2025 NSW Cup Thread

[Rooster_6]

According to the NSWRL website we had an 18th man activation that means we had two players leave the field for a HIA doesn't it?

Toia went off for a HIA but Makatoa replaced him and there was no foul play in the incident so wouldn't have triggered an 18th man.

Vito Tevaga who was 18th man definitely never got on the field. Assuming it's an error.

[milanja]

Round 4 Canberra Raiders Vs Sydney Roosters

Sydney Roosters 34 defeat Canberra Raiders 26

Match Review:
As opposed to recent weeks it was a good quality contest. Losalu, Savala, Makatoa & Warwick all back for the Roosters and all had a noticeable impact on the game. Was good wet weather footy and both sides respected the conditions so was played in tight between the scrum lines, lots of good hits. Raiders jumped out to a 12-0 lead but we did a really good job to fight back to 18-12 then cop a try just before halftime to go in ahead 18-16. Then second half we were really in control for most of the game and didn’t really look in doubt. Defensivley much better, controlled field position well through strong running performances from King & Losalu and a good kicking game from Savala.

1.Ethan King – Just again the energizer bunny. Really seems to be basing his game around the style of Tracey/Edwards where he’s taking an early set carry and then taking the last carry of the set to set up for the kick. Threw a nice pass for a half break early on, scored the first try, had a 1 on 1 try saver, ran the ball more than any other player in the game and was everywhere in attack. Has a silly error in him every game but given the workload he gets through you’ve kind of just got to accept it. 7.5/10

2. Tom Rodwell – Really busy in yardage coming out of our own end as usual, but was a real tough slog on the heavy track so seemed to be a little less effective. Scored two tries, one simple catch off a beautiful spiral from Elliott and the other a really nice modern day wingers finish, legs and torso up in the air, one handed put down centimetres in from the touchline. 7/10

3. Billy Smith – Didn’t have as many big moments in this game as he has had in previous weeks but I thought it was his most well rounded game. No silly offloads or errors, strong in defence, got to the ball well on a grubber for his 1 try and carried well. 7/10

4.Ben Johnson – Looked more assured in defence this week but didn’t do much to stand out other than a couple of decent runs from his own end. Score a simple try where we just stripped them for numbers 5/10

5.Tyreece Tait – Had some nice moments this week but again some really poor moments as well, he’s struggling to compete on bomb defusals, got outmuscled on a few of his carries and had a really bad read on the Raiders 3^rd try where he had jammed in so far he took out his own centre. On the plus side we saw a glimpse of his speed and beautiful movement as he made a half break running around the Raiders team. 4/10

6. Jake Elliot – Started off at dummy half for the first 20-25 minutes of the game but then slipped back into 5/8 so I will base his game off the work he did at 5/8 because he got steam rolled in the first 5 mins for the Raiders opening try by one of their big props but to be fair not his position. I thought he had a decent game at 5/8, ran some good shapes with Savala, was busy, kicking game was below par but thew a nice pass to the set up the 4^th try and then threw one of the nicest spiral cutouts you’ll see this year for the 5^th try. Also scored a try early where he supported and offload and dived over the line. 6.5/10

7. Hugo Savala – Thought he was great, on the back of a half break and some momentum he went back at the ruck to set up the first try of the game which is something I would’ve loved to have seen our halves do in the Titans game on the back of all our breaks instead of constantly spreading it wide. Set up the 3^rd try with a nice kick for Billy Smith. Generally organised the side well, our structure looked good, his general play kicking was strong with a beautiful kick from his own 20 when we were on the back foot that had the Raiders fullback picking it up from his own in goal to be tackled 10m out. Did a lot of good work for his second receivers digging into the line to buy them some extra time and I like how direct he kept the attack. 7.5/10

8. Taylor Losalu – Absolute machine, was strong on all his carries constantly back good post contact metres, his right shoulder was hot all game. There was one carry towards the end of the game where he picks it up at the halfway line and just rolls 35 metres down the field to play the ball on the Raiders 15m line, no linebreak just steam rolling Raiders defenders (I hope it makes the weekly highlights pack). Played good minutes too, would’ve been close to 55-60 minutes at a guess. 8.5/10

9. Owen Flaherty – Technically the starting 5/8 for the first 20mins but I move Jake Elliott so I’ll have to score him here. Obviously there just to buy time in the opening. Didn’t do anything wrong. Score not applicable.

