After watching the replay, here's my full report,
Taaffe: I was super, super impressed by Blake in the first full game of his career and I thought he was one of our best last night. Firstly, his positional play blew me away as almost every kick the Cowboys put in, he was there on the spot to cut it off either on the full or on the first bounce. Great game awareness. I thought his running game was strong, posing a threat at times and chiming into the backline when required. Awesome to see him get his first career try too! A lot of players would have given up on the play when it became obvious AJ had nowhere to go but not Blake! On the defensive side, he was solid. He handled a rampaging Taumalolo with ease at one stage. While I agree we must keep a lid on the hype, last night was a grat sign.
Johnston: Another guy who was one of our best in this one. His stats make for fantastic reading; 156 meters, 1 try assist, 3 line breaks, 4 tackle breaks and yet another hattirck!! His tries weren't just a simple 'catch and put it down' either, he had work to go for all three. Made it look easy though with his blistering speed, acceleration and footwork to continue his amazing try scoring record. Big game for AJ.
Burns: Burnsy was okay. Good without being great. His running game coming out of our end was strong and I liked his work as a decoy runner, that was creating a lot of space. Braidon's defence was also very solid with nothing slipping past him. However, he let himself down a bit wih a few errors throughout the game.
Graham: For Campbell's now lofty standards, this was a quiet game for him. He didn't do anything wrong at all but just didn't have any flashy plays or get involved as much as we've been used to in recent weeks. That's not a knock on him, it's just the way the game went. Just like his opposite centre, I really liked his work as a decoy runner. That contributed to a couple of Taane's tries because campbell was able to suck in a defender or two to create space. I was impressed with his work without the ball though as he made some really good reads to shut plays from the Cowboys down.
Milne: What a game for Taane!! I'll talk about his big plays shortly but it was all the little things he did that I was really pleased with. His carries were so strong last night, running with plenty of purpose and aggression and this went a long way to getting us on the front foot as he was able to drivbe forward for a lot of meters by the end of the game. Was rewarded with his first career hattrick as he was on the end of some great shape down that right hand side. His third try was the most impressive though because he had a lot of work to do to get over and he walked straight over the top of their defence, great stuff!!
Walker: Oh man, where do I start?! I don't even know what to say he was that good! That is honestly up there with one of his better career games I reckon as he just pulled the Cowboys attack apart of both sides. I won't go through every try, we all saw them but some of the passes he threw and the vision that was on display just boggles the mind, it really does. You won't see better from any 5/8 in history. I think he was involved in all bar one of our tries last night which is amazing. Just ripped them to shreds! That bat on for Taane's third was the highlight of the game for me, my jaw dropped! Just read his attacking ball play numbers; 5 line break assists and 3 try assists!! Wow, wow, wow. Truely was a pleasure to watch.
Reynolds: Reyno was also brilliant. His kicking game was near perfect. Had that ball on a string with both long and short kicks as he constantly put the Cowboys back three under pressure or he had them back peddling and trapped deep in their half. In those conditions, it was a masterclass. His goal kicking was a bit off but I guess I can forgive him for that. As always, his work with the ball in hand was perfect too as I think he was involved in nearly all our tries too. Combined with Cody really well to provide that one-two punch. Love how good he is at engaging defenders and taking the ball right to the line, that was on show again last night and it's a big reason for the win because it's his ball playing that allowed Cody the space and time to do what he does. I love the little move Reyno does where he fakes to kick as that just asks so many questions. In defence, he had a bit of traffic come his way but handled it well.
Nicholls: Not too much to say about Nicho but he still played very well over all. Plenty of good carries for 75 meters in about 40 minutes of game time is not bad at all. Was also pretty busy in defence, making 28 tackles. However, His missed tackle on Taumalolo to allow that line break in the first half was a really poor effort, it was arm grabbing which is always disappointing to see from a front rower.
Mamouzelos: Like Taaffe, Pete was also extremely impressive in his first start as an NRL player. I was really impressed with his composure and he has great tempo and game awareness. Brought the forwards rolling onto the ball well and I can't fault his service at all which is what you want from your hooker. Loved how whenever the opportunity arose to run, he took the chance and went with it, often catching out markers to earn a six again. He's not a big guy but he certainly has plenty of heart and his defence is top shelf as he made plenty of tackles throughout his time on the field. A glimpse into the future and I liked what I saw.
Burgess: Back in the starting side and back at it again with a bang! Tom was really good last night, he terrorised the Cowboys pack. I swear in so many of his carries, he won the contact and continued to barge forward with guys hanging off him. That shows in the stats with 55 out of his 133 meters being post contact meters. How good was his try?! Ran a direct line of Sele and just punched straight through for his 'surfing goanna' try celebration haha. The only negative of his night was the attempted tackle on Taumalolo when he made the break in the first half. Along with Nicholls, that was a really poor effort. Thankfully, didn't detract from his performance too much.
Koloamatangi: Consistent as ever, he just keeps banging out good performance after good performance. he's always hungry for the ball and looking for work which was no different last night. Fought for every single meter with aggression and power which shows in the stats as he topped the run meters for the team with a massive 181! Want to make special mention of his ball playing too because there was a few times throughout the game it was him at first reciever down that right hand side and it was him passing to Reyno or Cody. His quick ball distribution was perfect everytime and that deserves some praise.
Su'A: Went well in his first game back for a few weeks. His performance was nothing to rave about really but he still played well and did his job. You could tell he was fired up as he ran with a lot of aggression in his hit ups which is something we haven't seen a lot of in his recent performances. Was also trying to put big shots on in defence and while none of them fully connected, it's good to see him back trying again.
Sele: I said the same thing a few weeks ago but I'm going to say it again for this weeks game. That was the best game I've seen Hame play so far! He was certainly one of our beast last night, easily our best forward. I'm just amazed at his continued rise ever since he worked his way back into the 17 this year, it's been great to watch. Was great to watch him go again against North Queensland as he was colossal in everything he did. Got up over the advantage line in every carry he had and was able to generate quick play-the-balls for many of them. He just really took the Cowboys pack head on and helped lay a great platform for the win. Stepped into Murray's shoes and seemed to take on the ball playing link man role for us and he handled this with ease, I was actually really impressed with his skill. Even provided a pearler no-look short ball for Tom's try, god I love seeing forwards combine like that! Was in everything without the ball as well, loved his hit on Taumalolo!! Put him straight on his ass!
Knight: Knighty has copped some criticism this year and rightly so however, I reckon this was his best performance of the year so far. he was really good. Provided a great deal of impact off the bench and actually helped provide some energy and ignite us once the Cowboys got the lead. Happy with his work rate and his hit ups were all hard running aggression. Slipped a couple of really nice offloads and didn't make any errors for once. More of that please Knighty!
Host: Don't have a lot to say about Hosty but he still had a good game. He's been really consistent this Season and has certainly earned his spot in the side. The evidence of that was on show once again in this one.
Mago: First game in first grade for quite some time for Pati and he didn't disappoint. Was quite impressed with his game. Great impact off the bench and proved very hard to put down.
Marshall: Much better from Benji this week. Unlike last week, he didn't come on trying to be the hero or overplay his hand, he just slotted in and did his bit ot maintain the rage. Threw a few really nice passes once he moved out to 5/8, one for a line break to Burnsy and the other provided space for AJ to score his third.
Now, I know this was a game against the Cowboys who are kind of strugglin but I am still so proud of our baoys performance. To be missing five key players, five of your best, and still play like that is a testiment to the depth at our club currently.
Well done lads, let's enjoy the weekend!
