After watching the replay, here's my report,
Mitchell: Not his finest game I think we'd all admit. He wasn't really bad or anything, it's just that he didn't get very involved and it was clear that he was saving himself for Origin. Still had some strong runs, beating defenders. he chimed into the backline nicely on many occasions and had some other nice touches but he did drop a bomb and I wasn't too pleased with his defence. I feel like for a couple of the Tigers tries, as a fullback, he could have at least been in the picture as the last line of defence but he was no where to be seen. Can't really bag him though, I actually think it's smart for him to take it a little easier in games like that where Origin is soon and the game is already won. After Origin is where I'd really like to see him fire up.
Johnston: AJ had a great game!! He was heavily involved in everything we did. Went looking for work coming out of our own end and I thought his hit ups were pretty strong, either good contact or a bit of footwork to get some momentum. Same goes for his kick returns. It was this heavy involvement and strong running that saw him pick up 176 meters. Snagged another double, one of which he had a lot of work to do but finished it brilliantly and also set up Cody's try with that perfect grubber. can't fault him in defence either. Great stuff AJ!
Gagai: I was actually a little disappointed in Gags as he didn't have a stand out game as we've come to expect. maybe it was a case of him saving himself for Origin too? He had some nice runs and his defence was exceptional but he just didn't have that same workrate or energy in attack. Only picked up 75 meters. I will praise his quick hands to AJ though as there was a numver of times he had to catch-pass really quickly and he nailed it every time.
Graham: The real star of the backline for me last night, he was massive! 111 run meters off 14 runs, no errors, defended well (saved our asses a couple of times) and picked up two great tries as a reward. For both of those he showed fantastic footwork to beat defenders and crash over. Cammy has slowly been getting better but he is starting to just blow me away. Hopefully that continues.
Milne: A very, very solid game from Taane. Looked a bit dodgy under one bomb and made a really poor read which let Doueihi over for his first but they were the only real negatives of his afternoon. Did a lot of the shit work and looked really stong, jammed in and made some good stops on D, and his early try was awesome. he had a little but of work to do there but still made it look easy.
Walker: Bit of a game of two halves for him, much like the team's performance but over all, I think he played well. That first have from him was incredible! He just carved the Tigers up! looked so elusive out that left side and the Tigers just couldn't handle it. 3 try assists, 3 line break assists and a try himself showed just how dominant he was. The most impressive assist was that cut out for AJ's second, a pearler of a pass! bit of a different story in the second half though as he really struggled to get anything going and have any spark. he wasn't alone there however.
Reynolds: Despite struggling a little to create in the second half, I think Reyno had a pretty good game. Honestly feel like his attack has gone to another level in the past few weeks as he ran the ball a lot and looked pretty dangerous. Even sliced straight through for a certain try! Seriously can't believe he bombed that. Anyway, you look at so many of our attacking plays last night and it's actually Adam that creates it. He runs the ball deep into the line, squares it up, engages defenders, sometimes fakes to kick, and then throws a beautiful pass to his outside. That was on show so often last night but it goes so un-noticed. It does not go un-appreciated by me though, I loved seeing that! The highlight was the beautiful face ball for Campbell's first try. Ren had a bit of a rough night with the boot but still managed to make history. He is now the most successful goal kicker in Souths history which is a huge achievement for a club so old!!
Nicholls: Still hard to believe he's a starting prop but I'm certainly not complaining as he's performing really well there! Helped set the tone early on with some tough, no nonsence carries and he managed some quick play-the-balls too. Managed to maintain that through both his stints too which was awesome to see. made 130 meters and tackled his heart out, nice game!
Cook: Bothing flashy again tonight but still played pretty well. Top notch service and he was bring those forwards onto the ball strongly to help generate momentum. Didn't have a lot of runs (still an area he needs to improve) but the runs he did have looked sharp. Loved his try assist for Murray and as always, he was very strong when defending.
Sele: Brought some real aggression in a really solid performance last night. Ran hard and tackled hard in every involvement he had. it really helped lay a great platform for our dominant first half which saw him fifnish up with well over 100 meters by the end of the game. Enjoyed some of his ball playing too.
Koloamatangi: I don't think this was a stand out game for Keaon but that's not to say he didn't play well. he just went about his business with purpose and aggression. It was maximum effort in every run and every tackle which is what I love about him. Still picked up 112 meters and some of the hits he put on would make any normal person shake in their boots.
Arrow: Nothing flashy from Jai so I don't have a lot to say about him but he just went about his work in a tradesman like manner as always. Had some strong carries, often angling in behind the ruck to find more space. I can't fault his performance apart from the really poor miss that let Laurie in, that wasn't good enough for a big man.
Murray: For two games in a row he has been our best by a long way. Seriously, this guy is just so special and he showed it once again last night. Was in absolutely everything and just didn't stop in any minute he was on. Didn't pick up many meters on the stats but the runs he had were impactful and he's often make a half break, followed by that famous quick play-the-ball. It was his ball playing that really impressed me though, it was just sublime. On a lot of our successful shifts, he's at first reciever and he plays it perfectly, holding the ball long enough to engage the middle defence before going to Reyno or Cody which makes their job so much easier. His role in attack cannot be underestimated. Was huge in defence too, hardly put a foot wrong. Was rewarded with a real forwards try which was cool! easily our best out there yesterday.
Marshall: gonna be a little harsh on the legend here but he didn't impress me at all. Kind of seemed to disrupt the attack, especially when he went to hooker. I was fuming with th amount of crash balls he was throwing!! Just killed the attack every time and I feel like he was a big reason why we weren't able to go on with it. Sorry benji, I love ya but gotta give constructive critcism where it's due.
Knight: Not a lot to say about Knighty but I reckon he had a solid game in his first one back in a while. Had some good carries, an offload and mande 152 meters. Still gave up his usual one error per game though.
Burgess: Probably our best player off the bench yesterday. Tom made a real impact when he came on. looked fired up and ready to rip in. That he did. Had some barnstorming runs, often carrying two guys with him and still making ground. The highlight was his break through the middle, that was awesome stuff from the big fella!! Really enjoying Tom's role off the bench, he's found some form there!
Host: A good solid game for Hosty. Had limited minutes and could only muster 4 runs but he shut down a few dangerous Tigers moments for us.
A win's a win and winners are grinners!!
