Kick off occurs,Brett makes a very uncharacteristic blunder from it and i think we are in for a really long night,the next few minutes do nothing to reassure me of that besides some solid goal line defense,this keeps going until our 1st try,the saving grace until that try was canberra never really looked to trouble us
Forans kick was absolute gold but Robbo made it that way,it was high but thanks to ineffective winger play by Canberra's moron Manly register points,i cringe as i see DCE set up the tee,missed as i was expecting him to (sorry,he isnt a goal kicker)
More of the start of the game follows,mistakes keeping us backs against the line until someone thinks its a good idea to make a break on the outside and the arm wrestle ensues,i scream at DCE for not passing to Brett and the ref butchers a try for Robbo's double,that was not forward however Canberra think it would be nice for us to score next and we do due to an inside ball to Brett who trips over the try line,i held my breath and only cheered when he got up fine
About 30 minutes in i see the ominous manly look and im sure im not the only one,Every player we had running the ball in a 3 man tackle was pushing for every millimeter and this does not end until the hooter,they were tackled but normally made 2 or 3 more meters than they should have
The Raiders on the other hand while in 3 man tackles were going backwards,i seen the manly side there that will have the youngest halves combination to win the comp since Sterlo? Anyway 2011 is looking good just from that
I also notice something else,besides Foran who loves putting on a shot all kick chasers were in THAT straight line,you remember the one from 2008?
The game continues in this fashion,dropped balls gift canberra a lower score against than they deserved but a quick backline jaunt sees Brett go over for his second and eventually third,personally he was gifted by his backline tonight,they put him across the line all he did was finish them
well,was very happy to see him straighten up the kick,something Oldfield thinks is below him
Towards the end of the game Foran hits the sheds (so to speak) and the team starts looking a tad lost in attack but the defense is still very solid
Getting to know Daly Cherry-Evans is a treat,with seconds left on the clock i knew Snake would have a kick coming his way,with more polish that kick hits Hoppa (Brett wont stay on the wing) and an easy try ensues
Im seeing alot of the signs of a true premiership side here
The torrid defense,the solid attack with a good chance to make a huge late game burst QLD style,That said our goal kicking needs ALOT of work.....hopefully Lyon is just carrying a minor injury and will overtake the duties soon
Ratings
6 B Stewart-Made a few mistakes and was gifted 3 tries for his support
8 Robertson-Good defense,good attack and a great catch for a try
6 Lyon-Clearly not at his best,but he did make metres and passed well
7 Matai-Great effort from this bloke,no mistakes but wasnt over involved
6.5 Hopoate-Another solid performance by the young bloke
8.5 Foran-Another brilliant game that he unfortunately had to leave
5.5 DCE-A few bad options here and there but is still building up
6 Rose-Great performance for a bloke who never starts
6.5 Ballin-Was solid but rarely sighted other than passing and tackling
4 Kite-Was rarely sighted,solid defense though,I think he should leave
8 Watmough-Another good choc performance,made his averages
6 Bhurer- Another little bloke,still building but looking the goods
7 G Stewart-Again getting back to his best,dont think he missed a beat
4 T Williams-Limited minutes,one mistake in attack
3 Mauro-Very limited minutes,might as well have sat at the leagues club
5 Robinson-Ran hard,tackled well and made his presence known
7 Gulavao-Ran hard,tackled harder and made alot of impact
Forans kick was absolute gold but Robbo made it that way,it was high but thanks to ineffective winger play by Canberra's moron Manly register points,i cringe as i see DCE set up the tee,missed as i was expecting him to (sorry,he isnt a goal kicker)
More of the start of the game follows,mistakes keeping us backs against the line until someone thinks its a good idea to make a break on the outside and the arm wrestle ensues,i scream at DCE for not passing to Brett and the ref butchers a try for Robbo's double,that was not forward however Canberra think it would be nice for us to score next and we do due to an inside ball to Brett who trips over the try line,i held my breath and only cheered when he got up fine
About 30 minutes in i see the ominous manly look and im sure im not the only one,Every player we had running the ball in a 3 man tackle was pushing for every millimeter and this does not end until the hooter,they were tackled but normally made 2 or 3 more meters than they should have
The Raiders on the other hand while in 3 man tackles were going backwards,i seen the manly side there that will have the youngest halves combination to win the comp since Sterlo? Anyway 2011 is looking good just from that
I also notice something else,besides Foran who loves putting on a shot all kick chasers were in THAT straight line,you remember the one from 2008?
The game continues in this fashion,dropped balls gift canberra a lower score against than they deserved but a quick backline jaunt sees Brett go over for his second and eventually third,personally he was gifted by his backline tonight,they put him across the line all he did was finish them
well,was very happy to see him straighten up the kick,something Oldfield thinks is below him
Towards the end of the game Foran hits the sheds (so to speak) and the team starts looking a tad lost in attack but the defense is still very solid
Getting to know Daly Cherry-Evans is a treat,with seconds left on the clock i knew Snake would have a kick coming his way,with more polish that kick hits Hoppa (Brett wont stay on the wing) and an easy try ensues
Im seeing alot of the signs of a true premiership side here
The torrid defense,the solid attack with a good chance to make a huge late game burst QLD style,That said our goal kicking needs ALOT of work.....hopefully Lyon is just carrying a minor injury and will overtake the duties soon
Ratings
6 B Stewart-Made a few mistakes and was gifted 3 tries for his support
8 Robertson-Good defense,good attack and a great catch for a try
6 Lyon-Clearly not at his best,but he did make metres and passed well
7 Matai-Great effort from this bloke,no mistakes but wasnt over involved
6.5 Hopoate-Another solid performance by the young bloke
8.5 Foran-Another brilliant game that he unfortunately had to leave
5.5 DCE-A few bad options here and there but is still building up
6 Rose-Great performance for a bloke who never starts
6.5 Ballin-Was solid but rarely sighted other than passing and tackling
4 Kite-Was rarely sighted,solid defense though,I think he should leave
8 Watmough-Another good choc performance,made his averages
6 Bhurer- Another little bloke,still building but looking the goods
7 G Stewart-Again getting back to his best,dont think he missed a beat
4 T Williams-Limited minutes,one mistake in attack
3 Mauro-Very limited minutes,might as well have sat at the leagues club
5 Robinson-Ran hard,tackled well and made his presence known
7 Gulavao-Ran hard,tackled harder and made alot of impact