In a very basic match up here's how I see it.
They have us easily covered in the forwards. There is no question or doubt about it. They have close to if not the best back (bar hooker) in the comp. They also have arguably the best/form prop in the comp in Shillington.
We have them covered in the backs, with the match ups shaping up as:
Vidot vs McManus
Croker vs MacDougall
Mogg vs Sau
Monaghan vs Uate.
If Uate/MacDougall don't score at least 2 tries between them this weekend I'll be shocked. Monaghan's "rush in wildly - arms flailing" tactic is embarrassing for a professional footballer and we *should* be able to exploit it with out two best 3/4's if we play smart.
Croker has improved 10fold in defence from what he was last year but in attack Mad Dog should still be able to cause him some headaches. Then you have our safest winger against Vidot, who under the high ball makes Cross's handling look great.
The biggest concern will be the left side defence. Their go to side is the right, with Harrison, Mogg (usually Joel Thompson) and Vidot. And with Sau's struggles in defence this should be a big focus in training for us this week. Up the middle Campese will test us with lots of short passes to lead runners, with his favourite, Joe Picker, back in the side.
The "spines" are fairly even, and hugely unpredictable due to the number of highly inconsistent players in both sides. Kids and Dugan will both be hugely influential to their respective sides winning. In recent games Campese has looked like he's lost once he gets to the opposition 20. McCrone looked a lot better last week than he had in previous games and is a solid but not great player. Our halves... well you know the drill, I don't need to discuss them and their number of issues any more than has already been discussed on here. The hooker battle is so far in our favour even if we had Hilder starting.
So in the battle of the halves, flip a coin and you're just as likely to predict which pair will come out firing.
Game plan this week should be just drop everyone back to our 20 metre line and wait for the error. Oh and watch the left side.
The boys have a great shot in this game if they come down here with the right attitude and commitment, whether they will or not, given this seasons form, past results in Canberra etc is anyone's guess. Let's hope we make it the first win in the Capital since we put 70 on them.
