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Round 2 - Sea Eagles vs Rabbitohs: Saturday 20th March 5:30pm @Lottoland

Souths Till I Die

First Grade
Messages
5,931
Looking back at the replay it looks like Foran started the whole thing by pushing Gagai. Im more than happy with Su'a for getting in there and backing the Gagai up. That kind of fire is what we've been lacking in our second row since Te'o and Sam Burgess were in the side. People can call it stupidity but all the top teams have enforcers somewhere in their squads. Its also good to see that kind of mateship.

As for the Latrell sin bin I agree with everyone's sentiments that it was soft but Latrell gave the ref every reason to sin bin him by getting close to DCE. Does everybody remember this final when Jake Trbo got sin binned? Pretty much won us that game.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.abc.net.au/article/11535316

We definitely were lacking on the 50/50 calls but our handling in the second half left a lot to be desired. We too often try to go for the miracle play when we're already ahead. Its what makes us dangerous but in those conditions I feel as if we need to take it back a notch.
 

big hit!

Bench
Messages
3,452
Exactly. Cook made line breaks in 16-17, but it was the 20 runs between linebreaks were he was afraid to take the tackle that really hurt the team.

The 6 again rule was supposed to help Cook but I think people got it wrong. The theory was that he would take runs on the back of 6 again calls. But when 6 again is called teams reset their plans and it's usually a prop that takes the next run after 6 again is called. Where Cook Should be great is creating the 6 again call. Those quick 10 metre darts where he takes the hit and tries to get a quick play the ball should be getting us a bucket load of 6 again calls, but when he darts he isn't taking the hits. Instead of creating momentum and getting a possible 6 again call, he has been stifling momentum

It's not his or any other #9s job to be taking tackles though - this is where it's important for others to push support. #9s take enough hits defending in the middle. In attack, he needs to be at acting half to distribute to Reyno/walker/Marshall to take advantage of it, so these and other players such as Murray and Mitchell need to be aware when an opportunity presents itself and go with him. Latrell is playing well on kick return and providing service out wide, however he does need to up his effort in push support as a fullback. One part of his game that's still lacking.
 

Souths Till I Die

First Grade
Messages
5,931
I think a big part of Cook not making a lot of runs last week is that he likes to take advantage of quick PTB's from forwards like Cameron Murray and Tom Burgess. We just were not getting those kinds of opportunities. I think our forwards were that tired from the unexpected Melbourne onslaught. I expect to see more running from Cook in the future. I thought Seibold brought out the best from Cook and I think he just needs to back himself more like he did in early 2019.
 

Rabbits20

Immortal
Messages
41,612
I don’t understand some of the doom and gloom in here.

For a side that doesn’t usually play well in the wet I thought we were very solid. Things weren’t going our way either with the ref, a loud Manly crowd, terrible conditions and the boys dug deep and came up with some big plays.

I’m loving Latrell right now and Gags had a great game. Paulo is woeful Mansour has to come back in. Cody a mixed bag we need more from him.

Reyno controlled that game in the first half yesterday with a great performance.

Any word on Junior? He only played 20mins... I know he had an injury disrupted pre season but he doesn’t seem himself.

Tom I thought was good. Su’a improved on last week and Keaon shout out to him getting through 80mins in his first game starting on edge I thought he was very good.

Murray had a few errors but was a machine he just didn’t stop.

Stoked with Benji what a performance and the composure he brought.

Besides letting in that try I thought Nicholls was very good and outplayed Tom and Junior. That was also the best I’ve seen Mago play and he had to play some more mins and didn’t let us down.

Arrow was pretty good again I thought maybe a bit too across field at times but he gives it his all and he does the 1percenters, that tackle on DCE was brilliant.

Bring on the scum and a dry track BACK AT HOME NEXT WEEK EVERYONE WHO IS WITHIN 2-3 HOURS OF SYDNEY GET OUT THERE LLEEETTSSSS GGGOOOOOOOO!!!
 

Souths Till I Die

First Grade
Messages
5,931
I don’t understand some of the doom and gloom in here.

For a side that doesn’t usually play well in the wet I thought we were very solid. Things weren’t going our way either with the ref, a loud Manly crowd, terrible conditions and the boys dug deep and came up with some big plays.

I’m loving Latrell right now and Gags had a great game. Paulo is woeful Mansour has to come back in. Cody a mixed bag we need more from him.

Reyno controlled that game in the first half yesterday with a great performance.

Any word on Junior? He only played 20mins... I know he had an injury disrupted pre season but he doesn’t seem himself.

Tom I thought was good. Su’a improved on last week and Keaon shout out to him getting through 80mins in his first game starting on edge I thought he was very good.

Murray had a few errors but was a machine he just didn’t stop.

