Well that was really disappointing and I'm feeling pretty gutted currently if I'm honest. I must say, I didn't expect us to win and always had a thought in the back of my mind but I din't think it'd be a 20 point loss with us playing that poorly at times, I really didn't. Yes, we have a shit load of injuries but that is not an excuse at all for some of the crap we dished up in the first 30 and the last 15-20, it was a disaster. We did come back for about 20-30 minutes and play some really great footy but the rest of the game was realy disappointing.
A very mixed attacking performance tonight. The start was probably the worst you could have and imo, that's what cost us tonight in the end. Just a real lack of energy and we were getting completely out-enthused. So many friggin errors which killed us too, it was awful. However, when the boys finally did decide to hold the ball, I must say we looked pretty good. Began to get a real roll on through the middle to dominate them and were able to build some good pressure on the Broncos. This lead to some very slick tries down both sides that looked like training runs. The attack and sweeping backline moves still looked clunky at times due to the mass personell changes but at the same time, some of the plays they pulled off were jus beautiful. However, shoddy defence let them back in and from there, there was no real attack to write home about.
Defence was quite disappointing overall tonight. Some of the defence on the right edge was shocking in fact and Kennar and Fui looked all at sea sometimes. I think this all starts through the middle though, we were missing so many soft tackles there and they were just rolling with ease. we weren't able to slow the play-the-ball either. Also, for Oates' first two tries, it kind of reminded me of Round 1 because there was just no slide at all and the defence looked at sea. Imo, some of this also started in the middle because the middle forwards weren't pushing across hard enough wihich meant there couldn't be a sufficiant amount of slide in defence and they outnumbered us. It's not only this though, there was some really poor missed tackles everywhere all night especially in Fifita's try. However, it wasn't all bad all game. That period where we were on top was good as we lookied solid and were able to control the ruck.
Gagai: I thought he was pretty good tonight considering he's hardly played there. Some really nice, dangerous runs and he posed a big threat close to the line all night with his footwork. Some of his ball playing was exceptional too as seen in his lovely catch-pass for both of Kennar's tries. The only gripe I had was his positional play as he was almost nowhere to be seen in Oates first two tries.
Kennar: Not good enough. To be brutally honest, that was just not good enough from Richie. He may have scored two beautiful tries but all he had to do was run and put the ball down. Anyway, a few soft, crucial errors with the ball and he just didn't look like he wanted to be involved in the work coming out of our own end which was really disappointing. Then there was his defence, he just couldn't contain Oates and became somewhat of an easy target for the Broncos. We have regulars coming back next week but if he does play, Kennar needs to lift big time.
Burns: Was really good actually, one of our best. Powerful runs all the time and Brisbane found this hard to handle which resulted in a few half chances. Had a very high work rate and just looked so dangerous all the time. What's more, he was pretty safe in defence.
Fuimaono: Wasn't great either. A few errors, lack of involvement and shocking defence out wide. We all know how good of a ball runner he can be but we hardly saw any of that tonight. The defence was certainly the most concerning part though.
Hunt: Was okay. I said the same last week but he needs to pull his socks up a bit and get more involved. The runs he did have were great but he just didn't do enough for mine.
Walker: Wasn't bad. Was trying hard all night to create something down that left edge and he questioned the line everytime. Cody especially took charge in the moments we were on top with jinking runs and crisp passes. This created opportunites and he had a and in our nice tries down that left edge. It's a shame he dropped that ball over the line as that would've been a huge game changer. Another game changer was his defensive effort in the lead up to Fifita's try that changed the game wher Nikorma sliched through, it was a poor effort.
Reynolds: Was kind of like Walker tbh in that he was rocks and diamonds. Didn't do much early on with ur poor start but when we warmed up, he really took control and t was good to see. A great kicking game throughout this period both short and long which was able to gain momentum and we began to dominate them. was good to see the torpedo's back out tonight. However, he kind of went missing again when the Broncos gained the upper hand and he didn't stand up when we needed him most. I will also say that like Fui and Kennar, he had a very poor defensive Thursday night. reyno looked pretty banged up by the end of the game and I just really hope he's okay.
T.Burgess: Wasn't bad. Some strong, hard running but he just didn't seem to do as much work tonight and was a little underwhelming based on his past performances this year that is probably because our forwards were being dominated for a large chunk of the game. I was a bit pissed at his laziness in the lead up to that try which turned the game in Brisbane's favour as he was just being a bit lazy and drifting out which opened a big hole for Nikorima.
Cook: Wasn't bad either. Just the way the game went though meant that he had a lot of limited opportunities and the broncos markers were onto it to not get caught out. I can't fault his crisp passing and pass selection, he jus had minimal opportunities tonight.
G.Burgess: Was good actually. Was kind of getting dominated due to all our early errors but he really fired up and came back. He ran with venom and managed to put some defenders on their asses on many of his runs. Wasn't his best but he seemed to have limited minutes tonight and he did a good job.
Sutton: Wasn't bad. I'm still loving those hard lines he runs off Cody and his late footwork, that was all on show from Sutto today and he almost went over a couple of times. I still feel that he needs to lift though as his workrate isn't where it should be. He went off early too, man, I'm just praying it's nothing serious!
Crichton: Tried his guts out but was pretty well contained by Brisbane. Still, he ran with purpose and got through a lot of work. His defence was a bit of a let down though as it was very soft at times.
S.Burgess: I think Sam is certainly playing injured which is a real concern as he was pretty quiet today and actually came off for a period of time there. He just didn't seem to get through as much work as we've come to expect from Sam, the work he did do was great but he just seemed quiet which is unusual for him.
Hiroti: Was so good to see him actually get on and make his debut. Proud of my hometown lad and he actually did alright in the short time he was on.
Murray: Was good, a text book Cam game. Great, strong running and he was never willing to give in every run, he fought for litterally every meter and it was great to see. Awesome defence too and was able to force a few errors.
Clark: One of Clarky's best games that year, he was great. His ball distribution from offoads kept Brisbane on the back foot for that whole period we were dominating and I lost count of how many possesions he had all game, it was a lot though. A strong running game too.
Tatola: Not an awful lot to say but he wasn't bad at all and had some nice, hard runs.
Probably the most concerning thing from that was the middle defence. The edges were bad but we will have regulars coming back soon to fix that however, the forwards were full strength an they got dominated through there for a lot of the game. Th errors an possesion did have something to do with it no doubt but it is a worry.
I'm still so, so worried about injuries though as it looks like we may have picked up a few more to key players like Reyno and Sutto, let's hope it's nothing too bad. I just feeli like injuries are runing our season and it's giving me the shits because our Minor Premiership chances have taken a hit tonight and I reackon if we were close to full strength, we would've been fine.
I guess the good thing is we now have nine days to the Canberra game. We can now learn from this hurt and disappointment and use it. The boys can also use it to sort out niggles and re-focus too. It'll be good to have some regular backs return.
