Blackhawks just had too much class. It was all Jets for 20 minutes, but they couldn't crack Townsville's defence and they allowed their frustration to get the better of them.
Once the Blackhawks found their rhythm they were able to put two quick tries on and rarely looked in trouble from that point.
There was a brief moment in the second half where it appeared the Jets were mounting a comeback. Ash and Barba combined for a wonderful play where Ash dropped off the tackle and in a split second Barba was able to strip the ball. Moseley out of dummy half with only one marker would spell danger at any level.
Then Barba missed a gettable kick and it seemed downhill from there. Pandia had a questionable call go against him right as the Jets were in good field position. Then Barba took a kick dead when it had just passed the plane. Then the nail in the coffin was when Burns made a break, looked to link up with Marmin only to throw a bad pass behind him. Townsville were able to get the ball exactly where Burns would have been defending a couple of plays later and it was effectively game over.
The Purcell error which resulted in Hudson's double was when it well and truly became game.
I was impressed with the Blackhawks across the park. Started slow, but once Lousi came onto the field they started to find a roll on through the middle and it was his pass to Gilbert that changed the complexion of the game. Hudson the Hasting Deerings Man of the Match which was pretty difficult to argue with. Defensively he shut a lot of decent attacking raids down and the double in the opening game of the season is hard to ignore.
Was pretty impressed with Neale and Shea for the Jets. I thought both played a big role in the Jets early ascendency and were let-down by their outside men. If I had to pick, I'd give Shea the biccies, he just kept pumping through out the game.
Townsville look like the real deal and will be there come September. For the Jets, I don't think it was the end of the world. For mine, they were a bit guilty at times of treating the game like a training drill and lost focus on what they wanted to do in each set. When things stopped working for them, they started forcing plays and it hurt them. I can see them finding their groove and getting better use out of Cleeland. Josh didn't have the best game, but there were still some good touches in his performance and once he finds his voice in the side, I believe he'll make his mark.
There was only one NRL contracted player involved in the game, and in his debut, Tom Gilbert was sensational. A tough bullocking performance in the middle, ran a good line off of Lousi to open the scoring and didn't shirk any responsibility. If he can maintain this level of performance, it won't be long before he makes his way into the Cowboys 17.