Hoh, I just needed to give myself a wee while to calm down from that game because it wasn't good for the heart haha. Gee that was a nil biter and I really felt like once again, we were going to throw it away and hand Manly the game, but we didn't!! It's such a great feeling to get back in the winners circle and I'm super proud of the boys. That really is quite a massive win when you consider how good Manly are and all the great players we had out, it was a huge effort really that has hopefully put our Season and top four berth back on track. Still not the complete performance as the second half wasn't the best but it as much improved, we looked a lot better.
As mentioned, attack was a big improvement today. The boys appeared to be a lot more switched on, full of energy and there was a real sense of purpose to what everyone was doing. manly had a far better forward pack due to the players we had out but our young guns did a fantastic job through the middle to not only match, but better them. I loved the roll on we were getting in that game at times as the boys would march up the field due to hard running and quick play-the-balls which gave us a lot of momentum. It was great to watch after the last few games where we have struggled. When attacking the line the boys were a lot better too. it was still a little clunky sometimes and not quite at the level we would luck but there was an improvement there. We were able to put on some nice moves with players finally being in the right position with the right timimg and much more crisp passes. Everyone just looked on the same page again and the execution was better, we scored some lovely tries as a result. Then there was the fact that the completion rate was better. The first half we were perfect with the ball, completeing all our sets which is just brilliant and it shows how much more switched on we were. I must admit I was a bit disappointed with the second half though. The boys came out half asleep and Manly made us pay. We started dropping the ball and making poor choices in attack with less energy again and as a result, we let the Sea Eagles back into the match. It actually really pissed me off as that simply shouldn't happen. However, to the boys credit, they overcame this and managed to sort it out in order to get the result.
Defensively, I felt we weren't too bad. Despite lacking at times, throughout the whole game, the line speed in general play was a lot better which was good to see. I also think the on-line defence was pretty solid for most of that game too. Manly had plenty of cracks at our line but we managed to hang on and turn them away quite often. Some of those times were multiple set raids at our line so it was pleasing to see the boys not let them in for the most part. However, I was pretty annoyed at some of the lapses we had. Almost everytime we looked to be getting on top, we'd concede a really soft line break through simple missed tackles or we'd just clock off on the line and let them in for some soft tries. Obviously, one of the tries conceded shouldn't have happened (as Suli knocked it on, I couldn't believe that call) but it's simply not good enough to clock off like that and that is an area we need to be better in. The right side defence still needs work too as that appeared a little shakey but the boys did okay to cover that. So yea, not too bad but still a few little things to work on.
Doueihi: I thought AD was actually really good at the back this afternoon. He chimed into the attack nicely and his ball playing seemed to open us up a bit there and gave more options. He was a little slow at timeswhich caused those outside him to hesitate and hault the play but this didn't hapen too often and it can be expected for someone who isn't a regular fullback. His running game was strong and he was safe at the back.
Gagai: Was good. he actually looked like he wanted to be there unlike the last game he played for us. He had a very strong running game and got through a lot of the shit work to take the pressure off the forwards. I liked how he went looking for the ball. Defensively he wasn't too bad despite missing the odd tackle and that try saver he pulled off on Cust was brilliant, saved the game in the end. Beautiful finish in the corner for his try.
Roberts: Pretty good. You can see that Jimmy is becoming more comfortable in the side and his performances are getting better as a result. I loved some of his runs coming out of trouble today, they were great. Like all our outside backs today, I feel that he really went looking for work as he even ventured over to the other side of the field at times to get the ball. Defensively he had a few missed tackles but was solid on the line, even pulling off a wonderful try saver late in the game with a legs tackle. I just want to see us get him more ball in open space, he didn't have a lot of room to move today so we weren't able to see his best. Still a good performance though.
Burns: Was very solid. He did a nice job today as he was quite sound defensively. Suli kept coming at him and although Burnsy may have been beaten a couple of times, I feel that he came out on top. In terms of attack, I was impressed with his running game as he looked elusive at times and his hit ups were very solid. Played a nice hand in some of our attacking sweeps.
Graham: Has been critisised fairly heavily lately but he was much better this afternoon and that'll be a big confidence builder for him. made No errors, was solid in defence and under the high ball, and we scored a try with a lovely finish. A better game from Cammy.
Walker: Cody was good tonight and I think we saw glimpses of his best which is a good sign that he's finding his confidence again. In our attacking plays, he seemed to have that fluidity back as evidenced in Graham's try, that was a beautiful play by Cody to straighten and then get the pass away like that. He did miss a crucial tackle on Sironen which lead to Manly's second try early in the second half and it certainly wasn't his best game but it was a decent performance.
Reynolds: Reyno was awesome today, one of our best I feel. he had three dodgy/poor kicks all game but I can forgive him for that because of the conditions. Apart from that, it was a classy game for Reyno. His passing game was super sharp and we saw that by the fact that he laid on two tries off the back on two lovely passes and great vision. he was creating chances for those around him all game and overall, his kicking game was great as it really put manly under some pressure at times.
Tatola: Absolutely brilliant, what a game from Junior!! In the absence of most of our best forwards, he really stepped up and looked like a man on a serious mission today. Ran with some real intent and continued to drive those big legs of his post-contact, fighting for every meter. His work rate was very high and he played long minutes too in a top game. That's probably the best I've seen him play.
Cook: Pretty decent considering he was backing up from Origin. His running game was quite limited due to the nature of the game but Cookie picked his moments well which is what we want. He didn't overplay his hand and despite having less runs, he still did a very good job to bring the forwards onto the ball. Then of course, his defensive work rate was great as he made over fifty tackles, that's impressive after Origin. He did miss a few poor tackles though which meant we conceded some line breaks around him though. One thing Cookie does need to work on I think is his passing when attacking the line. I noticed today that he seemed a bit hesitant to pass at times and he held onto it a little too long which kills the play as our other attackers need to check themselves and it means that manly had time to rush up. Then of course there was that shocker that lead to Suli's try. It's a small thing but I just think Cookie could be better there.
Knight: Like Tatola, he really stepped up tonight. I loved his aggression as he charged into the line with no fear time and time again. This meant he made a lot of meters and his quick play-the-balls laid a great platform for our attack. Did make one error but otherwise it was a nice game from him.
Sutton: A nice, consistent performance as he didn't put a foot wrong. Sutto made his tackles, had regular runs that provided some good impact and chimed in well in our backline moves whether that be as a reciever or a decoy runner. His combination with Cody seems to be returning which is a good sign.
Britt: Liked his work today. He ran with some real intent in his hit ups and had quite a few of them. Was good defensively and ran a fantastic line of Reyno to score his first NRL try, that was great to watch. He did make an error and had to go off with that HIA but otherwise his impact on the game was good.
Murray: I thought he'd be a little flat after Origin and tonight he wasn't at his best but I was still surprised by how good he was. Cam put in a solid game with a significant amount of quality hit ups, no errors and very solid defence. Was a good effort considering he was backing up.