I was at the game. It’s funny what you see there and what you miss when watching on TV. From my perspective, I didn’t really notice Seyfarth’s errors but was impressed with the following:
* Skelton was like Royce Hunt in his returns. Hit the line with no self preservation, often was down in his haunches after the play the ball.
* Turuva was outstanding in his hit ups, poked his nose through nearly every time and got a fast play the ball.
* Twally was immense. His clean up work and one-on-ones saved us a number of times. Big loss with the injury.
* Jock looked like he was still carrying an injury. His kicking game did lack some depth at times and he needs to run more often.
* Bula was great! Couple of massive defensive efforts and looked super with the ball in hand. He was directing the defensive line as well.
* A few times they switched sides with To’a at scrums. Not sure why? Maybe to protect him in contact but he made a couple of crucial tackles late in the game. Makasini looked good while he was on.
* Roycey definitely lifted the energy when he came on. Be great if we could get 30 minutes out of him.
* Terrel was so much more effective when he hits the line at speed rather than trying to offload. Defended the middle with Twal as well.
* Api was good but maybe just short of his best. Maybe needed the run.
While we defended our line well at the end, I thought the Dogs lacked any organisation or shape to really threaten us. This was evident throughout the game. Their really only attacking threat was Tuponoua.
Basically a tough, ugly win which we desperately needed. The Panthers will be a whole next level and we need to be on our game. Twal is a huge loss.
