Well that's the way to end the weekend. Half way through this game, I was thinking that this match reminded me of the sharks game we played in 2023 in the wet. Claimed victory from the jaws of defeat with a dubious, but ultimately correctly awarded, penalty. That's certainly a game that we would have lost in 2024, which makes me believe that 2025 is looking more like 2023, rather than 2024.
A few comments:
1. Middles: For the most part, we dominated the middle. We fell away a little bit between minutes 50-70, but on the whole, the tigers were struggling to get into our red zone (we had 38 tackles in their 20, they only had 10). So we ultimately deserved to win that game. According to nrl.com, we outran the tigers by almost 600 meters (1985 - 1387m).
2. JFH and Bench Use: Great captain's knock. JFH certainly doesn't provide the same amount of meters that AFB offers, but the intangibles are clearly priceless. He has got our forwards working as a unified whole: we aren't the one man band anymore. JFH, Barney, Ford, Leka, all 100+ meters. A 4 forward bench works well for us given our forward oriented gameplay. Though, I think we need to ensure that one of JFH and Barney is on the field at all times. That last try through the middle the tigers scored is on Bunty/Leka when the middle defense got a bit loose. I doubt it would have happened if JFH/Barney were on the field.
2. Kosi: Poor bloke has copped it from all of us this week which we are all guilty of. 207m and really safe pair of hands under the high ball. Really happy for the bloke. He was clearly the right choice for these conditions.
3. CNK: 238m. Despite all this talk about shifting him to centre/wing, this game highlighted the importance of his work rate and defensive work. He's a big body that is our best choice for handling the physical demands of the FB role. Even RTS I don't think would have pumped up numbers like this. Must admit, his diving for penalties does my head in sometimes as a rugby league purist. But it did win us the game.
4. Leka+Ali: Leka is a beast in a 1-1 situation on the edge. Almost scored a similar try against the Dogs last year, so glad he pulled it off this time round. Ali was a big quiet tonight: he probably needs to go looking for the ball in games like this where we aren't actively going down his edge on attack. That's what RTS does really well that he should try to emulate.
A few comments:
1. Middles: For the most part, we dominated the middle. We fell away a little bit between minutes 50-70, but on the whole, the tigers were struggling to get into our red zone (we had 38 tackles in their 20, they only had 10). So we ultimately deserved to win that game. According to nrl.com, we outran the tigers by almost 600 meters (1985 - 1387m).
2. JFH and Bench Use: Great captain's knock. JFH certainly doesn't provide the same amount of meters that AFB offers, but the intangibles are clearly priceless. He has got our forwards working as a unified whole: we aren't the one man band anymore. JFH, Barney, Ford, Leka, all 100+ meters. A 4 forward bench works well for us given our forward oriented gameplay. Though, I think we need to ensure that one of JFH and Barney is on the field at all times. That last try through the middle the tigers scored is on Bunty/Leka when the middle defense got a bit loose. I doubt it would have happened if JFH/Barney were on the field.
2. Kosi: Poor bloke has copped it from all of us this week which we are all guilty of. 207m and really safe pair of hands under the high ball. Really happy for the bloke. He was clearly the right choice for these conditions.
3. CNK: 238m. Despite all this talk about shifting him to centre/wing, this game highlighted the importance of his work rate and defensive work. He's a big body that is our best choice for handling the physical demands of the FB role. Even RTS I don't think would have pumped up numbers like this. Must admit, his diving for penalties does my head in sometimes as a rugby league purist. But it did win us the game.
4. Leka+Ali: Leka is a beast in a 1-1 situation on the edge. Almost scored a similar try against the Dogs last year, so glad he pulled it off this time round. Ali was a big quiet tonight: he probably needs to go looking for the ball in games like this where we aren't actively going down his edge on attack. That's what RTS does really well that he should try to emulate.
♥
