Great effort. Extremely proud of the boys for the heart they showed under the circumstances and the relative ease with which they scored tries in the scarce moments we had possession of the ball.
I find it amazing how negative most people are about what should be a celebrated victory.
Yes, the Dragons attack isn't very good, but we made them look ordinary, and if anyone saw last week's game against the Storm, the picture wasn't that different from today. It was only at the end that the Storm put them away and only via long range interceptions.
Maybe not all is well, but this win has to be one of the more satisfying and motivating you could get, but yeah... I'm sure most people will keep finding excuses for the opposition when we beat them.
This team is clearly still gelling together, especially with the introduction of Prince in the halves and Norman at fullback. Our attack is already at a whole different level from last season, and will get better, as will our right side defense hopefully.
Gillett and especially Hodges did make a difference and cut short various dangerous incursions down that side.
As opposed to last week, I don't have much to complain about individually, even about Maranta, who did some good defensive work. Reed was very good in defense as well, but FMD... How slow is he?
Hoffman was awesome, and I really think centre is his spot. Hopefully Hodges hammy will give him the opportunity to play there, although Justin appeared hopeful of playing next week during his interview at the end of the game.
I'm really not worried about the kick chase. While I found last week's chase on Taufua disgraceful, I can totally understand how today was much more a case of really tired legs after all that defense. Besides, as someone said, kick chase is something that can be fixed easily.
The forwards didn't get much of a chance to lay a platform, but they certainly rolled forward when they were allowed by a pair of nazi referees (especially in the first half, with very harsh penalties), and that was a joy to watch, especially Hannant and Thaiday making metres and bending the line.
All in all, a performance to build upon and one that gives me confidence for the game against the chooks in Sydney!
POTS for me:
3- Gillett (involved in everything, tackling at will and well, and still plenty of energy to attack the line at the end of the game. Deserved a try!)
2- Hoffman (that moment in the end goal was defining, as were his runs. He will make a hell of a centre soon!)
1- Norman (feel a little bit vindicated about Norman at fullback. He truly brings an extra ball-playing option in attack, and was where he needed to be in defense. Too bad about that dropped bomb in an otherwise excellent game. Hopefully he learns to return the ball a bit better...)
