Strange game this one. Never felt like we were going to lose it. But always kept them within reach due to poor fundamental errors or simple missed tackles. From the first few minutes, it seemed clear that we had the better side.
A few standouts for me...
-I thought Sonny Edwards-Moeke was excellent and the most dangerous player on the field.
-Godinet played his best game this year. Looked strong, elusive and had some nice passes/offloads
-Roberts had the offload out and about early (looks like he will fit nicely with the "express yourself" motto Benji is building within).
-Oitmann picked up a hatrick and is lightning quick. Him and Max Taotua got caught out defensively a few times...but need to build that combo. Max was disappointing with quite a few basic errors today...but he will learn from it. Still a big fan and showed glimpses of what he can do.
-I thought Talisau was quite strong at lock and had good support from all the other middles in rolling downfield.
Thought the same
@Tigers_Wests
I had Edwards-Moeke & Oitmann as my best. Edwards-Moeke is so elusive with the ball and yesterday played in his best position imo as a run first 5/8. Oitmann was massive pardon the pun, his speed, backing-up and finishing skills were crucial in the win.
Godinet & Roberts were prominent with their ball skills & strength on the edges and thought Luani Tuifua provided a point-of-difference this week with his power running and ability to generate post contact metres on the 1st or 2nd hit up.
Have also been impressed with left centre Xavier Tauiafaiga the past 2 weeks particularly in defence.
A few interesting development pieces for Sultana and dev coaches ...
-Oitmann has speed, acceleration, skill & toughness for a little guy in spades. But he is so small. Is fullback the only position he could develop into with his frame?
-Something clicked with Godinet mid-game. I went from thinking this guy is not living up to his talent yet this season to one of the best & most powerful on field, even led the tackle count. Is this the turning point?
-Roberts, gave me big Ryan Matterson vibes (football style not personality that is). Such a massive frame but most times doesn't use it to crash his opposition. A lot of angle runs, using his step and passing or offloading game, not a crash'n bash type. Still can generate PCM through his strength but not through leg speed at the line. I don't think we'll get a true indication of his potential until he's against men.
-Max Taotua, been somewhat disappointed with him this season. Seems down in confidence to me. Still led the run metres for the team but came up with some basic skill errors & lacks intensity in defence, a few times dropped off tackles or lacked some effort in D. I thought he was going to be one to really push on this season but he's gone down a peg imo to this point.