I hate getting beat by Manly, but I thought there were plenty of positives to take out of the game.
I`ve always been a fan of Ben Murdoch-Masila so was very excited to see him show what he can do last night. Moors showed he`s well and truly up to first grade and I was also happy with the physical approach from Matt Groat, particularly in defence. Aaron Woods was good in patches as was Adam Blair, we probably need a bit more from these two, particularly Blair as he needs to show real leadership for the full 80mins and I think Woods is good enough to press for SOO selection this season, but he needs to be at his very best every week from now to SOO selection time if that is to be a realistic chance.
Similarly we need a bit more from Chris Lawrence, he was mainly very strong in defence except for the miss on Cherry-Evans, but he`s not really getting into the game in attack as yet this season. It was good to see Ayshford come alive in the second half and Moltzen looked much better late in the game once he decided to take on the line. I`d be telling Moltzen to be a ball hog, take on the line at speed as often as possible.
Like most I`d like to see an injection of speed in the backline, Koroboite and Grant two that come to mind.
I like the way Tom Humble runs the ball, but I have to agree with a few others who have mentioned he didn`t position himself too well at times.
Reddy looked a good addition when he come on, like some others I`m not sure if he`s explosive enough to play fullback, but I can tell you that he`s a bit faster than he looks.
All in all, it was always going to be a tough game, a short back up from playing in extreme heat, quite a few went into the game with injuries and lastly I also agree with those who mention playing Pat Politoni on the bench to give Farah a rest. I`d rather get 40-50 top quality minutes out of Robbie, rather than see him struggle through the game and play 80mins.