After watching the replay, here's my full report,
Nikorima: Wasn't bad at all. Nothing super flashy but was solid. Safe at the back under the high ball and with his positional play, some good kick returns and he seemed to get more involved in our attack. A strong running game with a big 156 meters and some nice passes too, highlighted by his pass to Stretch in the lead up to Taane's try. That was really clever. So not a bad arvo for Kodi, he didn't put a foot wrong.
Johnston: World class performance as we have come to expect. Started the game absolutely on fire as he scored off his first touch. It wasn't an easy try for AJ either as when he took the pass from Cody, he had some work to do. But some sharp footwork and acceleration got him over the line. Again for his second try to open the second half, he had some work to do too and he showed his speed as well as a little in and away to crash over. The third try to bring up his second hattrick in two games and his 150th career try was a bit more simple for him but he still had himself in a position to score. Between all the try scoring plays he was great as well. No issues under the high ball, some really strong carries for 160 meters and nothing got past him in defence. It was just a super classy performance from AJ.
Graham: Speaking of classy performances, that's exactly how I'd describe Campbell's game yesterday too. He was fantastic, showing once again that he is made for Origin and not having him there is a real crime. I thought he was one of our best as he was just so solid in everything. Didn't get the accolades that perhaps AJ did but his role was just as, if not more crucial. Outstanding with his carries coming out of trouble as he always put his hand up to take a tough run. There was a few times he found himself in space too and he did well there. All up he had 210 meters and that topped the run meters for us for the game. Showed his class with his passing game too, getting a few nice ones away to AJ, particularly his quick hands for AJ's second, that was brilliant. Without the ball, Stretch was just as good as nothing got passed him. Particularly in the first half, he had some big one on one tackles to make and he did it with ease. Well done to him! Take note Freddy!!
Milne: A mixed arvo for Taane but I think it's fair to say he had more good than bad. A really bad attempt at tackling Marzhew when he scored. Yes, Jaxson's miss was worse in that play, but Taane was still in the frame to stop him but came up with a poor attempt and let him slip straight past. Again, a bit later, he had a bad miss on Fermor that lead to a line break. But whatever he lacked in his defensive game yesterday, he made up for it in his efforts with the Footy. Gave 100% in all his tough hit ups and some of them were really quality. He also looked fairly dangerous attacking the line. At one time there he put on a fantastic move on his opposite and then got a ball away to Jaxson which almost lead to a try. Taane picked up his try with a barge-over effort off Cookie but it was good stuff from Milne to read the space and charge into the hole.
Paulo: A lot like the guy inside him, Jaxson had a mixed day. I mentioned it before but that was a terrible attempt at tackle on Marzhew when he scored. That should have been easily covered by Jaxson if he went in hard and went low but he showed some real soft stuff and a lack off effort. As a result, Marzhew slipped straight past him for a try. That was really disappointing. However, his defensive error was made up for with an amazing aerial effort just minutes later. What a play to sore through the air, take that kick and score. He did it again later in the half with a tip on to Keaon which we almost scored off. Some more negatives in his game were the two tries he bombed, that simply wasn't good enough. But hey, I guess he went okay. Just want to see him improve and put in 100% effort every time.
Walker: Gotta be honest, I'm disappointed in Cody's game yesterday and he's lucky the rest of the side around him went well. He was a bit of a passenger for a lot of that game to be fair as he seemed to struggle to inject himself or come up with the right play. A couple of errors too which killed attacking raids. However, there was a few touches of brilliance, particularly for all three of AJ's tries. Cody had a hand in all of them. The first was probably the best as that was fantastic vision from Cody to throw the long, lollipop ball and AJ did the rest. Later in the game, Cody showed some lovely quick hands and combined beautifully with Lachie and Stretch to put AJ over again. And then our 5/8 was at it again later to put AJ in for a third. That was good tempo from Cody as he took the ball almost walking before delivering the pass. Great stuff. On another note, a pretty poor attempt at tackle on Tino late but I guess there was a big size mis-match there so I don't blame him too much for that one.
Ilias: I thought Lachie was really, really good yesterday. Showed some really good game management which he has copped some flack for so far this year. His kicking game wasn't anything super outstanding but it was effective as he constantly put the polish on the forwards hard work with a good kick to trap the Gold Coast down their end. It seemed like this was happening all game and Lachie's kicks are a big reason for that. A couple of beautifully placed bombs for Paulo, one of which yielded a try assist for him and another almost got a result. Pretty nice short kicking game too, forced a drop out there at one stage in the second half. In terms of his ball playing, I thought this area of his game was fantastic also. He really created some chances and seems to be starting to vary his passes in terms of their length, speed and also whether he passes early or takes it forward and digs into the line. Combined really well with Cody for two of AJ's tries which is a great sign for their combination. They look really good when they link together and we need to see it more often. I also thought Ilias was very solid in defence too, not much got past him.
