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After watching the replay, here's my full report,
Taaffe: First time in his short career I've said this, but he was bog average. Certainly the worst game he's played so far. His kick returns were largely ineffective as he got monstered more often than not and he didn't break a single tackle. I also can't remember once that he chimed into the backline effectively and that's not good enough for a fullback in this day and age. Had two crucial errors throughout the game, one was a dropped ball when we were right on the attack and a chance to score, the other he was stripped coming out of our end. Taaffey was safe under the high ball, I'll give him that, and his defence was pretty good, he saved our arses a couple of times taking the ball dead. But over all, a poor game from him. He's young, it's going to happen from time to time.
Johnston: AJ was decent, pretty solid. He had some good runs with solid kick returns and plenty of hit ups. No errors under the high ball and no other errors at all in general which is good. Looked dangerous a few times attacking the line. Great work to set up Cody's try as he showed some great footwork and strength to slice through and get that close to the line, and then somehow get a ball back to Cody. Obviously a great finish for his try, some good speed shown there. Defensively, I thought he was pretty solid, we obviously had a couple of tries scored down that left edge but they weren't his fault as he had to follow his inside men. Not bad AJ, one of our better backs.
Milne: Not happy with his game at all and I'm at the point where I think I've had enough of him in the centers. His hit ups are strong, and they were again last night, but that's literally all he really offers. He was ineffective attacking the line again in this game as he didn't pose a threat at all. Died with the ball many times which killed the play. Also made a really poor error when we were in a position to set up for a field goal to win. Don't even get me started on his defence, once again all at sea. He constantly rushes in and doesn't get his man, constantly takes the wrong option. Twice it cost us tries down the left. He seriously needs to work on that. Then of course there was his sin-binning and most likely suspension. Very disappointed in him and I'm kind oof hoping he is suspended so that we can then bring Tass in.
Graham: Someone you simply cannot be disappointed in is Campbell Graham. Once again one of our best. An absolute workhorse rucking it out of our own end as he again constantly put his hand up for tough carries in this game. They were all quality hit ups too with plenty of meters on offer. He never stopped trying. Made that awesome break just before half time as he bet multiple defenders with ease and I thought that was going to lead to a try. That was great work from Stretch. He then did it again in similar fashion at the start of the second half as he stepped off the right and cut through to lead to a line break. This time, it did lead to a try. He ran for a massive 176 meters. Did make two poor errors though, one of which gifted them a try so they're the only real negatives of his night. Otherwise, his defence was good and it wasn't his fault we conceded the tries we did down the right. In fact, I shudder to think how many tries the Tigers would have scored if he wasn't there.
Mansour: Just bog average yet again. I want him out of the team. While he hasn't been horrible, he doesn't offer much and we saw that again last night. A few good carries, 121 meters and two nice offloads which lead to line breaks. beautiful effort and put down for his try too! But that's where the good stuff for him ends. Otherwise he was poor. Still heaps of sideways runs, bombed a potential try in the second half when he found himself in a bit of space attacking their line but was too slow to take advantage. Dropped an easy catch close to our line which put us under pressure too. Then his defence was just terrible, he cannot read the play and constantly takes the wrong option. He doesn't have the speed to recover from this either. Maumalo's try in particular infuriated me. Yes, the inside defence wasn't great but Sauce got caught in no-mans-land and didn't move UNTIL THE BALL HAD GONE PAST HIM!! So poor and sadly his best days are gone. It's harsh but I want him out of the team.
Walker: The story of our Season so far, again Cody was basically a passenger in this game. Had a few really nice plays like his try because he created the space for AJ to do what he did, then never gave up on the play which resulted in a try. Then obviously a few minutes later, we got a glimpse of the 2021 Cody again as he threw that lovely cut-out pass to send AJ in. That was beautiful. But apart from that, he did nothing really. The odd nice touch but over all struggled to create space for anyone. Dropped that loose ball in the first half that would have almost certainly lead to a try if he'd retained it and I think that's just a lack of concentration. To top it all off, he just went missing in the crucial moments, especially setting up for a field goal at the end. It was diabolical stuff. He's a senior player, the chief playmaker, a star on his day and yet, he would rather be a passenger. In those moments he should have been directing the boys around and getting us into position but there was none of that, no composure, no set up, no options. He decided to go wide which killed any chance of winning because we couldn't set up correctly. We all saw what happened. It's just so concerning about Cody. That is our second biggest problem right now, his form. he looks disinterested. Poor body language and facial expressions, a shadow of his 2021 self. I feel really bad for bagging Cody because I love him to bits but he deserves it so far this year because he's just not up to it. We, and he, needs to find a way to fix it and get him going again and we need to do it fast. Our Season depends on it.
Ilias: Like Taaffe, this is the first time in his short career where we can say he didn't have a good game. It wasn't really bad but I don't think he played well over all. A few really nice moments still, that grubber for Mansour's try was as good as it gets and then a wonderful pass to put Keaon over later which locked the game up. Also had that long run in the first half after the Campbell Graham break but he sadly got run down at the death. However, aside from those moments, he did struggle to make an impact. His general kicking game was one-dimensional and he was the one who threw that misguided pass to gift them Brooks' try. I don't want to bag him too much because he's young, there's going to be games like this, and we all know how good he can be. It's a learning experience.
