Yewww, what a game and what a big win for us! We said coming into the game that this would be a real test against a decent opposition and well, I guess we've passed that test! A big win in the context of our Season. Was a really tough game but we hung on for a really gutsy victory and winning gutsy is a good feeling. Wasn't perfect by any means as we were scratchy in patches and disappointed we let them back in a bit but I'm proud of the boys efforts tonight. A crucial two points in the bag.
I'm not sure how to feel about our attack tonight because in some areas it was great, but others looked average sometimes. First and foremost I think the forwards did well. We had no trouble making meters and marching up field which saw us play most of the match in pretty good field position. The second thing was the errors. We were pretty clinical in that first half, completed well and cut the errors right out. This contributed massively to the good field position. We also scored some great tries out on that right flank, man that was good to watch!! However, I just can't help but feel we still weren't good enough. Things just seemed a bit mistimed and a bit clunky at various stages throughout the game. I was also really disappointed in how we let them back into it towards the end through poor dicipline. That wasn't good enough.
Can't really complain about defence as it was great for about 65 minutes. Throughout that period, we really attacked with our defence, limiting their meters and mostly holding them to within their half, it was great to watch that. The times that they did attack our line, we managed to turn them away. However, second half wasn't as good. It started off well but I'm really disappointed in how the boys let them back into it through poor defence and poor dicipline.
Mitchell: I thought Latrell was pretty good tonight. Heavily involved, great kick returns, his run meters were up, outstanding defence and he chimed into the backline well, especially for our second try oh my god whatta pass!! Wasn't pleased with the two high shots from him though and that could see him in some trouble.
Gagai: Outstanding again tonight! Great finishes for his first career hatrick and he worked hard coming out of our own end. Had some quality runs and plenty of them. Safe defensively too in a great game from Gags.
Roberts: The Jet is back baby!! What a try he scored! Beauty pass from Reyno but then his speed, strength and poise to beat two defenders to the line, it was incredible! Apart from that though, I think he had a pretty quiet night so still needs to lift.
Graham: Went off with the HIA so the start to the game was disrupted for him. However, once he came back on he was great! Very strong runs coming out of our end with a high work rate, he just didn't stop all night. Safe as defensively and he was a threat close to the line. Another good game from Cammy.
Johnston: I thought AJ was a bit quiet too. Had a few good runs but other than that, didn't have much of an impact on the game.
Walker: Was good. Looked very dangerous with the ball in hand and he constantly kept the Tigers guessing. I loved how he was floating around on both sides of the field and that paid dividends with his beautiful try assist for Gagai's first. Seemed to run the ball a fair bit tonight too and he even came inches away from scoring himself.
Reynolds: Shakey start to the game as it seemed like he was trying too hard and trying to be all flashy. However, about twenty minutes in he really came into his own and ended up being one of our best tonight. All of a sudden he decided to run the ball and it looked great, opened up so many opportunities for us. His passing game was excellent too and he had a hand in just about all of our tries. The pass to Jimmy for his try was probably my highlight of the game. General play kicking and defence was gold too. The only area he was prehaps a bit average in was his goal kicking. Easily his best game since mid last year.
Tatola: Great game from Junior. Seemed to play less minutes but had just as big an impact. Good, hard running making a large amount with no errors.
Cook: That's what we've been waiting for! Cookie was great tonight. His service from dummy half was perfect and he got the boys rolling forward nicely. What a great running game from him too as he picked his times to run and he just pinned the ears back and didn't hesitate like he has been. In addition, he was his usual busy self on defence. Seriously, a great game from Cookie and I'm really proud of him. Just need to get him tp do that every week now.
Burgess: Very solid once again as he maintained his standards from every other game this year. Made no errors and got us rolling through the middle with strong, barnstorming runs.
Su'a: A good game from Jaydn yet again. Once again, he was really aggressive on that edge and chewed up the meters with strong runs. His defence was awesome too as he put in a few good shots. Ony negatives were the couple of errors he made.
Lowe: Have to be honest here, he offered nothing in attack tonight really, a few decent runs and that's about it. However, his defence was outstanding. He was everywhere and tackled everything!
Murray: Another fantastic, typical Cam Murray performance..... enough said.
Nicholls: Once again just being honest but he didn't offer a lot tonight, hardly notced his impact.
Sironen: Increased minutes tonight and he used them well. really strong runs everytime and he had a few really quick play-the-balls too. A nice game from him.
Mago: Not the best night for Pati. He didn't play many minutes and came up with a few errors.
Sele: Brilliant!! Honestly, I love this guy! What a game from him. Almost every run he'd carry defenders with him. An outstanding talent.
So yea, not perfect once again and there's still a hell of a lot to work on but it was a good, gutsy win. The two points are ours so I'm happy.
