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Saw a slightly different game to the one above...
22. KEVIN LOCKE 9.5/10
Warriors Man of the Match IMO. There werent many plays both defensively and offensively that he wasnt in the frame somewhere. Absolutely stoked to see him playing at 100% fitness. Still has all the tenacity and hunger of a starving bear. He was everywhere chasing everything. Did see him miss one crucial tackle that led directly to a try though
2. BILL TUPOU 1/10
Not a fan even during the best of times but his performance was absolutely woeful. It was truly terrible! He butchered every oppurtunity afforded to him both on defence and attack. Dropped at least 3 passes. One being a sitter for a try. Another was a fumbled bomb. Missed a stack of tackles with at least 2 leading directly to tries. The whole right edge defence was AWOL for most of the game which cant all be blamed on Tupou but certainly a large part can be attributed to him. Note to opposition teams, right edge is try alley.
3. DANE NIELSEN 9/10
Very close candidate for the Warriors MoM award. His ability to rush out of the line and stop play dead was as refreshing as it was impressive to witness. Thanks largely to his defensive efforts, the left edge was a fortress and every attack was stifled bar one try that I remember being scored down that side. Certainly made Manu's job alot easier by allowing him to only have to focus on his opposite number. Class player who will very quickly become a fan favourite.
4. KONRAD HURRELL 4/10
Still has the attacking capabilities that have endeared him to most fans but his defence still sucks! He has improved a little bit but against a world class centre he will no doubt be humiliated (Panthers #3 I think was Naiqama did have an awesome game though). As mentioned earlier, the whole right edge had more holes than a secondhand dart board and needs to be fixed pronto or we fans are in for another long season...
25. MANU VATUVEI 7/10
Manu is looking really sharp and seems to have regained some speed that was sorely missing last season. Had some great touches and his first try was stunning. His defence was alot better with a classy centre in Dane next to him. Looks like he may have recaptured his form of old (the good form that is) and I expect a good season from him.
6. THOMAS LEULUAI 8/10
They dont call him 'shoulders' for nothing! He has a great tackling technique and was pretty solid for most of the game. All fears that his ESL experiance wouldnt cut it in the NRL were soon allayed as he got about his work with both skill and heart. Spent the whole game finger pointing and being very vocal. Natural leader. TBH he didnt offer too much in attack but was a great distributor of the ball. I question if 6 is his best position and whether he wouldnt be better off serving the team in the hooker jersey. One thing that cant be questioned is his ability and he is a great addition to the team.
7. SHAUN JOHNSON 6/10
His chip, regather, then chip out wide to Manu to score the opening try was simply breathtaking! Had it have been during a regular NRL game it would already be bookmarked for try of the year. Still has the magic that we all know he is capable of producing. Was made to work alot in his new role and he is a little way off fully owning it but he was good enough on the day. Has put on bulk and was a little more effective when he took the ball to the line and in tackles. Defence is still hit and miss but has improved somewhat. His goal kicking however is just not up to scratch unfortunately. Think he converted 1/4. 3 were from the sideline and were really close on 2 occasions but at the end of the day he missed and we will lose afew games this season if he cant get his accuracy up to the 75% benchmark thats required. Hope we have a plan B on hand if he doesnt work out in this regard.
15. JACOB LILLYMAN 8/10
As always Lillyman was his dependable self and hitup the ball with his usual error free ferocity. Still offers little in the way of 2nd phase play but he does his main job and basics as good as anyone in the competition. He will only get better as Origin season approaches.
14. ELIJAH TAYLOR 6/10
Average score for an average game. Despite my best wishes as a Taylor fanboi, he didnt really fire at hooker. Dont get me wrong, he wasnt bad and had some good scoots from dummy but he was lacking a little flair. His passing wasnt too bad but did miss the mark on afew occasions. Still a defensive beast but needs to work on his stopping power. Has improved his success rate though. Should get another chance at rake but I wont be holding my breath for any major improvements in attack. Hope he proves me wrong! At least get the basics right.
10. BEN MATULINO 9/10
Monster! Hasnt missed a beat and has picked up right were he left off last year. Bent the line everytime. His hitups were, as usual, all powerful and full of his cruel disregard for his own personal wellbeing. Was an absolute handful for the opposition middle and was even able to stand and offload a couple times with 3 defenders hanging off him. Probably the last thing I will ever have to say about a performance of his cause I think we all know what he will bring to the 2013 table. Ben's the man!
16. BEN HENRY ?/10
Cant remember much about him TBH? Didnt even notice he came on.
12. SIMON MANNERING 7/10
As always, tackled anything that moved. Did miss at least one tackle and was part of the right hand defence. Suppose you cant do it all. Should have played centre on defence. Would have stopped the bleeding of points alot better.
13. FELETI MATEO 5.5/10
Was surprisingly ineffective for most of the game. He looked to be trying to play as a 3rd half but the end result was he actually cut the playing area of our real halves in, well, half! Especially for Johnson. Needs to just run it straight, hit the line, then look to offload. During the trial I felt he was drifting sideways too often. A couple of his offloads were wild and went to ground. Its almost as if he was trying too much. Hope Elliot can better define his role because right now its all over the place. Still has the goods though and showed afew moments of brilliance but was below par for a player of his calibre.