Stoked with Benji what a performance and the composure he brought.

Besides letting in that try I thought Nicholls was very good and outplayed Tom and Junior. That was also the best I’ve seen Mago play and he had to play some more mins and didn’t let us down.

Arrow was pretty good again I thought maybe a bit too across field at times but he gives it his all and he does the 1percenters, that tackle on DCE was brilliant.

Bring on the scum and a dry track BACK AT HOME NEXT WEEK EVERYONE WHO IS WITHIN 2-3 HOURS OF SYDNEY GET OUT THERE LLEEETTSSSS GGGOOOOOOOO!!!

I reckon we might see Mansour come back into the side next week but thats got to destroy Paulo's confidence. He really struggled in the wet but to be fair to him its also not your usual playing conditions.

How good was Benji? He was electric when he came onto the field. I think people have to remember though he has the advantage of playing against tired opposition.
 

Souths Till I Die

First Grade
Messages
5,931

Just as @Dingo_dan predicted there will be no bans from the so called 'brawl' yesterday. God what an overexaggeration of a push and shove.

There was no malice or any injured players it was just a bunch of frustrated players airing their frustrations. This isn't your chicken wing or cannonball tackle this is just boys being boys.
 

callmack1

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
11,611
After watching the replay, here's my full report,

Mitchell: Was obviously somewhat limited in attack due to the weather but even then, was still brilliant. An incredible touch early on in the lead up to Cody's try, his quick hands to AJ were just freakish! It was so quick, it was hard to see on the replay! Once agains, we saw a great attitude from him as he continued to be heavily involved as the match wore on, even doing the tough stuff and taking some really strong hit ups coming out of our own end. I think his sin-binning was BS, barely even touched Cherry-Evans so he shouldn't feel bad about that. Then came back on the field and scored a scrappy, yet freakish try. Was solid with the goal kicking once Reyno went off and set up our final try with a barnstorming run where he looked nearly unstoppable and then laid on some more quick hands to put AJ over a few plays later. Even in the wet, it was one hell of a performance from Trell.

Johnston: Wasn't bad, a pretty solid night. He looked quite strong on his kick returns and other hit ups as he managed to beat the first defender a few times. Was obviously on the end of some more beautiful backline shifts on our left and he did really well to set up Cody for our first try, held the pass brilliantly. Filled in well for Latrell in that ten minute period while he was off too. The only real negative of his game was the one error he made. That cost us in the end as the set after, Taupau scored.

Gagai: A huge performance from Gags. In those types of condiditons, you need the backs to forget about the flashy stuff and just get in there and help their forwards, that's exactly what Dane did. Hit ups all night long, seemed to never stop. They were all really strong runs too as not once do I remember him being driven back or dominated in a tackle. Was particularly impressive when he was forced to shift to the right wing as the hard work continued. He was save there too, defusing every kick that came his way. A reaaly strong game from Gags.

Graham: Little bit of a mixed game from Cammy if I am to be critical. Let me start by saying the defensive side of his game was outstanding last night. Nothing got past him, he chopped down everything that came his way through some great defensive decisions. It was a big improvement on last week. However, his running game left a bit to be desired for me. yes, he got through a lot of work which was good but I thought a lot of his runs seemed to lack that 'zip.' They seemed just a bit casual I reckon which lead to him getting smashed a few times. Took a really casual run in the second half, got rattled and spilled it which put us under pressure so we need better than that there. Also made that error off a pretty catchable kick off. Hopefully he works on these areas and comes out strong next week.

Paulo: Going to be harsh here but I'm not impressed. Only had a few hit ups which is not good enough when the forwards need more help in that weather. And then there was him under the high ball, don't even get me started there. Wanted no piece of any of the bombs that came his way as he positioned himself poorly and then let it bounce TWICE at different times throughout the game, the first situation ended with him knocking on as he scrambled to recover and the other could have ended very badly. To not even try to catch a bomb is inexcusable in the NRL. Looks like he won't play next week due to his head knocks but even if he was fit, I'd bring mansour back in.

Walker: A really good, measured game from Cody. The conditions obviously didn't suit him at all and I think he realised that so pulled it in a bit. Even then, we still had a decent night. Didn't put in a lot of kicks but the kicks he did have were all class. In addition, his defence was outstanding. Had a bit of a battle going there with DCE and Cosy was up in his face almost everytime which put Cherry-Evans off his game, it was great. Cody wasn't super involved in the attack but the touches he did have were impressive. Some great work to get the movement going for his try and then backed up with beautiful support play to collect AJ's pass and slide over. Then, had a hand in AJ's try later on. Perhaps he could have been a little more dominant after Reyno had to go off but I can't criticise him too much.