Taaffe: First time in his short career I've said this, but he was bog average. Certainly the worst game he's played so far. His kick returns were largely ineffective as he got monstered more often than not and he didn't break a single tackle. I also can't remember once that he chimed into the backline effectively and that's not good enough for a fullback in this day and age. Had two crucial errors throughout the game, one was a dropped ball when we were right on the attack and a chance to score, the other he was stripped coming out of our end. Taaffey was safe under the high ball, I'll give him that, and his defence was pretty good, he saved our arses a couple of times taking the ball dead. But over all, a poor game from him. He's young, it's going to happen from time to time.
Johnston: AJ was decent, pretty solid. He had some good runs with solid kick returns and plenty of hit ups. No errors under the high ball and no other errors at all in general which is good. Looked dangerous a few times attacking the line. Great work to set up Cody's try as he showed some great footwork and strength to slice through and get that close to the line, and then somehow get a ball back to Cody. Obviously a great finish for his try, some good speed shown there. Defensively, I thought he was pretty solid, we obviously had a couple of tries scored down that left edge but they weren't his fault as he had to follow his inside men. Not bad AJ, one of our better backs.
Milne: Not happy with his game at all and I'm at the point where I think I've had enough of him in the centers. His hit ups are strong, and they were again last night, but that's literally all he really offers. He was ineffective attacking the line again in this game as he didn't pose a threat at all. Died with the ball many times which killed the play. Also made a really poor error when we were in a position to set up for a field goal to win. Don't even get me started on his defence, once again all at sea. He constantly rushes in and doesn't get his man, constantly takes the wrong option. Twice it cost us tries down the left. He seriously needs to work on that. Then of course there was his sin-binning and most likely suspension. Very disappointed in him and I'm kind oof hoping he is suspended so that we can then bring Tass in.
Graham: Someone you simply cannot be disappointed in is Campbell Graham. Once again one of our best. An absolute workhorse rucking it out of our own end as he again constantly put his hand up for tough carries in this game. They were all quality hit ups too with plenty of meters on offer. He never stopped trying. Made that awesome break just before half time as he bet multiple defenders with ease and I thought that was going to lead to a try. That was great work from Stretch. He then did it again in similar fashion at the start of the second half as he stepped off the right and cut through to lead to a line break. This time, it did lead to a try. He ran for a massive 176 meters. Did make two poor errors though, one of which gifted them a try so they're the only real negatives of his night. Otherwise, his defence was good and it wasn't his fault we conceded the tries we did down the right. In fact, I shudder to think how many tries the Tigers would have scored if he wasn't there.
Mansour: Just bog average yet again. I want him out of the team. While he hasn't been horrible, he doesn't offer much and we saw that again last night. A few good carries, 121 meters and two nice offloads which lead to line breaks. beautiful effort and put down for his try too! But that's where the good stuff for him ends. Otherwise he was poor. Still heaps of sideways runs, bombed a potential try in the second half when he found himself in a bit of space attacking their line but was too slow to take advantage. Dropped an easy catch close to our line which put us under pressure too. Then his defence was just terrible, he cannot read the play and constantly takes the wrong option. He doesn't have the speed to recover from this either. Maumalo's try in particular infuriated me. Yes, the inside defence wasn't great but Sauce got caught in no-mans-land and didn't move UNTIL THE BALL HAD GONE PAST HIM!! So poor and sadly his best days are gone. It's harsh but I want him out of the team.
Walker: The story of our Season so far, again Cody was basically a passenger in this game. Had a few really nice plays like his try because he created the space for AJ to do what he did, then never gave up on the play which resulted in a try. Then obviously a few minutes later, we got a glimpse of the 2021 Cody again as he threw that lovely cut-out pass to send AJ in. That was beautiful. But apart from that, he did nothing really. The odd nice touch but over all struggled to create space for anyone. Dropped that loose ball in the first half that would have almost certainly lead to a try if he'd retained it and I think that's just a lack of concentration. To top it all off, he just went missing in the crucial moments, especially setting up for a field goal at the end. It was diabolical stuff. He's a senior player, the chief playmaker, a star on his day and yet, he would rather be a passenger. In those moments he should have been directing the boys around and getting us into position but there was none of that, no composure, no set up, no options. He decided to go wide which killed any chance of winning because we couldn't set up correctly. We all saw what happened. It's just so concerning about Cody. That is our second biggest problem right now, his form. he looks disinterested. Poor body language and facial expressions, a shadow of his 2021 self. I feel really bad for bagging Cody because I love him to bits but he deserves it so far this year because he's just not up to it. We, and he, needs to find a way to fix it and get him going again and we need to do it fast. Our Season depends on it.
Ilias: Like Taaffe, this is the first time in his short career where we can say he didn't have a good game. It wasn't really bad but I don't think he played well over all. A few really nice moments still, that grubber for Mansour's try was as good as it gets and then a wonderful pass to put Keaon over later which locked the game up. Also had that long run in the first half after the Campbell Graham break but he sadly got run down at the death. However, aside from those moments, he did struggle to make an impact. His general kicking game was one-dimensional and he was the one who threw that misguided pass to gift them Brooks' try. I don't want to bag him too much because he's young, there's going to be games like this, and we all know how good he can be. It's a learning experience.
