After watching the replay, here's my full report,
Walker: Had an exceptional night. I suggested Cody go to fullback early in the week too and I know many were against it but I highly doubt anyone will be against it next week! Look at how bloody well he played last night!! He was fantastic!! A seamless transition really. Slotted in so well at the back and combined like a regular fullback with Benji and Cookie etc. I loved how he was heavily involved and was pushing up through the middle as all good fullbacks should. The perfect example was him pushing up inside Keaon to take the final pass and finish a beautiful try. He also chimed into the backline really well, playing the 5/8 role on a few raids but was mainly the link man out the back and he looked so dangerous. Put on some quick hands for the final pass for Gagai's try and he created other chances at various times throughout the game. Safe under the high ball which kind of surprised me. That slips catch late in the second half at 30 all was crazy, no idea how he caught that!! The only area of his game that he was perhaps lacking was his defence as he made a few poor attempts as the last line of defence and we conceded a few tries as a result. can't knock him too much though as defence at the back is something a players needs to be used to. Otherwise, an exceptional night for Cody, very happy for him to continue at fullback while Latrell is out.
Johnston: Another great game by AJ. All the hit ups he had were pretty strong, kick returns included and he didn't make any errors under the high ball at all. Brilliant in attack as he took cut out passes as various times and used his speed to burn the inside defender, that looked super dangerous. Scored a freakish try as him and Benji communicated telepathically and he took that freakish ball from Marshall, bet a couple of defenders and crashed over. It then all paid off to when he took a brilliant pass from Benji late in the second stanza, raced down the sideline and went back inside with a pass to put Benji over. A good game from AJ.
Gagai: Speaking of good games, the ever consistent Dane Gagai was on again last night. It honestly amazed me just how much work he got through. Quality hit up after quality hit up, quality run after quality run. That was the story for the full 80 minutes as Gags was heavily involved and did a lot of work, he didn't stop. Ended up with 119 meters which is great. Was rewarded for his efforts with a try, that was a nice finish. On another note, he was a bit mixed on defenc has he came up with some great stops and didn't miss and crucial tackles but he did have five missed tackles all the same. Still a great night from him.
Graham: Having perhaps an even greater night though was Campbell Graham. Man, he was just enormous!! 13 runs for 125 meters, a line break, a try assist, 20 tackles with 3 missed is a pretty good night. Campbell was just in everything for us. His running game was immense as he had so many runs and they were all so strong. A brilliant effort to take the ball off a right hand shift, weave through the defence, find some space and with just the fullback to beat, had the vision to put in an amazing little grubber for Paulo to open our scoring account for the night. That was incredible stuff from Campbell. However, it was the defensive side of the game I think we were all most impressed with Campbell. A lot of traffic was sent his way and dispite missing a couple tackles on Fifita, he shut down a lot of that play down the right edge. Seemed to be on his own at times in defence but he handled it well and looked really strong. A fantastic game Cammy, up there with our best of the night.
Paulo: Jaxson had a really mixed game and I don't really know how to feel about it. I thought he was awesome with the ball, making a lot of really strong carries to pick up all important meters and took a Campbell Graham grubber brilliantly for his first try of the year. However, the defensive side of his game was seriously lacking. For most of the game, he was all at sea. Arm grabbing, would rush in when he needed to hold back and then held back when he needed to rush in. It was just a really poor defensive showing. Most disappointing was his effort on Thompson just before half time. If we chops him low, then it's an easy tackle and the play dies but no, he arm grabs up high which meant Thompson could fend him off and get the pass away with ease. I know I'm not out there and it's tough to just from the couch but that defensive performance from Jaxson last night was just not up to first grade standard. has the potential to be a star but this is a huge area he must work on.
Marshall: Well, where do I begin, seriously where do I begin? Were we watching 36 year old carve it up or a young fulla carve up? Benji certainly hasn't lost it that's for sure!! With Latrell out, he stepped into Cody's role and did not miss a beat at all, In fact, he was simply brilliant. I was simply in awe of some of the things he did last night. Benji magic on show all night. Probed early on and that continued all game. He was involved in everything good we did in attack. A beautiful pass to put Keaon in space for Cody's try, then amazing quick hands to again put Keaon through and then doesn't give up on the play, he backs up on the inside and goes over untouched. The real magic was his play for AJ's try though. taking a Cameron Murray offload, to race down field and just throw that miracle flick pass round the back on the inside for AJ was just amazing, one of the best plays I've seen this year. There was no way he knew where AJ actually was but he just knew AJ would be there if that makes sense, a freakish play. Capped his night off with another try of his own, taking a pass from AJ but it was Benji that created it with the long ball earlier in the play. Amazing stuff from Benjamin Button, our best last night!! What a player, what a legend!!
Reynolds: He's copping a bit on other forums but I actually throught Reyno had a pretty good night. His general play kicking and goal kicking was top notch with the only negative being that stupid short drop out he did, that was dumb as it changed the game and they scored the next three tries after that. Anyway, he was awesome on attack and executed his role to perfection. Reyno isn't getting enough praise for the role he played last night. yes, Benji and Cody were better and put on all the flashy plays but look who started most of our attacking movements. Look who it is digging into the line and providing the passes for Benji and Cody to do their thing. I will admit, apart from a few tackles, Reyno was poor defensively though. Especially the effort for Fifita's second try where he was beaten twice.
