cf2 is back
Reserve Grader
THE GOOD:
Defence is certainly the cornerstone of attack, but it's not often that a defensive dominance is so immense that it decides a game in the first 20 minutes alone. We hunted in packs, we stormed them like paratroopers, and we drove them backwards like Mac trucks crushing Holden Barinas. It was simply a lesson of dominance trapping them like lost prisoners in their own half. Once that platform was very quickly set the points simply flowed, not from doing anything terribly brilliant in attack, but from simply drowning them in the shallow end of their own pool.
A half time score of 22-0 can sometimes result in a strange second half where the leading team either gets bored, or really nervous, or conversely often the losing team throws caution to the wind for a nothing to lose comeback, but on this occasion the half time shots from the respective dressing rooms said it all. The Dogs sat silently on their chairs, heads bowed like a team well and truly beaten, with coach Moore seemingly reflecting on his "just been fired" press conference. Cutting to the Manly room Hoppa was beaming a massive smile as the boys lined up to get back out there and continue the mauling.
So we ended up with a somewhat boring second half in football terms, but a lovely boredom for Manly fans. The first try for 26-0 signalled not only the end of the game but the beginning of a Manly training run practising inside out banana kicks, reverse passes, rotating fullbacks, and flowing backline moves. Once again Dessie was able to execute a carefully calculated bench rotation, with the curiously starting T Rex playing a very eye catching 62 minutes, leaving poor old Mauro once again with a relegation late game 11 minutes. Equally significant was the the repeat cotton wool approach to Jamie Buhrer containing him to a narrow 2nd half 18 minutes. What looked like an odd bench system a month ago is now looking very, very smart. The Mauro's and Buhrer's are going to play a big part in our surge to the semi's and their relative freshness will be a huge trump card, particularly if we have an injury or two elsewhere, and to think we still have the missing Shane Rodney and the talented Daniel Harrison up our sleeve.
In terms of individual performances, once again I type the words "not a single bad player in our 17". Our back 3 were safe as houses and worked as a smart rotational unit, Brett perhaps a little quiet but there's no worry there, he's set for bigger games ahead very soon. Lyon gave "Brett Morris" a nightmare all night long (gees Brandy one mistake is fine given they are identical twins, but seriously calling him Brett for practically the whole game and in the after match report is simply embarrassing!). Matai mixed up the usual surging runs with the normal worrying grimacing clutches of the neck, and whilst Foran was again a total rock in defence and tease in attack he had the luxury of letting DCE take the MOM reins.
In the forwards Watmough was simply a destructive dynamo, despite the usual 2 or 3 errors including a classicly impossible stuff up where he managed to spew the ball between his legs so fast it nearly reached Brookie. Not to worry, 17 hit ups, 133 metres, and 39 crunching tackles was just magnificent, and he wasn't alone with the the rest of the pack so physically dominant that the Dogs were reduced to scared puppies. T Rex must made brought a smile to Dessie even if he saved it for the car trip home after playing a powerhouse 62 minutes, and he was well supported by the rampaging efforts of George, Kingy, Guluvao and the outstanding game of Glenn with his massive workload and huge tally of stats 22 hit ups, 160 metres and 37 tackles. Wow. Can Ballin continue these 80 minute gladiatorial efforts? It seems he can touch wood.
Last week Gus said DCE's performance might just signal the beginning of something special, and how true were those words. On the back of our match winning forwards he took complete ownership of the match, adding a Johnny Gibbs style rare solo try from a scrum. Notwithstanding the hideous Dogs defence it was fun to watch. I can only humbly hope Dessie reads my reports cos the pleading to give Jamie back the goal kicking duties feels like another winning touch for the team, and surely gives DCE more time to concentrate on the rest of his fast emerging skills. How exciting is it to have not one but TWO awesome attacking halves!
Sorry am I salivating too much I know it's only rd 13 but gee there's a lot to be excited about. Can't wait to get back to a hopefully jam packed Brookie next week.
THE BAD:
Handing them a soft runaway consolation try given that 38-0 was a much more apt score, but hey it's no big deal and at least seeing Benny Barba run 70 metres might have erased a few tempers in the Dog's crowd.
THE UGLY:
Not getting to face and beat Thurston and Scott next week, this rep schedule is a joke.
