A very frustrating loss that one. Frustrating because I really feel like we could have won even when we were down. The energy was there, the effort was there but we just lacked execution and didn't take our opportunities. Like I say, I feel like we could have won but didn't which is so frustrating.
Attack was a bit of a mixed bag tonight. With the ball in the first half, we looked brilliant. We able to roll up field quite nicely, come out of our end pretty well and some of the plays (although a couple didin't come off) we put on looked pretty classy. I was happy with our completion rate in the first 40 too. It was fantastic fightback to lead at halftime. But once again, the second half looked a bit different, and not in a good way. We seemed to fall away on the offensive and the errors started creeping in. I think we were down to below 60% for completion rates which just isn't good enough and it gives you no chance to get any rhythm. And I think that's what meant we couldn't get over that line, because of the errors, the rhythm was gone and it turned a bit clunky. First half attack = great, second half = not so great.
Defence was the big one. It's what really let us down tonight and what ultimately lead to the loss. I'll start with defensive dicipline. We gave away too many silly penalties and a lot of them were piggy back penalties that lead to a try. It's a big sin in Rugby League to do that and that's two weeks in a row now that we've done it often. Moving onto the actual defence itself, we were poor. So many missed tackles which just shouldn't be happening and a lot of them were arm grabs with some of the boys seemingly not wanting to put their body on the line at times. You look at most of their tries and they were all down to poor defence. As I say, this is the area that let us down big time. That left edge in paticular is massively shakey at the moment and it's a worry.
Mitchell: Latrell was better than last week. He had some really nice touches in attack to put players into holes and he created a fair few opportunities. There was also a few good runs there. However, being better than last week is not good enough and we need more. For some reason, Latrell doesn't seem to want to get involved enough. He should be pushing up around the ball but instead waits out the back for someone else to put on a big play. That's my biggest concern is that he doesn't seem to want to put in the effort areas. Whether that's because of fitness of attitude, I'm not sure. Not having a go at Latrell, just a bit of constructive feedback. I hope we play the long game with him and persisit. It's Round 2 and it's a long Season. Latrell can develop into a superstar number 1.
Gagai: Pretty solid tonight. Didn't do anything spectacular but he did his job well. His runs coming out of trouble were strong and his defence was solid too.
Roberts, Wasn't too bad. Some strong running of the ball and did a pretty good job in defence on that right edge I thought. He was aggressive in defence and it paid off. We also saw what he can do with some early ball and that run for Cody's try was spectacular!
Burns: Burns wasn't great tonight and it's mainly down to his 'D.' That is a big worry for us I reckon. He looked shakey in Round 1 and even worse tonight. Will be interesting to see his stats as I feel he missed so many tackles. Fundamental errors too as he let Staggs get on his outside a couple of times. It's not good enough from Burnsy and he has a lot to work on.
Graham: Campbell wasn't too flash tonight either. His hit ups were strong and he did finish well in the corner but apart from that, he was poor. When he came in when Latrell threw that brilliant [ass to where he should've been I was fuming. Our whole left side has work to do.
Walker: Cody was pretty good tonight. He looked close to being back to his dangerous self on attack tonight as he had a hand in some of those beautiful backline shifts and he put on some brilliant passes. Challenged the line on occasion and looked dangerous too. I just wasn't massively pleased with some of defensive efforts, there was a lot of arm grabbing there. Kicking game was solid.
Reynolds: Mixed game from Reyno too as he looked lovely on some bacline moves at times but then on others, his timing was way out or he'd make an error. I also think he took a few bad options towards then end of the game and that could bre managed better. His kicking game was mixed too. Long was good but his short kicking game looked almost non-exsistant.
Tatola: Now, Junior didn't have a bad game tonight at all but I did expect more from him after last week. He has much quieter tonight. Still got through some good runs but he needs to work on being consistant week in week out. He was not as involved tonight.
Cook: Much improved!! To the point where to my eyes, he was one of our better players tonight. He seemed to go back to playing direct and taking those quick few paces out of dummy half before passing which was good to see. This brought the forwards onto the ball really nicely which makes us look far better in attack, just more direct. He simplified his game tonight, didn't try to do anything fancy and it worked. Well done Cookie.
Burgess: Tom was really good in that game. Played decent minutes and just went all out when he was on. Ran hard and was involved regularly which saw him pick up some big meters. He especially lifted towards the end of the game where he started to have some absolutley huge runs. Plus, he made no errors which is a big plus.
Su'a: Nice and solid tonight. Played big minutes (might have even been 80) and had some barnstorming runs out there as well as a few where he really tested the Brisbane line. He held his own defensively up against Fifita which was good to see aswell. If anything, he could have been more involved.
Murray: A little bit quiet and for prehaps the first time in his career I fell there's not much to say about him. he did do a job but we still need more involvement on that edge. Obviously, he's adjusting so we need to give him time.
Knight: Even Knight was a bit more quiet in that game too. Still got through some really good work at a high intensity level but I just feel his impact on the game wasn't as great as last week.
Nicholls: Mark was really good tonight and he's redeemed himself in a big way. He didn't just get stopped right in his tracks or dragged back because he ran pretty hard and got those legs pumpeing post contact. Hopefully he can keep that up.
Lowe: Apart from the soft defence on Staggs' second try, Lowe had a good night. He seemed to play a lot more minutes and he was in the thich of everything which was good to see.
Sele: A great game from Sele, he's already proven what a pick up he was. ran really hard, got pretty busy and just gave it his all throughout his stint. He was powerful and created a lot of go forward.
Johnston: Not a lot to talk about apart from that try which was clever skill. Of course a bit of luch was involved too!
So yea, a frustrating loss that could have been a win if we had got some basic stuff right. But that's okay, it's Round 2 and we are doing a lot right. But in saying that, we do still have plenty to work on.
