I would've posted earlier but just needed some time to calm down otherwise I would've just posted a full on rant. I'm so deflated after that game and I am quite lost for words. We started so well and we were just starting to get on top of them when Cody scored that awesome try. Then it all came undone through that bloody error from Tom. From there it was massively downhill and I mean massively. Back to the same old same old. Really, really poor errors which but us under so much pressure. Many of these errors were off stupid plays aswell. The amount of penalties we conceded was outrages and we just let them out of their own end all the time! The attack was so clunky once again and we hardly looked like scoring the whole game. There was just no cohesion and no one looked on the same page. We didn't struggle to make metres when we actually held the friggin ball but we couldn't do anything with it close to the line. Don't even get me started on the defence, it was shocking. Three really soft tries, I was in absoulute disbelief when Granville scored. With the season on the line I expected far better.
Walker: I thought he was good, one of our best. Looked dangerous when he touched the ball and scored that beautiful try off some great support play. He was peppered with bombs all day but managed to hold his own and took some brilliant takes to save us. One of the few players that played like the season was on the line.
Johnston: A bit quiet I must say. The ball hardly came down that left edge though. He did come in for some hit ups and had a few good runs but I still don't think he did enough work. Got caught out from kicks position wise a few times too. He wasn't bad, just quiet.
Goodwin: Similar to AJ, quiet. He did have some nice runs and cleaned up a few loose balls but his work rate just wasn't as high as we expect from Bryson.
Jennings: I thought he was one of our best backs. Didn't really get tested defending the line but when the Cowboys did target him a few times, he held his own. Looked dangerous in attack too, he managed to get on the outside of defenders a fair bit and make some good runs. There was that instance where he threw the ball to no one but that was more Burns fault which I'll elaborate on next. He certainly created the opportunity though.
Burns: It was a quiet day for most of the backs, Burns was unfortunetly no different. He did score that nice try but like most of the other backs, didn't really do much more. Could've sparked a real comback if he didn't cut back inside when Jennings threw that pass, the space was there! He should have stayed on his wing and who knows what would've happened.
Sutton: Average. I don't know why Madge is sticking with him at 5/8, it has not worked at all. He's a great ball runner, which he did show a few times today, but he doesn't offer much creatively. That's part of the reason we look so clunky in attack. He made some really dumb plays today and got caught out at marker a few times. Put Cody back there and put Sutto on the banch where he can provide some impact instead of floundering at 5/8.
Reynolds: I don't actually think he played that badly. Apart from a few of his kicks (which were very poor) he looked alright. He created some opportunities with some nice touches like when we scored both of our tries. It was great to see him run the ball for our first try. Kicking game still needs work though. Some of them he pulled off today were just not acceptable. We know how good he can be, we just need to see that. Defending the line he was shaky too, rushed up by himself a few times by himself which left big holes. I had no idea what him and Gus were doing when Granville scored, that was awful and kind of summed up our whole performance.
T.Burgess: Had an awesome start to the game but then he bought all our good work undone with that friggin error! I was fuming after that because that gave them the momentum and we never recovered. Tom still had an okay game with some nice runs that looked like the Tom of old but I'm just fuming at him for that error.
Farah: I know he's copped a lot of flack over this game but I thought we was good. One of our only guys that really tried. He put in 100%, maybe a little too hard at times and those led to some poor plays but I think he took some great options today and looked dangerous at times.
Tyrrell: I love him but he's so friggin past it. Barely noticed him tbh.
Fuimaono: Got less minutes today due to our bench rotation and I have to be honest, he was a bit quiet too. Don't get me wrong, he had some powerful runs but just didn't provide as much as he has in previous game.
Crichton: Considering the way the rest of the side went, he was good. Poked his nose though on most runs and tried hard. Really poor from him when Granville scored though like I said before, no idea what him and Reyno were doing. I was in disbelief over that.
S.Burgess: That's two average games from Sam in a row now. The effort just didn't seem to be where it usually is for him again today. The poor errors crept back in as well. He was still better than some other forwards but I expect more from him. Needs to lift in the next game.
Clark: Tbh, offered little impact off the bench. He'd been good the last few weeks but I was dissapointed in him today.
Murray: Had a good little stint and provided some good impact. He carried defenders with him a fair way on every run. I like what I saw.
Musgrove: Wasn't bad. He came out and actually gave it his best shot. Every run was at full tit and his aggression was good. Good impact which is what we need from him.
G.Burgess: Was good also. Apart from that one bad error at the end, he really packed a punch. He's starting to bring back that trademark gallop which is good to see. Made a barnstorming run which wound the clock back. Still need more but it is good progess form George.
I'm just really dissapointed tbh. I mean the defence was just in-excusable and another play I forgot to mention was when Feldt got out of the in-goal of Robbie's kick, where the hell were our chasers. The whole squad talks about the belief they have all week and than they go out and play like that when it was a must win! Especially after the way we started. It's really dissapointing. Our season is now officially over and that's heartbreaking but it's been a long time coming. I'm pissed off and really gutted. Some questions need to be asked and some soul searching needs to be done.
Move Cody back to 5/8, Sutto to the bench. Maybe AJ back to fullback. We need to look to next season now.
I also think Madge has done his dash.
We can still string some results together like we did at the back end of last year but work needs to be done and players need to lift.
I'm not usually this negative but I don't know what else to say tbh.
Souths are just in a rut atm. We've been through much worse and we'll get out of it, just have to ride through it. The lows make the high's that much better.
