Gee, that was a lot, lot closer than I would've liked and tbh, it wasn't a great performance. I had a feeling that wou;d happen and we'd be a bit off and yep, that turned out to be true as we were actually pretty bad for most of that game. Really poor handling and we were going way too sideways all the time imo, but it was the ball handling which was the worst. With no disrespect to the Titans, if we were playing someone like the Dragons or Penrith, we would've got pumped tonight because we just kept beating ourselves. The Titans weren't amazingly good, the boys just kept making it so hard for themselves and tbh, it was tough to watch at times.
Still, look on the bright side, It was a win and I'm friggin stoked because of that. It's a sign that we've got a good side because we were able to win even when we were playing like shit, that's a really good sign.
In attack, we looked so good early on and pretty much cracked them on every play, it was brilliant. However, then the errors started creeping in and that's where it turned. Our completion rate was just god damn awful and I was really concerned the Titans were going to get us. We also went away from our power game a bit I feel and we played too laterall. Still, even throughout this period, there were still some times we looked so good!
Defence wasn't too bad across the board. Both of James' tries were a bit annoying as tha shouldn't have happened at that close range really, but apart from that, it was okay. We did really well to hold them out numerous times through some staunch defence and forcing errors.
Johnston: Not bad. He looked really dangerous at times not only when running the ball, but also in support and thais paied off for his try which was just brilliant! He was mostly safe under the high ball and did a good job at defusing most of their attacking kicks. However, I just feel he was a wee bit quiet and he could've done more standard hit ups.
Graham: Was good. The only real stuff up he made was for the Titan's first try as there was no communication between him and Doueihi. Other than that though, he was good. Strong runs coming out of our own end and he was probably our back that did the most and hed the highest workrate. That play for AJ's try was outstanding. he also came up with some really nice stops.
Hunt: Was good. Stepped up tonight, especially with his running game, this was really strong. The post-contact meters he made on most runs was outstanding and I feel like he did enough to help our forwards. Like Graham, he was also great defensively and came up with some great reads.
Jennings: A bit quiet tbh. I don't feeli that Jenko got involved enough with hit ups. The work he did do was great but imo, he just didn't do it often enough. What's more, he came up with a couple of errors that really put us under pressure.
Walker: What an amazing start to the game! he looked so frigin good and his try was just pure class, straight through. He was creating so many opportunities down that left edge and through the middle that the Titans were struggling to cope. However, he kind of faded a bit in the mid section of the game and he didn't demand the footy as much. Cody was reasonibly quiet after this.
Reynolds: Was good. A great kicking game that at times terrorised the back three with those massive bombs he was putting up. Had a direct hand in some beautiful movements down the right, two of which came off as awesome tries. His defence all game was also outstanding.
T.Burgess: Is it just me or was he a bit quiet tonight. His runs were just as damaging as they always hae been which is great but it seemed like he played a lot less minutes.
Farah: Was good. Got the boys rolling nicely and had a few breaks that made me wonder if I was watching Cook haha. Provided a kicking option out of dummy-half which he whipped out a few times to do some brilliant kicks into the coener. Faz did give away a few penalties in defence though
G.Burgess: Was okay. A little bit of a mixed night for George but it still wasn't bad at all. His runs were just as powerful as always and he was rolling us through the middle brilliantly. George was having a great game but then he made a couple of really poor errors which was disappointing.
Sutton: Not much to say about Sutto actually as he was a bit quiet if I'm being honest. It wasn't a bad game it's just that he's set such high standards this year. He still looked powerful post-contact, looked dangerous with that left foot step and had a hand in some nice backline moves.
Murray: Was good. He just worked so hard all night and was probably one of our best forwards. His running game was just as great as always but his defence tonight was so good, putting guys like Wallace on their asses is not easy.
S.Burgess: Not a great night for Sam in his 150th tonight. His running game was solid but there was just far too many errors from him. Far too amny and it almost cost us. If I counted right, I think he made five errors which is not good enough for someone of his stature. However, I will say that the play he put on for AJ's try was so mean!! Was great to watch. I'm sure it was just an off game for Sam and he'll be fine.
Clark: I was impressed with Clarky when he came on as he played quite alright. Strong running and he really got those legs pumping to generate more meters and try to supply a quick play-the-ball.
Nicholls: Not much to say really but he did his job. I think his attempted tackle on James for that try could've been better though.
Tatola: Had a very short stint tonight but as always, he was pretty good. Ran full pace in everything and he just threw himself into the line every run.
All in all, I'm stoked to get the win but not too happy with the proformance. As individuals, most of the team was fine bu it was as a team that we struggled a bit for reasons I mentioned earlier.
We must be a whole lot better next week, especially with our completions.