After watching the replay, here's my full report,
Attack
While I am extremely pissed off today, there are still some real positives to take out of the match. Most notably was our attack because it was pretty good. We struggled for go-forward at times but when the boys did get a bit of a roll on and get up their end, we looked very dangerous and hard to stop. In fact, the attack was pretty blistering at times, especially on the left. Some of the shapes we threw at Canberra were beautiful. Looked like something coming of a play every time we went wide. The Raiders really struggled to handle it and we tore them to shreds a number of times. Of course, there was a couple of sets that were a bit average but for the most part, we were very potent. it was great to watch.
On top of all this, we had one of our best completion rates of the year at 89% which is also impressive.
So I'm very happy with our efforts with the ball.
Defence
Our attack being good just infuriates me more about our defence though because our efforts without the ball, just brought all the efforts with the ball undone. In fact, I wouldn't even call it an effort without the ball to be honest because it was just shocking all game. If we put in even a half decent defensive performance, we're probably all happy today talking about a famous win. But no, the boys were turnstiles.
Right from the opening set, you could see it. They just weren't switched on defensively for the second week in a row. Even when we were on top early and somewhat controlling things, I kept saying that I wasn't happy with the roll on they were getting through the middle. And that's exactly where it started, all through the middle. Our forwards have a lot to answer for in that first half as it just wasn't up to standard. No line speed, no physical presence, the first contact was really poor, and we were really struggling to put guys to ground. The boys kept going high and walking with the ball carrier for 10 meters instead of chopping them low and halting the momentum. 31 missed tackles. That's pretty bad too. This pretty much carried on the whole game. It was not up to standard. As a result, Papali'i, Tapine and Horsburgh just ran riot. They absolutely destroyed us.
The right edge was just as diabolical. I'll go into it more when I do player by player but I just couldn't believe how soft we were out there. The Raiders scored or almost scored almost every time they went wide there. No issues with the left edge defence, last night is all on the forwards and the right edge.
With about eight minutes to go, we're up by 2. All the boys had to do was just do their job and hold them out. But no, we can't even do that. The last try the Raiders scored pretty much sums up our night.
Weak as piss to be honest. I might sound a bit harsh but the boys deserve it. Schoolboy stuff. We go from one of the best defensive teams to conceding 30 in two weeks. Simply not up to our standards and it's the number one reason why we were beaten last night.
Player by Player
Taaffe: Nothing special at all but he filled in okay. I didn't think he was too bad. Very hard done by in the opening minutes with that obstruction call. I didn't think there was much in it, and it would have been the play of his career so far had the try stood. So that was a good start from him. Probably the only real standout thing he did all night though to be fair. From that point on, he didn't really pose a threat at all. Failed to set up his outside men at all and died with the ball a lot. So, nothing special at all. In saying that, he was safe. very safe under the high ball and he mostly did what he could in defence. His only poor moment came with that shocking attempt at tackle on Horsburgh when he scored. That was paper thin stuff. But aside from that, he did what he could in defence, tried his best but he was let down by the front line. Did come up with a massive try saver on Croker in the first half too, that was big. So, nothing special Taaffey. He doesn't offer much for mine, but he is a safe option.
Johnston: Pretty good. Did his job well. Probably lacking a bit with his running game though. He only had seven carries for 65 meters. Given that a few of those would have been kick returns, we need more than that from AJ. However, it was a great finish for both his tries, awesome stuff and awesome to see him with another double. He was unlucky not to get a third. Defensively, he was awesome, didn't put a foot wrong and he was very safe under the high ball.
Tass: I thought Tassy was very good, a nice bounce back after last week. Firstly, his defence was really good which I was glad to see. Shut down Timoko so many times, even when he was looking dangerous, so I was really happy to see that after some of his efforts last week let us down so hats off to him there. I also tip my hat to Tassy's efforts with the ball. Jeez, he worked hard with his carries to help get us out of trouble. 17 runs for 163 meters. That is bloody fantastic! So good to see him take the right option in attack more often than not last night too, including setting AJ up for both his tries. The first was brilliant hands from him, so quick, so skillful. And then the second he showed poise, timing and Footy smarts to set AJ up. very impressive. To top off his good night individually, Cody put one on a platter for him to score but it was still a great hole run from Tassy. One of his better games this year to be honest.
Cartwright: It's a real shame we can't say the same about his center partner who did not have a good night. Yea, filling the shoes of Stretch is a big ask, but I expect them to be filled a lot better than that. The thing is, Jed started so bloody well! I got quite excited. he looked alright in defence and his running game was so friggin strong. He had some massive carries. Fantastic line run off Cody on that beautiful movement for his first NRL try and then he still had a bit of work to do, but he was good enough to get it done. That was really well done. On top of all this, he was actually defending pretty well to start. However, it's like once Canberra scored their first, he just completely dropped his bundle and then pretty much the rest of the game for him was spent getting a bath. On the Raiders second try, yea, we got a bit stripped for numbers but it's exactly the kind of play that Stretch often shuts down. They go wide, and if you watch Jed, he's really passive and slow to react. It's not until the ball is halfway in midair from Wighton to Kris that he reacts. if he's not so passive and jams quicker there, I feel like he could have shut that down, or at the very least, forced Wighton into a bit of a hail Mary play. Their third try, again we are short of numbers, but again it's a play that Jed could have shut down. He does well to cover and get out to Croker but again, once the pass goes to Croker, Jed is passive. He doesn't make any sort of decision or show any sort of aggression, he just hangs back and hangs off, making it so easy for Croker. Very poor defence. Finally, the comedy that was Jed Cartwright's defence last night concluded with probably the worst of the lot. The game is on the line and he makes a terrible attempt at tackle on Wighton. It was piss weak, arm grabbing stuff. We all know what happened after that. I backed him before the game and actually felt confident in him but jeez, he was poor.
Milne: Not a great night for Taane either. He's copping a bit if flack for our right edge defence but honestly, upon second watch, I'm not sure what more he could do. The worst moment was probably for Canberra's second try, he is even slower to react than Jed in that play, he jams far too late. If he goes with Jed at the same time, he probably makes up for jed's slow reaction and shuts it down. Aside from that, I don't think other tries were his fault. Their third try, he actually makes a cover tackle on Tapine and saves a try, so then he's not out there on the right. On the Starling try, it's Tallis who doesn't slide, Taane has to stay in and follow him as a result, and then he did his best on the last try, not his fault. What I was actually really disappointed with, was his running game. It was pretty bad to be honest. He was very proppy and was trying to put on a bit of footwork in every run, that's never going to work mate, just run hard like you did against the Tigers. Because of this, Taane was ineffective all night.
