MacDougall
New member
1\. Mitch Moses - Tried hard. No glaring errors but made few inroads other than the nice try he set up for Nofoaluma. He looks heaps like Moltzen out there and the huge cut out to Nofoaluma was so Moltzenesque (fortunately Noffa made a line break). Rowe back in as soon as he's fit imo. 6/10
2\. David Nofoaluma - Great performance. A try and a robbery. Austin back into six and the right side is opened up again. He also came in and got more involved. He's REALLY good. I really think he'd make a fist of fullback too. Unbelievably hard to tackle and a great finisher. I still don't think he's strung too many NRL games together uninjured either as he was injured most of last year and has been most of this year too. 8/10
3\. Keith Lulia - Moved to wing and as a result was solid but unspectacular. Finished a really easy try, took a nice bomb and didn't do much wrong. Docked a point for defensive misreads. 5/10
4\. Chris Lawrence - Best game in a while. I think his speed is coming back tbh, he started bumping people off again. His hands are a worry and his combination with Brooks is not working too well. Docked a point for defensive misreads. 6/10
5\. Pat Richards - Didn't do enough to warrant a mention before going off injured. N/A
6\. Blake Austin - Awesome game from him. Lots of great defensive efforts, a great line break and a few nice kicks. He's quality and Moses would want to have to do a lot to get ahead of Austin in the pecking order. 8/10
7\. Luke Brooks - Continues to show a lot but still hasn't really blown a game apart. He hasn't been a large contributor to a win for us since his debut. He still hasn't put in a game as good as his debut. A few nice kicks and passes but he does take the wrong option a lot. I guess he tries things that worked in juniors that gets closed up on in NRL and needs to find his NRL plays, because no doubt he has the skill. His defense is really bad though. 5/10
8\. Aaron Woods - Made a few errors. He seems to have become a bit … cocky? He's still huge and hard to put down and getting his arms free but I dunno about his personality of late. 7/10
9\. Robbie Farah - Nearly got away a few times on runs and was good defensively. Made a nice kick. 47 tackles with 1 miss tonight. He was Farah. 8/10
10\. Keith Galloway - Actually saw him hit the line with a bit of speed at one point. Dented the line and got through some work. 6/10
11\. Curtis Sironen - Started slowly but his involvement increased. Didn't do much with his carries. He's not at the level I'd have thought he'd be by now. Contributed to a lot of our defensive frailties too. 5/10
12\. Dene Halatau - Was quiet at centre, looks about on the level of Thompson though with runs and ability. He looked better as a dummy half last week. Was defensively poor at centre. 5/10
13\. Adam Blair - He is running a lot harder now and that's good. His involvement was okay. Average game from him. 6/10
14\. Martin Taupau - When he and the rest of the bash bench are involved in a game when the momentum favours us and the pill sticks we're gonna decimate somebody I fancy. Gavet's return sparked something in Taupau we hadn't seen since he was gone. They need each other. Was butterfingers but his carries unreal. 7/10
15\. James Gavet - Seems to be prone to a brain explosion this guy. Love the aggression. He looks like he hurts when he touches you. Ran real hard and tackled hard and influenced the rest of the forwards when he was on the field too. 7/10
16\. Ava Seumanufagai - Continues to be the quiet achiever in the pack this guy. Made a lot of carries and made close to ten metres every time. In the off season he needs to work on something to take him to the next level like an offload or some late footwork because he's got the makings of a cornerstone prop. I hope we keep him. 7/10
18\. Sauaso Sue - Like Taupau seemed inspired by Gavet's return. I know it was his return but in the games he played when Gavet wasn't there he was tired and cumbersome. He got through the tackle a lot tonight and looked dangerous. 7/10
Conclusion: The bench was awesome but the handling was a let down for them. Austin, Farah and Nofoaluma were outsanding in a well beaten side and Lawrence had a good game. We just really need to learn that holding the ball is more important than trying to get a fast play the ball or pushing the low percentage offload. The forwards do well enough without having to pull off the hail mary. We aren't going to lose matches in the forwards with this pack if they just do what they're good at and hold the ball. We still lack cohesion in the backline and the defensive combinations leave a lot to be desired.
I also saw a few occasions where there seemed to be a lack of urgency on the play. We do look like we've run our race already though. Injuries, Origin and a lot of bad luck has really cruelled our hopes this year and we did need luck for a run. I think it's over for the year, our points differential will see to that even if we do fight back and get some results. With all hands on deck next year and these young minds and bodies a year older we can only do better.
