Vs Roosters round 10

[Captain Apollo]

That first half, the Warriors didn't seem to have much effort. Kick chase was poor, and the little things they did so well last year just was not there.

I thought Mitch Barnett tried hard all game, but Johnson went to him for a crash play on tackle 5 way too often, especially in the first half. I was at the ground and could not believe he did a crash play for Barnett who'd wind up being caught with the ball every time. Barnett's running is good, and his effort is there, but SJ made the play too predictable.

Edward Kosi was given a bath by Dom Young in that first half especially. He seemed to have no idea defensively where to be.

Warriors attack looked much better when Egan came on. He gave them more guile and variation in attack, especially with SJ nursing a pectoral injury after the tackle involving Keary.

 

[Shaun Hewitt]

We were definitely second best, and some players didn't exactly do themselves proud.
HOWEVER, it had the potential to get extremely ugly after that first 15 minutes or so. Playing with a one armed Halfback for most of the game, against one of the form teams of the comp....take that first period out where they had close to 70% possession, and we actually did okay. I thought Crichton, Young and Walker were just too good for us.

ALOT to work on though. I hope we don't try the forward run on the 5th tackle, as alluded to previously,. I honestly thought they didn't realize it was the last tackle.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

We were definitely second best, and some players didn't exactly do themselves proud.
HOWEVER, it had the potential to get extremely ugly after that first 15 minutes or so. Playing with a one armed Halfback for most of the game, against one of the form teams of the comp....take that first period out where they had close to 70% possession, and we actually did okay. I thought Crichton, Young and Walker were just too good for us.

ALOT to work on though. I hope we don't try the forward run on the 5th tackle, as alluded to previously,. I honestly thought they didn't realize it was the last tackle.

It was a weird feeling because the second half almost felt like a moral victory and we won the last three quarters of the game 20-18. Makes no difference after the awful start but at least the team aren’t giving up and getting lapped.

 

[hitro]

Yeah the last 3 quarters we did have parity. 20-18 if you say so. You know who had a hand in every f-up in quarter 1? Lussick!! eg Uncrisp pass to Shaun so his kick is charged down. Missed tackles and slow service. All changed when Egan came on. Hopefully CHT can be deputy hooker starting next weekend, although they might use him as 6 if he's even available. We're not gonna beat anyone with Lussick

 

[vvvrulz]

Lussick, Pompey and Kosi coming in fresh with zero form was a death sentence, and the Chooks killed them.
Completely agree that we then turned it into a solid arm wrestle once experience came on.

I don't see us rolling Penrith though without Metcalf & SJ, and with Egan and Tohu constantly busted.
Our game plan depends on that nucleus + CNK carrying the rest.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

Was that Lussick's first game back? It was, right? Hasn't played FG since round 3. To throw him into the starting role, when (presumably) you're trying to win a game by starting strongly, I mean Webster would have surely had to have reservations about where Egan's body is at. To start a completely inferior player in such a key role, man...it seemed a dire decision.

I thought Pompey was OK. He is solid when others around him are going well. As for Kosi, what a nightmare. Surely Webster knows this guy's attitude just doesn't cut it. It's OK to be shit after a long stint out of FG, but it was horrible to watch him not try.

I also worry about the toll the last few weeks have taken on Barnett, Tohu, AFB, even Ford etc. These guys have been playing huge minutes, having to work even harder for what's been happening around them. That will have to take a toll at some stage. Barnett, I don't think has ever had to play this hard, with long stints in the middle, for long periods of time. Tohu is getting to that Mannering 'f**k I have to do everything and I'm tired' stage. And AFB, he's a warhorse but when he's going to Cronulla, surely at a point where the season looks shot, he looks to self preservation? You hope not, but it would be human.