10. Makahesi Makatoa – Mixed game for him with 2 silly offloads that resulted in turnovers but also threw a beautiful offlaod with 5 defenders on top of him to set up the 2^nd try of the game. Carried well and was good in defence, his movement in defence and workrate is very good. Really helped sure up the middle today. 6.5/10

11. Hayden Barton – Looked better on an edge today, made a nice half break early of an Ethan King pass, tasted Canberra ribs about 10 times throughout the game, he’s got a lovely tackling technique and had some good carries whilst still getting dominated on a few carries but it was that time of game in wet weather. 6/10

12. Aston Warwick – Thought he was really solid out on the right edge, new signing so seems to be finding his feet a bit with combos but defended really strongly and had some really nice carries. Seems to have some nice footwork and a decent work ethic, really interested to see how he develops this season. 6.5/10

13. Max McCathie – Another tradesman like performance, in and around everything without much fanfare. I thought he and Makatoa in the middle made a tremendous difference to our defence, he still is struggling to get dominance in his carries but an important clog to the team. 7/10

14. Kyron Fekitoa – Actually really surprised me, got through 60minutes at hooker and had some really nice scoots which you would expect from a centre but it was some of his defensive work especially on the goal line that really impressed me and his service was actually pretty decent. Sure, he wasn’t passing spirals from the ground but he was hitting his marks on pretty much every occasion. I’m not sure the plan was to put him on in the 20^th min and play out the full 80 but the fact he held the position down which allowed Elliott to go back to 5/8 was definitely a big reason in why we won so.. 7/10

15. Akahola Toia – Came of the bench, some good powerful carries, decent in defence, copped a head knock early in the 2^nd half and wasn’t seen again. 5/10

16. Ethan Roberts – Similar to previous works, love his work in defence, has good movement in attack but just does not seem to be able to win the contact on his yardage carries, also made a silly fundamental error early in the 2^nd half. I really hope he finds some form because he has definitely got the temperament for it. 4/10

17. Rhys Dakin – Not used in the first half, came on around 50^th minute mark and played out the rest of the game. Did ok, had some good carries, made his tackles, didn’t let anyone down 5.5/10

Great write up 6, much appreciated, that’s a lot of time and effort.

[Rooster90]

Wasn’t that the winger, Tom?

yeah sorry, i read it wrong

[Cooko]

Is Billy Smith knocking on the door for first grade? Toia really hasn't done too much since the line break in round 1 and maybe we need experience where we can get it.

[Barron's Dream]

I'd like Toia to have a rest. Billy to left centre and Mark to the right.

[Chook2]

Great write up 6, much appreciated, that’s a lot of time and effort.

Great for Billy smith
only 2nd 80 min game and 3rd game back / will there be some pressure on toia? Interesting to see if they leave him in nsw cup for longer for more match fitness
who else can step up? Good to see savala was good, also lasalu - they may need lasalu in nrl this week and bring Foketi or steep back to nsw cup for size

[Superdag]

Is Billy Smith knocking on the door for first grade? Toia really hasn't done too much since the line break in round 1 and maybe we need experience where we can get it.

I think its time for Billy to step up to first again

[Rooster_6]

Is Billy Smith knocking on the door for first grade? Toia really hasn't done too much since the line break in round 1 and maybe we need experience where we can get it.

Don’t think it matters too much who you put at right centre at the moment, they’re not going to see any ball. I don’t think Toia has been bad the last two weeks by any means.

[A Country Member]

The selections I found most interesting were:

• 5/8 Jake Elliott starting at hooker for the first 20 mins before reverting to his regular 5/8 for the remainder of the game
• Owen Flaherty, normally a fullback, starting at 5/8
• Kyron Fekitoa, normally a centre, relieving Elliott at hooker for the remaining 60 minutes
• The guys with recent first grade experience, playing accordingly. Especially Savala who whilst sparingly played on Friday night, backed up and got the result for the team the next day.

[Rooster_6]

Fanafou Seve had a mixed game in Jersey Flegg, saw a lot more minutes, would've played close to 50-55 minutes and didn't show any signs of fatigue.

Had some good carries, they just couldn't take him to the ground.

Had a few errors, one for a ball roll, one just lost the ball clean as he was trying to wrestle for a quick play the ball and the other was a bad pass that he and no right catching.

Scored a try to get us within 6points late where he just steam rolled 5 defenders under the posts.

Pulled off a few big hits, I was really hoping to see how he would handle some defensive workload given he was starting this week but the Raiders players were avoiding him. Everyone was finding a right or left foot step when in his vicinity. To be fair I don't blame them.

And then he got sin binned for one of the latest tackles off the ball you'll ever see... Don't think he's at risk of a suspension as there wasn't a heap of force in it but was ridiculously late.

[Rooster90]

Fanafou Seve had a mixed game in Jersey Flegg, saw a lot more minutes, would've played close to 50-55 minutes and didn't show any signs of fatigue.

Had some good carries, they just couldn't take him to the ground.

Had a few errors, one for a ball roll, one just lost the ball clean as he was trying to wrestle for a quick play the ball and the other was a bad pass that he and no right catching.

Scored a try to get us within 6points late where he just steam rolled 5 defenders under the posts.

Pulled off a few big hits, I was really hoping to see how he would handle some defensive workload given he was starting this week but the Raiders players were avoiding him. Everyone was finding a right or left foot step when in his vicinity. To be fair I don't blame them.

And then he got sin binned for one of the latest tackles off the ball you'll ever see... Don't think he's at risk of a suspension as there wasn't a heap of force in it but was ridiculously late.

Saw a video of that hit and just laughed....has been named to start this week