Not muchDid he play tonight?
Did he play tonight?
Had some better runs in the second half once the opposition tired. Much better suited to an impact bench prop.
But Vave and Starling both cracked 150 so going to be tough when Jake comes back for him to stay in the side.
Having said that, Lussick, like many of the forwards in that initial period, failed to control the ruck too often and didn't get up into a marker position to negate the roll on. It was amazing how often we had 3 players in a tackle, only to see their forwards push through and past them, and then get up and play the ball without any markers in effective position.
Shocker from Brenton Lawrence in defence in the first 20 mins. Heaps of missed tackles, including the first one their hooker scored. Matai's a liability in defence as well.
I agree with you about allowing attacking teams too much latitude to walk forward through the ruck. However, I was referring to legitimate Souf's technique during the first 20. I'm referring to Souf's forwards getting through the initial contact and not being held up by the first contact man. Their momentum allowed them to fall forward through the initial contact and often left two or three of our defenders hanging on around the waist and legs, which allowed them to get up and play the ball legitimately with two to three Manly players out of marker position.It's something that the refs just seem to let go. They are so intent on looking at the defensive team that they allow players to walk/crawl/step through or sideways at the ruck.
It's a catch 22 for the defence when they're under the pump, do you hold on a bit longer and risk the penalty or stand your ground and risk the penalty or let them walk through the ruck and hope for the best?
Team | P | W | D | L | PD | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bulldogs | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 98 | 14 |
2 | Storm | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 70 | 10 |
3 | Raiders | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 46 | 10 |
4 | Warriors | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | -18 | 10 |
5 | Broncos | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 54 | 8 |
6 | Sharks | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 41 | 8 |
7 | Dragons | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 8 |
8 | Rabbitohs | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | -36 | 8 |
9 | Cowboys | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | -42 | 8 |
10 | Tigers | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 6 |
11 | Dolphins | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 28 | 6 |
12 | Sea Eagles | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 6 |
13 | Titans | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | -36 | 6 |
14 | Knights | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | -60 | 6 |
15 | Panthers | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -10 | 4 |
16 | Roosters | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -80 | 4 |
17 | Eels | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | -123 | 2 |