Anyone who is anything but optimistic after our first up loss is expecting way to much, and is being really harsh.
I just watched the game a second time, which i like to do because it takes emotion out of it and i find it easier to make a better judgement of how we went.
These are some things i noticed:
- 3 storm tries came from 3 one on one missed tackles. Two from jackson and one from eastwood. But no one seems to be criticising jackson.
- RFM was easily the best forward on the field and was surely our best on ground. This is a massive plus. He also managed the full 80 mins and didnt look out of puff at any stage. He constantly troubled the storm defense, and as far as i know didnt make a single mistake. This guy will be massive for us this year!!
- Mbye had 3 kicks in general play. One of which was a towering bomb that no one wanted to touch. Its great to finally have a kicking fullback again. He also had 3 really good runs on kick returns. His first touch was all class. He also played a fair amount of five eighth as well. Very solid first outing at fb!! Along with RFM, Mbye will have a massive influence on our marches this year.
- A 4th try was also very lucky. The one where ado-carr snatched the ball from mbye. So considering this try and the 3 that resulted from mussed tackles, we were well and truly in this contest.
- Foran had a great game. He was everywhere and showed no signs of old injuries. He marshalled the troops well and really straightened our attack.
- Our ball movement in attack was a pleasure to watch, and i thought our kicking game was improved now that we have 3 kickers in our spine.
- lichaa didnt overplay his hand. He made some good runs from dummy half, but didnt try and do it every time.
- Frawley made a few mistakes, but was overall really good i thought. A try and a try assist. Plus both of the storm hakves kicked out on the full too.
- Woods had some great offloads and a few good runs.
- Our defense was not terrible, nor were we gassed after 20 mins as some have suggested. I totally disagree with this. But our bench rotation was a little odd. Klemmer played the first 30-33 mins and then came back on with about 14 to go. He should have come off earlier instead of woods.
All in all it was a pretty good first hit out. We have a new look spine, a new look prop and back row, and they all just need a bit of time to gel. Thats all.
I have said this all off season, but the loss of graham and tolman in the middle has really weakened our defense. They would regularly make 70-100 tackles between them. Sure enough the usual people will question this, but i really think this was evident. Personally, and allthough fualalo had a pretty solid game, i would start tolman so that he can plug up the middle for the first 15-20, and then bring fualalo on for a bit of impact.
I know exactly who will shoot this theory down, but i honestly think this would really sure up our defense. Tolman is a workhorse and is surely more mobile then fualalo. I just think it would be a better balance.