Defence is certainly the cornerstone of attack, but it's not often that a defensive dominance is so immense that it decides a game in the first 20 minutes alone. We hunted in packs, we stormed them like paratroopers, and we drove them backwards like Mac trucks crushing Holden Barinas. It was simply a lesson of dominance trapping them like lost prisoners in their own half. Once that platform was very quickly set the points simply flowed, not from doing anything terribly brilliant in attack, but from simply drowning them in the shallow end of their own pool.
A half time score of 22-0 can sometimes result in a strange second half where the leading team either gets bored, or really nervous, or conversely often the losing team throws caution to the wind for a nothing to lose comeback, but on this occasion the half time shots from the respective dressing rooms said it all. The Dogs sat silently on their chairs, heads bowed like a team well and truly beaten, with coach Moore seemingly reflecting on his "just been fired" press conference. Cutting to the Manly room Hoppa was beaming a massive smile as the boys lined up to get back out there and continue the mauling.
So we ended up with a somewhat boring second half in football terms, but a lovely boredom for Manly fans. The first try for 26-0 signalled not only the end of the game but the beginning of a Manly training run practising inside out banana kicks, reverse passes, rotating fullbacks, and flowing backline moves. Once again Dessie was able to execute a carefully calculated bench rotation, with the curiously starting T Rex playing a very eye catching 62 minutes, leaving poor old Mauro once again with a relegation late game 11 minutes. Equally significant was the the repeat cotton wool approach to Jamie Buhrer containing him to a narrow 2nd half 18 minutes. What looked like an odd bench system a month ago is now looking very, very smart. The Mauro's and Buhrer's are going to play a big part in our surge to the semi's and their relative freshness will be a huge trump card, particularly if we have an injury or two elsewhere, and to think we still have the missing Shane Rodney and the talented Daniel Harrison up our sleeve.
In terms of individual performances, once again I type the words "not a single bad player in our 17". Our back 3 were safe as houses and worked as a smart rotational unit, Brett perhaps a little quiet but there's no worry there, he's set for bigger games ahead very soon. Lyon gave "Brett Morris" a nightmare all night long (gees Brandy one mistake is fine given they are identical twins, but seriously calling him Brett for practically the whole game and in the after match report is simply embarrassing!). Matai mixed up the usual surging runs with the normal worrying grimacing clutches of the neck, and whilst Foran was again a total rock in defence and tease in attack he had the luxury of letting DCE take the MOM reins.
In the forwards Watmough was simply a destructive dynamo, despite the usual 2 or 3 errors including a classicly impossible stuff up where he managed to spew the ball between his legs so fast it nearly reached Brookie. Not to worry, 17 hit ups, 133 metres, and 39 crunching tackles was just magnificent, and he wasn't alone with the the rest of the pack so physically dominant that the Dogs were reduced to scared puppies. T Rex must made brought a smile to Dessie even if he saved it for the car trip home after playing a powerhouse 62 minutes, and he was well supported by the rampaging efforts of George, Kingy, Guluvao and the outstanding game of Glenn with his massive workload and huge tally of stats 22 hit ups, 160 metres and 37 tackles. Wow. Can Ballin continue these 80 minute gladiatorial efforts? It seems he can touch wood.
Last week Gus said DCE's performance might just signal the beginning of something special, and how true were those words. On the back of our match winning forwards he took complete ownership of the match, adding a Johnny Gibbs style rare solo try from a scrum. Notwithstanding the hideous Dogs defence it was fun to watch. I can only humbly hope Dessie reads my reports cos the pleading to give Jamie back the goal kicking duties feels like another winning touch for the team, and surely gives DCE more time to concentrate on the rest of his fast emerging skills. How exciting is it to have not one but TWO awesome attacking halves!
Sorry am I salivating too much I know it's only rd 13 but gee there's a lot to be excited about. Can't wait to get back to a hopefully jam packed Brookie next week.
THE BAD:
Handing them a soft runaway consolation try given that 38-0 was a much more apt score, but hey it's no big deal and at least seeing Benny Barba run 70 metres might have erased a few tempers in the Dog's crowd.
THE UGLY:
Not getting to face and beat Thurston and Scott next week, this rep schedule is a joke.
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