impact.
Nicholls: Was good. Not an awful lot to say but he just went out there and did his job. Had some nice runs through the middle.
Tatola: Loved his work in that first stint and he was providing some nice impact. I'm noticing he's stating to run directly off our halves which could be awesome!
All in all, I'm very happy. Not a complete performance due to the late fade and ill dicipline at times but yea, I'm so happy to get the job done and done well without the Origin guys!
The boys should be proud of themselves but we can't get ahead of ourselves as there's such a long way to go, anything can happen. We still have so much improvement still in us and I think we're yet to put together a full 80 minute clinical performance.