2\. David Nofoaluma - Great performance. A try and a robbery. Austin back into six and the right side is opened up again. He also came in and got more involved. He's REALLY good. I really think he'd make a fist of fullback too. Unbelievably hard to tackle and a great finisher. I still don't think he's strung too many NRL games together uninjured either as he was injured most of last year and has been most of this year too. 8/10
3\. Keith Lulia - Moved to wing and as a result was solid but unspectacular. Finished a really easy try, took a nice bomb and didn't do much wrong. Docked a point for defensive misreads. 5/10
4\. Chris Lawrence - Best game in a while. I think his speed is coming back tbh, he started bumping people off again. His hands are a worry and his combination with Brooks is not working too well. Docked a point for defensive misreads. 6/10
5\. Pat Richards - Didn't do enough to warrant a mention before going off injured. N/A
6\. Blake Austin - Awesome game from him. Lots of great defensive efforts, a great line break and a few nice kicks. He's quality and Moses would want to have to do a lot to get ahead of Austin in the pecking order. 8/10
7\. Luke Brooks - Continues to show a lot but still hasn't really blown a game apart. He hasn't been a large contributor to a win for us since his debut. He still hasn't put in a game as good as his debut. A few nice kicks and passes but he does take the wrong option a lot. I guess he tries things that worked in juniors that gets closed up on in NRL and needs to find his NRL plays, because no doubt he has the skill. His defense is really bad though. 5/10
8\. Aaron Woods - Made a few errors. He seems to have become a bit … cocky? He's still huge and hard to put down and getting his arms free but I dunno about his personality of late. 7/10
9\. Robbie Farah - Nearly got away a few times on runs and was good defensively. Made a nice kick. 47 tackles with 1 miss tonight. He was Farah. 8/10
10\. Keith Galloway - Actually saw him hit the line with a bit of speed at one point. Dented the line and got through some work. 6/10
11\. Curtis Sironen - Started slowly but his involvement increased. Didn't do much with his carries. He's not at the level I'd have thought he'd be by now. Contributed to a lot of our defensive frailties too. 5/10
12\. Dene Halatau - Was quiet at centre, looks about on the level of Thompson though with runs and ability. He looked better as a dummy half last week. Was defensively poor at centre. 5/10
13\. Adam Blair - He is running a lot harder now and that's good. His involvement was okay. Average game from him. 6/10
14\. Martin Taupau - When he and the rest of the bash bench are involved in a game when the momentum favours us and the pill sticks we're gonna decimate somebody I fancy. Gavet's return sparked something in Taupau we hadn't seen since he was gone. They need each other. Was butterfingers but his carries unreal. 7/10
15\. James Gavet - Seems to be prone to a brain explosion this guy. Love the aggression. He looks like he hurts when he touches you. Ran real hard and tackled hard and influenced the rest of the forwards when he was on the field too. 7/10
16\. Ava Seumanufagai - Continues to be the quiet achiever in the pack this guy. Made a lot of carries and made close to ten metres every time. In the off season he needs to work on something to take him to the next level like an offload or some late footwork because he's got the makings of a cornerstone prop. I hope we keep him. 7/10
18\. Sauaso Sue - Like Taupau seemed inspired by Gavet's return. I know it was his return but in the games he played when Gavet wasn't there he was tired and cumbersome. He got through the tackle a lot tonight and looked dangerous. 7/10
Conclusion: The bench was awesome but the handling was a let down for them. Austin, Farah and Nofoaluma were outsanding in a well beaten side and Lawrence had a good game. We just really need to learn that holding the ball is more important than trying to get a fast play the ball or pushing the low percentage offload. The forwards do well enough without having to pull off the hail mary. We aren't going to lose matches in the forwards with this pack if they just do what they're good at and hold the ball. We still lack cohesion in the backline and the defensive combinations leave a lot to be desired.
I also saw a few occasions where there seemed to be a lack of urgency on the play. We do look like we've run our race already though. Injuries, Origin and a lot of bad luck has really cruelled our hopes this year and we did need luck for a run. I think it's over for the year, our points differential will see to that even if we do fight back and get some results. With all hands on deck next year and these young minds and bodies a year older we can only do better.