Reynolds: Speaking of which, despite being concussed in the opening minutes of the second half, Cody's halves partner was having a stormer of a game. Those conditions are made for Reyno and he showed us why. He had the ball on an absolute string for much of that first half as he put in some beautiful tactical kicks and terrorised Dylan Walker at the back with his towering bombs. What's more, there was that beautiful grubber mid-way through the second half that was meant for Cookie but he had the presence of mind to follow it through after the deflection and as a result, scored his first try of 2021. But wait, there's more!! That 40/20 he kicked just before halftime was incredible! Such a narrow channel to work in and he nailed it, there was nothing their fullback could do but just watch it bounce over the sideline, fantastic stuff from Reyno. A real shame he went off and failed his HIA as he would have been close to man of the match I reckon.
 

callmack1

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
11,611
Burgess: Tom put in a better performance than he did last week but compared with his lofty standards, I think last night still left a bit to be desired in terms of his individual performance. He had quite a few really strong runs which generated some quick play-the-balls but I also feel he had too many carries where he just dawdled up to the line. Tom is one of the premier fornt rowers in the game and we need more than that, get back to those runs from 2020 Tom! Maybe the conditions played their part there, I don't know.

Cook: Boy, didn't he respond to all the talk about him in the build up?!!! He was absolutely brilliant, the best game he's played in a while. That hesitation disappeared and we saw the running game return. When he saw a chance, he didn't second guess himself, didin't look to pass, he just pinned there ears back and went for it. That's when Cookie is at his best and that's what we need from him. Almost scored earlier in the game off a great run straight through the heart of Manly's forward pack but then eventually got the chocolates later as he again backed himself and went straight through from dummy half closer to the line, that was brilliant. In addition, his service was a lot better too and I thought he brought the forwards onto the ball well. A much better attacking game while still keeping that high devensive workrate up and his chase on Saab was a highlight of the match. That was amazing speed! He's my man of the match.

Tatola: Really not sure what to make of Junior at the moment as he seems really off. I know he's had a disrupted Pre-Season and that's two games in a row now where he's been poor. Again last night his opening stint was poor and we didn't see him return after that so maybe he has an injury. Man, I hope to see him back to his best soon!!

Koloamatangi: I tip my hat to Keaon. In his first start in his NRL career, he played eighty minutes and was great! Awesome impact on that edge. His runs were all at full pace and full aggression which we lacked at times throughout the game, Keaon brought it. If anything, I'd like to see him involved more but can't really fault him too much.

Su'A: While still not back at his best, it was a much improved game for Jaydn. He took on more work, made no errors and looked to be back somewhere close to his aggressive self in his runs. Still looks a little underdone but I'm sure he'll get better each game. Was a bit silly to rush into the push and shove with one second left on the clock but thankfully, it hasn't cost him.

Murray: Made two errors, one of which put us under pressure but apart from that, I thought he was immense. We criticised him last week for playing the link role too much and not running, well this week I think he struck up the perfect balance that we've come to know and love. There where times where he ball played of course, but he didn't over do it. His strong running game was back in a big way as we saw him make plenty of hit ups for plenty of meters. Even when he was forced to shift out to left centre, he was still very strong.

Marshall: Speaking of strong, didn't Benji have a great game?!! This is where his signing will prove to be a masterstroke, Reyno goes down and we have a ready-made superstar veteran to step right in with little to no disruption. That's exactly what we saw last night. Right from the moment he came on the field, he just took over and controlled things well. His kicking game, both short and long was impeccable and he lead the boys around well. It was Benji that broke the game open in the lead up too Cook's try with that half break and then flick pass which showed ridiculous skill in the wet weather like that.

Nicholls: An awesome game by Marky!! Due to being a few troops down, he played more minutes than usual but he really shone in that time. A really high workrate with no fuss, he just kept going and going all night. Made close to 150 meters in his time on the field which is impressive. However, it was a pretty poor read on Croker and Mark let him through for a try which was pretty soft.

Mago: His best game in the Red and Green. Like the rest of the bench, played more minutes than was originally planned but he took the opportunity with both arms. His fitness looked really good as his intensity never faultered. Went hard all night. The only thing I can fault him on was some lazy defence which caused the Saab break in the second half.

Arrow: Backed up a great game last week with another good one in Round 2. Provided some really good impact for us yet again off the bench with his strong runs. I thought he maybe did go a little bit sideways last night but otherwise couldn't fault his effort. Was also very busy in defence and made the effort in the little 1% areas like chasing the chip kick that was collected by Cherry-Evans late in the second half, no way was Jai letting him through.

So yea, it wasn't perfect and we still have a lot to work on, especially leading into next week against the Roosters. However, I was stoked with how the boys dug really deep and came out pretty convincing winners in a tough, gritty victory. We take the two points and move on.
 

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