Sigh....Just got back from my mates place where I went to watch the game and gee, that was so disappointing. Like, I just feel really deflated right now. A really good start from the boys and we were way on top, playing great footy and we looking in store for a great afternoon but then around the 25 minute mark, it all just fell off a cliff. I'm at a loss for words to explain what happened tbh but it was just shit house from then on which was really disappointing. Errors, cheap penalties and no applied pressure in attack, it was pretty bad.
In attack tonight, as I said we looked great early on. The forwards were rolling through that middle with hard running and we were generating a shit load of fast play-the-balls which were putting Canberra on the back foot. As a result, we shot out to that 12-0 lead and were looking really good. Throughout this period though, we struggled to take a few opportunities that had they come off, it could have been a different outcome. One was when Sam got a nice offload to Reyno early on and had he taken it, he would've gone in untouched. The other was an offload for AJ that went to ground. After this great period, we completely stalled and looked sapped of energy for the rest of the match, there was just a real lack of punch through the middle and as a result, we slowly lost that middle battle. Canberra were then able to get on top and dominate us for much of the game. It certainly didn't help that we kept making some really poor errors to let them back in as well as not finishing our sets to a high standard, that really hurt us. Despite this, there were a few times where we were able to put it together and look pretty dangerous but it just wasn't enough and in all honesty, I think the boys almost gave up.
Defence follows the trend of our attack, great early on but really fell away. On the goal line in that first half we were simply outstanding, they had so many sets on our line and way more tackles in our 20 but we turned them away time and time again which was really great to see. There was a number of times where they looked certain to score but our guys were able to get there, roll them over and hold them up through sheer determination, this was outstanding. However, the second half was a complete contrast to the first. We began to miss tackles, fall off tackles and the 3rd man in wasn't effective, more and more cheap penalties to let them back down our end were given away and probably the one that hurt us the most, we just couldn't seem to wrap up the ball. The Raiders played so much second phase footy there because of this that we didn't have time to recover and reset the defence. In the end, it was quite a shit defensive performace as we let in two pretty soft tries down that right edge. It's now a big concern.
Johnston: Not an awful lot to say but he wasn't bad. Hamstring didn't seem to slow him down which is good and he was chiming into the attack quite nicely. I can't remember who it was from but it's a shame we couldn't handle that low offload close to the line as he would've gone over for sure. I thought he got caught out of position a little for Cotric's try but other than that he was okay. Saved a couple of tries by rolling guys onto their back through share desperation which was really nice too. I just want to see him get a bit more involved, especially pushing up through the middle where there was a few opportunities to be had.
Graham: A little quiet if I'm honest. He had some really nice runs coming out of yardage and he made some good defensive choices in that first half to shut them down but he didn't get involved enough tonight for me. We needed him a lot more to provide some of those tough runs and for the first time this season, I feel that he didn't go looking for the ball.
Inglis: Our only player tonight that was really good. That was an outstanding performance from GI tonight, all class. It was great to see the big fella back and he certainly made up for lost time. Such damaging hit ups and he was able to beat a defender on almost every run with some late footwork. He was highly involved and even when we were doing shit, he put his hand up and tried his best to inspire the rest of the boys. Was great to see him bag a try and he just looked really dangerous all round. With Gi in this kind of form, others around him really need to lift to get us out of the hole that we're in at the moment.
Gagai: Like Graham, was pretty quiet in attack tonight. Did have some nice runs, especially that one on the first half that was a 30-40 meter run. However, he didn't make much else of an impact in this one as he just wasn't involved enough. Defensively he was poor too and I noticed he was sliding off his man a fair bit which is concerning, that's how Soliola's try was scored because Gags just slid straight off him to open the hole.
Hunt: Was also quiet. In fact, I'd say he hardly made in impact. That might seem very harsh but I just don't think he did enough work throughout the 80 minutes as he didn't come in enough t take hit ups. Tbh, I'm starting to question his desire as he's dropping off.
Walker: Looked very good early on with those silky runs and draw and pass of his. He scored that beautiful try with some fantastic work to split the defence, it was really great to watch. However, I think he kind of went missing for a lot of that game and hardly made an impact. This may be due to the forwards being dominated but he needs to step up and take charge in these situations.
Reynolds: A bit average tonight tbh. His kicking game was very off both short and long. As a result of his poor kicking, we just couldn't build any pressure because we couldn't finish our set properly. Reyno has been in such good form this year but he really fell away with his kicking game tonight and we paied the price I think. If we could've just built a bit more pressure with some nicely executed kicks, the result may have been different. I was also disappointed with the way he was getting caught with the ball on the 4th tackle. This left us really unorganised and Cody had to rush into position, thus a poor kick and end to the set. reyno needs to be more aware of this. Defensively, we wasn't great tonight either, he really needs to lift.
T.Burgess: Like a lot of our forwards, was really well contained tonight by the Raiders. While he had some good strong runs, especially off the kick offs, he just wasn't able to make as much of an impact.
Cook: His game really suffered as a result of our forwards getting dominated. His defence was was great as always but his running game was very quiet for sure to the point where he didn't have much of an impact on our attack. Like I say, Cookie is smart and won't run just for the sake of running but it's just a shame the forwards got so dominated tomight because his game suffered as a result.
G.Burgess: Pretty similar to Tom in the fact that he was well contained. I feel like he didn't do enough work though and wasn't as involved. I must say though, I loved seeing him in the clear when Cody regathered that ball and put him away, it's a shame nothing came of it.
Sutton: I'm gonna start sounding like a broken record because guess what? Sutto was quiet too. Had a few good runs with that late footwork of his and in the first half in paticular, he was looking very strong indeed and breaking lots of tackles. However, once the game fell away, it seemed Sutto did too. We need him to get back to that early season form.
Crichton: One of our best forwards tonight imo. He was probably the busiest of all the pack and put in an okay shift. A lot of nice runs and he was able to generate some second phase footy through offloads. Defensively, he was okay and I think most of our defensive problems down the right occur outside him between Gags and Reyno. I will say though, I was really annoyed with that last run he had where he got dragged back into the in goal, that was quite dumb as he cut back in.
S.Burgess: Was also pretty quiet by his lofty standards. Still had an okay gamewith some nice runs but his impact was again limited by the Raiders forwards. While Sam wasn't bad, we really need him to lift, he's a key player for us and hasn't been putting in his usual standard the last few weeks.
Fuimaono: Hardly got any game time so there's not much to say there.
Murray: Was good and it was a typical good performance from Cam that we have become used to. Just a workhorse of a game from him. He put his hand up and took tough runs when no one else would and these were all good runs mind you. then there was his defence which was, as always outstanding. Probably one of our best forwards.
Clark: Not much to say really as he didn't provide much of an impact. I think he only had a couple of runs.
Tatola: Also didn't make much of an impact tbh as he didn't get much game time.
I think Trav is spot on about our bench not making much of an impact, apart from Murray, they barely did anything today. Like he said, I think it could be time to move Cam into the starting side and george to the bench. Not that George has been bad but I agree that he has the ability to change the momentum of a game when he comes on but in a different scenario, he is able to maintain momentum.
All in all, I am really worried. Really worried. It's no doubt we are in a big hole at the moment and we really need to rectify it quickly or that hole is going to swallow our season. I really thought with the returning stars, we'd make a statement but there was nothing and we have only slid further. That is really, really concerning and I think we are in a lot of trouble atm.
In saying that, i have faith that we can pull ourselves out of it. This is a side that is capable of winning the comp, we all know that but we just have to move on now and find some momentum to head into the finals with.
