After watching the replay, here's my full report,
Not going to go into anymore of the bullshit reffing as it's been fully covered by other posters, this is purely player performance reviews.
Mitchell: A poor game from Trell over all. very poor in fact. Started really well, looked dominant in fact and his try was brilliant as he was in the perfect position at the perfect time to take the pass and score. He also looked pretty dangerous out the back of shape. However, the next 50 minutes were almost the worst he's played all year. Apart from a few good runs and kick returns, he barely got involved. He got lazy. Poor positioning for Cleary's kicks too and while he didn't actually drop any, his positioning and communication with Sauce didn't help. I love Latrell, he's one of my favs but that was simply not good enough last night. We need more from our star Fullback in a big game like that.
Johnston: Not a bad return. Didn't get many opportunities because of the lopsided possession but he still had a decent game. Was pretty safe under kicks and his postioning was really good, covered basically everything that came his way. Some good runs and kick returns and he made plenty of meters off the back of our good shifts when he found a bit of space. Defensively, he was pretty good too as he constantly came in to shut plays down. I know there was those two tries off kicks scored down there but they were pretty unlucky, AJ did his job on both.
Gagai: Solid without being spectacular. Had a really good start to the game along with the rest of the side as he looked really imposing and fired up early. His try was awesome, a great show of strength to wrestle and get that ball down. The rest of the game though was a grind for him, barely got a genuine opportunity and his impact was mainly limited to tough runs out of our end. Credit where credit is due though, Gags was brilliant in this area. Got through plenty of the shit work and made some good carries. Is never afraid to get down and dirty and he just keeps trying. 173 meters when you're constantly coming out of your own end is a huge effort!! Happy with his defence too.
Graham: Kind of similar to Gags actually in that he started really strongly but then barely got an opportunity because of the way the game was reffed. Loved his tough carries all game, quality runs. I know we conceded one try down that right edge (all be it from an obstruction that was not picked up) and Campbell maybe didn't need to come in there but apart from that, I thought he was superb defensively. Penrith threw a lot at us down that side but he chopped down everything that came his way. A lot of centres haven't been able to do that against Burton.
Mansour: A very mixed night. Sadly for Sauce, I think the bad outweighed the good. His running game was great, really strong carries, 15 for 132 meters, and he was potentially robbed of a try when he was called off (unfairly in my opinion) in that second half. Up until about the 50th minute, he was very safe and confident under the high ball too but then the panthers seemed to get in his head and it all came undone for him. The two he let bounce we inexcuseable, that shouldn't happen in first grade, you've gotta at least try. The second one he left especially annoyed me. He also dropped another one which is not good enough. All three of those moments cost us dearly. I don't think we'll be seeing him in first grade next week.
Walker: A pretty poor showing overall. Great play to open the game, that pass for Gagai's try was sublime for yet another try assist this year but after that he was extremely quiet. I completely agree with the arguement that because of the way the game was reffed, our forwards weren't getting much go forward so Cody couldn't do much, I completely agree with that so we can't be too harsh on him. However, Cody was clearly frustrated and let it get to him. Thus, grubby stuff like the high tackle and the facial came out. That's not good enough from a senior player. Also, as a senior playmaker and the star that he is, it's partially up to him to try and spark something to turn the tide but he was unable to do that. Been out best player this year and I'm sure he'll be better next time.
Reynolds: Basically a copy and paste from my comments about Walker. I'd say the same for Reyno. I will say though, he was controlling things beautifully until Grant Atkins decided to do his stuff. That 40/20 was just amazing!! Perhaps the best I've ever seen, millimeter perfect! Then backed it up with that great face ball to Keaon to help create out second try. Sadly, that's kind of where Reyno's highlights ended.
Nicholls: Went okay. Had a great start to the match as did the rest of the forwards but barely made an impact for the next 50 minutes. Only 8 runs for 48 meters which is pretty disappointing.
Cook: I thought Cookie was good, one of our best actually. From the opening whistle, you could see him testing Penrith. he was testing the markers and keeping them on their toes. Had a great run where he went through and made a line break, that was brilliant work from him! Didn't really get an opportunity for the rest of the match but his service from dummy half was decent and he was just a machine in defence, made 58 tackles which is a massive, massive effort!
Tatola: The ref didn't help but he struggled to make an impact in this one so I don't have too much to say. he wasn't bad, just not his normal impact. He gave his all and made 93 meters which isn't great but it's still better than some of the other guys I guess.
Koloamatangi: Well down on his usual form. Only 7 runs for 65 meters which is just crazy bad for Keaon. Made an error too. He was good in defence though, made a really good try saver on Leota in that second half.
Arrow: Jai wasn't bad. Went about his work with little fuss but still struggled to really make a dent. Was probably one of the better forwards with 89 meters though.
Murray: Our best player last night for sure! In a game where our pack wasn't allowed to be in the game and make meters, he tried his absolute hardest. Some of his runs early on were so sharp, great meters. Defence was the strongest part of the game though. 55 tackles made for him which is momumental in one game, cleaned up so much for us. Could have had the play of the game with that strip on Crichton in the second half but the Bunker decided they couldn't give Souths a chance to win and he was robbed. Massive effort from Cam though.
Marshall: No impact what so ever when he came on sadly, we didn't get his role right. I'm not really sure what his role is in the team going forward in the big games.
Host: Nothing to say here really either, 3 runs for 36 meters is shocking!
Burgess: Terrible, just a terrible game from Tom. he topped the meters in the forwards, yes, but he wasn't very good. His dropped ball in that first half when we were on the attack changed everything. While I don't blame him for the result, I do wonder what would have happened if he holds that ball.
Sele: Also struggled to make an impact with the ball but was awesome on defence, came up with some good shots and driving tackles. It's a shame he made a bad read on Kroisau right at the end and let him through but I put that down to fatigue.
Now, those comments about our forwards kind of need to be taken with a grain of salt. They all struggled but I don't think that's because we were poor or because Penrith were so superior. It is because of the way the game was reffed. The pack was on fire to start, way on top, but then Atkins decided to get the whistle out and we were never in it from there. Of course you're not going to go forward when you're only allowed eight minutes of possession in the second half. Any pack in the NRL would get swamped if their opposition were being given leg ups like Penrith last night.
I'm actually pretty proud of the boys for that one. Frustrated and disappointed with the result but proud of their efforts. If anything, this fires me up even more. I want to play Penrith again tomorrow!! We'll see what happens then.
