malroon
Reserve Grader
Footballers like Johns see things the rest of us don’t. The player ratings in the newspapers suggested winger Tom Trbojevic had a quiet match but Johns reckons NSW don’t win without him in the last 16 minutes.
In the first half, Queensland launched a blitzkrieg on the Blues’ right edge defense of Trbojevic, Roberts, and halfback Nathan Cleary.
When Roberts was sin-binned with 11 minutes remaining for taking out Maroons forward Gavin Cooper without the ball, they were certain to go sniffing down the right again.
That’s when Johns noticed three plays from Trbojevic that confirmed to him NSW had finally turned a corner.
First, the young Manly star raced in and belted Valentine Holmes and shut down an attacking raid. Minutes later, he raced in and belted Dane Gagai and did the same thing.....................................................................................
Johns was impressed with Tom — but Fittler reckoned it was his brother, Jake, who won NSW the game.
“Jake Trbojevic: he was our man,” Fittler said when I find him long after full-time, sitting on a chair in the middle of the dressing-room. “He was the one. He was the f---ing one that got us home. He got our **** sorted, mate. And he put them under pressure because we hadn’t put them under pressure at all in the first half.”
In the first half, Queensland launched a blitzkrieg on the Blues’ right edge defense of Trbojevic, Roberts, and halfback Nathan Cleary.
When Roberts was sin-binned with 11 minutes remaining for taking out Maroons forward Gavin Cooper without the ball, they were certain to go sniffing down the right again.
That’s when Johns noticed three plays from Trbojevic that confirmed to him NSW had finally turned a corner.
First, the young Manly star raced in and belted Valentine Holmes and shut down an attacking raid. Minutes later, he raced in and belted Dane Gagai and did the same thing.....................................................................................
Johns was impressed with Tom — but Fittler reckoned it was his brother, Jake, who won NSW the game.
“Jake Trbojevic: he was our man,” Fittler said when I find him long after full-time, sitting on a chair in the middle of the dressing-room. “He was the one. He was the f---ing one that got us home. He got our **** sorted, mate. And he put them under pressure because we hadn’t put them under pressure at all in the first half.”