1. DOMINIQUE PEYROUX 2/10
Was told by a Titans fan that DP was a solid defender. Based on the trial just gone, nothing could be further from the truth. The limited time he did have was full of glaring errors that had all spectators letting out audible groans. He had a shocker and only further contributed to the nightmare that was our right edge. Dont think he had a single good moment. He slipped off Naiqama I think it was like he was covered head to toe in a mixture of butter and grease. Panthers scored. Hoping he gets a run against the Broncos in Dunedin so I have another performance to base an opinion on. Heres hoping it was just an off day for him.
8. JOHN PALAVI ?/10
Didnt even notice him TBH. Probably not a bad thing as he wouldnt have made an error.
17. PITA GODINET 7/10
Had some nice touches on attack. Great ball skills and showed a some great attacking ability. Really nippy little runner. Defence is still an issue though.
18. ALEHANA MARA 6/10
Have to disagree with everything that the original reviewer thought of Mara. For me it was the opposite. He looked great at hooker and had the ball skills Taylor was missing. Looked alot more natural and composed. Troubled the line a couple times during his brief stint. Still has defensive issues but he has come a long way in that regard. Looks to have bulked up abit which had a positive effect in his overall game. Certainly put his hand up and will be pushing for spot come round 1. Needs to back it up in Dunedin.
21. NGANI LAUMAPE 8/10
Laumape's substitution of Tupou on the right wing couldnt have come any sooner. His efforts had an immediate influence and helped lift the defensive and attacking potency up on the right edge markedly. His eagerness and fire were a welcome relief and he showed alot of class for a first grade rookie. Scored a try as a result. At this stage I would have him starting at #2 for the trial in Dunners. Needs to be given a good half of play to test him out. If he can shine against a class outfit like the Broncos then he'll select himself come round 1.
9. CARLOS TUIMAVAVE 7/10
Has a great passing game and was able to put Manu into a gap who passed it back inside to setup a try for Locke. I think he still has some defensive issues. Missed at least one tackle due to a lame upper body jersey grab. Just needs to put more effort in to executing his tackles and he'll be right up there as a possible top 17 prospect. Still early days for Tuimavave but he already shows glimpses of brilliance.
20. SAM LOUSI 7/10
Another player I have to disagree on. Thought he was solid during his stint and had some great hitups. Still learning to use that montrous frame of his but he's definately improved his footwork from last season. Needs to up his workrate and the speed of his hitup. Looking good all up.
23. SEBASTINE IKAHIHIFO 8/10
This 'kid' is a beast and IMO will be a force to be reckoned with in the near future. Has shades of menace and mongrel to him that I love. Solid runner, solid defender. Bent the line and players when he was involved. Nothing but praise for his game. Would also like to see him up his workrate. Definately put his case forward in the best possible way.
26. GLEN FISIIAHI 7/10
Thought he went great for the little time he spent on the field. I could be wrong but Im sure he had that fire back thats been missing since his debut. Still got the pace we all know and love and used it to great effect. Hopefully he's found some confidence and heart in the preseason cause may well be needed on the wing or fullback.
11. SIO SIUA TAUKEIAHO 7/10
This guy sure knows how to hit the line. Reminded me of Pricey with his hard straight runs with the little step before impact. We certainly arent short on willing forwards.
5. CHARLIE GUBB 7.5/10
Was the surprise package for me. He's actually a really good player and can hitup and tackle like a seasoned pro. Love his hitups and can watch them all day. Didnt get much game time but he would have to be one of the leading candidates for the open prop spot IMO. Looking forward to seeing him go next week as well.
OVERVIEW 6/10
We looked a little disjointed for most of the game. Definately need to work on the teams overall cohesion.
Defence is looking like its still an issue for the team. We dont seem to be coming off our line at times and hopefully Elliot will work on this. In all fairness though if we get the righthand to play their part then we will have hit a great deal of our defensive troubles on the head. Konrad and Tupou can never be allowed to partner up again, ever!
Forwards are catching the ball far too flat footed. Need to run on to it. At times they were also too bunched and we probably relied on the one out shotguns too often. Its early days. The props are looking really good all up though. Would like to see more effort in terms of our support play and for some of the young guys to lift their workrate. Also want to see abit more control in the offload. At times during the trial players were just offloading for the sake of offloading. Had more of a detrimental effect then anything.
The support play is also lacking. Most of our offloads were either going to ground or being caught by a player who was standing still. Most cost us metres.
Hooker role still has a question mark over it. Mara for mine but I think Tayor should be given another shot at the job. Mara will still need a sub anyway so theres still hope for Taylor yet.
Based off his last performance I would drop Tupou. He will probably get to have another chance to redeem himself next week and he's going to need to turn it on big time. Like I said, I dont rate the guy and never have but I certainly wouldnt wish him to fail either so hopefully he can find his normally safe (but average and flairless) game again.
***Thanks to Hitman, Rich and I think its Twizzle for all your help with getting me signed up
