Once again we have proven to be our own worst enemies. For all the good work that we do, we continue to make stupid errors. Tonight's blunders mainly came at the defensive end where we let in soft tries. For example, Jarrod Croker's try was the result of a poor defensive read by Hymel Hunt but there were enough men there to surely wrap up Croker. Joseph Tapine's try came as a result of Robert Jennings sticking his leg at the ball; if he wasn't confident in getting there you let it bounce! What you don't do is kick the ball back to the opposition! Adam Reynolds made a poor attempt at a tackle for Nick Cotric's try and George Burgess simply needed to move across to cover up the gap that Luke Bateman ran through. Hence, pretty much every single one of those tries could have been avoided.
In saying that, we weren't without errors offensively. We continue to come up with loose carries at crucial stages, either when we are building pressure or trying to survive it! A case in point were those occasions where Adam Reynolds wasn't able to get his kick away and when he was obstructed by one of his team mates. Those sorts of mistakes kill all momentum and really give the opposition a lift. Speaking of momentum killers I think we have a real case to feel robbed by the referees. Adam Reynolds was hit by a clearly high tackle by Josh Hodgson which left him concussed which the referees some how missed. However, what baffled me was the fact the referees didn't stop the game despite it being a head injury! I can't understand why this was the case as I thought it was standard protocol for the referees to stop the game when those sorts of injuries occur. Subsequently, Canberra made a break because our defensive line was undermanned and Angus Crichton was forced to make a play which saw him sin binned. That sequence changed the entire game!!
It was a real shame because I thought we put together a lot of enterprising sets together in attack. I thought Adam Reynolds did much better with his last tackle options although he is still in this bad habit of grubbering instinctively while defenders are up in his face. Cody Walker was also far more involved and ran at the line on plenty of occasions - something that is imperative if we are going to create scoring opportunities. I also thought the Burgess twins did really well tonight with their carriers and perhaps produced their best games of the season. Finally, Angus Crichton was a real handful and continues to try his guts out. This was never more evident than through his scrambling attempt to save a try which saw him sin binned.
Overall things are just not working out for us. There is only so much that a coach can do and I'm not so sure whether bringing anyone else in will remedy our issues. What I will say is that I don't think Madge is using the best players at his disposal. I'm thinking that John Sutton may need to be dropped with us looking at other back row alternatives. I don't see any reason why Cameron Murray shouldn't be in the starting side as he looks a real live wire when he comes on the field. I hate to say it but Sutton is becoming a liability for us even when he is moved to the back row. I'm also baffled as to why David Tyrell continues to get selected over a promising young front rower in Zane Musgrove? Even bringing in someone like Jack Gosiewski could offer us more impact that some on the players we are currently fielding are.