Here we go:
1. Walsh - Rocks and diamonds but thankfully not as bad as last week. He clearly has issues but the commitment in defense was clear tonight. There were signs some things might be starting to click but other signs he needs a break to freshen up mentally. He unfortunately kept getting in the way in attack but that 40/20 was amazing - 3
2. Cobbo - Struggled early and looked to perhaps pick up an injury because he didn’t look to be moving that freely but then went to fullback on kick returns and was Inglis-like. I hope Maguire persists with this in game change from time to time because Cobbo with space to run is destruction itself - 7
3. Mariner - He is so silky and is getting better and better. When he has space, he is tough to stop. I noticed him and Cobbo swapped quite a bit in attack and defense and I liked it, keeps the opposition guessing. Not as destructive as last week but still good and I have no idea how he didn’t drop that Walsh hospital pass - 6
4. Shibasaki - I’m loving this second coming of the bloke. He is so calm under pressure and does not shirk the tough run out of yardage. How he got that ball back out of the in goal I’ll never know but what a run. He’s making it very hard for Maguire to drop him in favour of Mariner and Staggs, really impressive - 9
5. Arthars - Not quite as silky as the first two rounds but still very good. He did technically drop the ball for the Cows first try but there really harsh. He is just generally so solid and has some very good wheels to get between defenders. Very underrated outside the club - 7
6. Hunt - He seems to be struggling a bit adapting to being sometimes second or third fiddle but the class is obvious and he never gives up on any play. Round 1 showed how it will be when the spine clicks, we just need to be patient - 6
7. Reynolds - Very kick happy tonight but mostly, rightly so and if not for a couple of weird ball bounces, could have had more try assists. He really took ownership tonight, very good game - 8
8. Carrigan - What a treat to have our front row. 198m and 28 tackles without a miss. Our middle really stood up tonight. The Cows were not going through there this evening and that was the most pleasing thing on the goal line. Carrigan is amazing and while Haas will understandably get the plaudits, Carrigan more than holds his own in comparison - 9
9. Paix - Not sure exactly what’s happened the last two weeks but he’s been pretty invisible in attack. 2 runs for 6m is not enormous this but his defensive issues are a bit of a myth. 41 tackles with 0 misses and this is a trend through the first three rounds. I’m hoping his attacking runs will come but it isn’t really his go. He’s doing enough to hold his spot until Mozer or Mam are right but is turning into a bit of a McCullough 2.0 - 6
10. Haas - Where do you start? The guy has levelled up. He runs with so much venom, pops up everywhere, even to side on a loose ball in goal and man, that try. A front rower should not be able to run like that fresh, let alone under fatigue. Just read this: 210m, 9 tackle breaks, 5 offloads, 2 line breaks, 1 line break assist, 1 try, 36 tackles! Unreal - 10
11. Gosiewski - scored a nice try which was a bit Gillett like but missed 3 tackles out of 15 and seemed to get hooked for Piakura. Not sure he’s doing enough to warrant being a starter - 4
12. Riki - There were signs his running game might be coming to life for the first time in like 3 years. They weren’t head turning but they were undoubtedly there, good to see. 43 tackles and only 2 misses, will take that any day - 7
13. Hetherington - He was really good in his second stint but what we need with him starting is to cut down guys in the middle with his hits and the last two weeks he just hasn’t done it and it’s allowed both the Raiders and Cows to roll down field too easily. He needs to sort that out because his first and second stints are like chalk and cheese unfortunately - 6
14. Walters - I thought that we looked a lot better in attack when he came on because he is a running threat. Unfortunately, he seemed to kind of step himself out of a try which now is pretty funny but at the time was frustrating. He is though a lot better than he gets credit for - 7
15. Jensen - I really wanted to see him step up after two pretty disappointing first games and he definitely did. He tucker the ball under the arm and ran straight. No stupid offloads, just hard runs and solid defense. He was really good and the challenge will be to make this kind of performance the norm - 8
16. Willison - I really liked that he seemed willing to do the hard graft tonight. No flashy plays and no huge stats but no errors or penalties. Just a good, solid no frills game and I liked it - 7
17. Piakura - I thought he really bought some energy and outplayed Gosiewski pretty comfortably. He bought a bit of starch to the defense and punch to his runs. Nothing overly impressive stats wise but I liked the improvement I saw - 7
