Pearce and Maloney

[Guest]

Great to see our halves have really hit their stride since being dumped from the Origin team. I feel like a weight has been lifted off their shoulders as they can play without worrying about mistakes leading to not getting picked for the State team. This has lead to Jimmy taking the line on more, Mitch sniffing around the ruck more on inside 20 attacking sets (great try today) and both of their passing games have become more adventurous which is leading to better chances on our outside edges.

Missing out on Origin while painful personally will be the reason we can go back-to-back in 2014. A fire burning inside to prove they are still elite players. Especially if NSW win the series.

[OMR]

A blessing in disguise. I want to see the RWB win another premiership and don't give two hoots whether NSW win another SOO series or not.

[ROC181]

I would think that if big nose wants to make any unforced changes, he would only change Maloney for Hodkinson but that's only if he's game but I think big nose is weak.

[Johnny.]

When he's on Maloney can carry Pearce's mistakes.

[Guest]

I would think that if big nose wants to make any unforced changes, he would only change Maloney for Hodkinson but that's only if he's game but I think big nose is weak.

Given Maloney has been given limited opportunity at rep level, i think he deserved selection. Do not understand this notion of selecting two club halves as a pair which is a ridiculous one excluding the obvious ones Sterling - Kenny and Daley - Stuart, etc. If you are picking rep halves on the basis that you will get the best result by picking them as a package then they are not rep quality halves.

[Guest]

QLD has consistently picked the best half and the best five eight, sometimes they came
from the same club, but they were of high rep quality.

[Bansai Pipeline]

Maloney's on fire. You can't say the same for Pearce.

[ROC181]

Given Maloney has been given limited opportunity at rep level, i think he deserved selection. Do not understand this notion of selecting two club halves as a pair which is a ridiculous one excluding the obvious ones Sterling - Kenny and Daley - Stuart, etc. If you are picking rep halves on the basis that you will get the best result by picking them as a package then they are not rep quality halves.

I can..it's the Noahs ark principle. He chooses in pairs. Maybe he watched Rustys movie and was inspired to choose like that.

[Guest]

Some of the short plays Pearce was playing last year, have been well read by other club's defence this season. However today saw the right hand side perform well lead by SBW and with Maloney's form on the rise and a strong forward performance, will hopefully take a bit of pressure off him and allow him some space and time. i am confident he will get back to his best.

Friend' s work out of dummy half is a real highlight over the last couple of seasons and was great today.

[rwbfl]

Old Gus didnt hold back about his thoughts on Pearce and Maloney this arvo. This man seems to have a passionate hate for the Roosters, his commentary today was as biased as possible, we can do nothing right in his eyes:

The Roosters were expected to beat the Storm comfortably in Melbourne on Sunday afternoon. The final score of 32-12 suggests they did.

The Roosters were clearly the better team on the day and the result was never in any doubt. However, the 20-point winning margin does not truly reflect the efforts of the losing side. An understrength Storm battled courageously to the end and should be commended for their commitment and resilience.

The Roosters were physically dominant in many aspects of the game. Their big forwards started with an aggressive assault on the advantage line, making easy metres upfield almost on every play. Jarred Waerea-Hargreaves, Sam Moa and Frank-Paul Nu'uausala bent their opponents backwards with bull-like charges and pumping leg speed. The Storm forwards struggled to contain them.

One would have expected that with such a great platform being laid by the forwards, the Roosters' halves of Mitchell Pearce and James Maloney would revel in the extra space provided and conjure up a big number on the scoreboard. They didn't. Being brutally honest, I was a little disappointed in the Roosters' attacking game, especially from a direction and delivery perspective.

If not for the power and exquisite talents of champion back-rower Sonny Bill Williams, the Roosters might have struggled to post many points at all. When I say I was disappointed in the Roosters' attack, I am excluding this giant of footballing talent from such criticism.

Anything creative that happened for the visitors seemed to emanate from the hands of SBW. He really put on a show for the Melbourne crowd. Power running, brute force, miracle offloads in tackles, pre-line passing in set pieces, short passes, flick passes, or even instinctive, long spiral passes to the edges of the field. SBW exposed his entire repertoire of skills and, for good measure, surged through the defensive line from close range to score a late try.

Maybe this is why so much of the Roosters' attacking game was focussed on Sonny's side of the field. Maybe the halves were happy just to get him the ball as much as possible and just let him do his thing. However, I thought Pearce and Maloney missed out on great opportunities on the other side of the field, where NSW State of Origin players Michael Jennings and Daniel Tupou were almost starved of quality possession.

Jennings received the ball only once in half-space and danced around his opponent with ridiculous ease. I believe had the Roosters directed more of their attacking game at the Storm's right-hand defence, the NSW Origin pair could have produced several try-scoring opportunities. Obviously we are not privy to pre-match game plans or coach's instructions, but representative halves of this ability should have been able to read the signs for themselves and redirected their play.

Anyway, it's just my opinion. Like I said, the Roosters were never in danger of losing and they did manage to post six tries for the afternoon. Perhaps I'm being a little harsh.The Storm boys really made the Roosters work for the full 80 minutes. Their physical efforts were praiseworthy. They scrambled well in defence, thwarting several try-scoring movements. They dragged themselves off the canvas on any number of occasions to make one more tackle or one more run for their teammates. Despite being outmuscled, outclassed and at times outplayed, the Storm impressed with their never-give-up attitude.

I was mightily impressed with stand-in fullback Kurt Mann, who finally got a run in his favoured position in the absence of injured superstar Billy Slater. Mann showed himself to be an NRL-quality footballer with many great touches and some brave efforts. This kid just needs more time in the top grade to develop into a player of the future. Very impressive indeed. In other departments, the Storm looked cumbersome and clunky in their possessions. Missing their chief playmakers Slater and Cooper Cronk, and with hooker Cameron Smith filling in at halfback for most the contest, the Storm were easily contained by the Roosters' defence. To their credit, though, their perseverance was rewarded with two second-half tries, as they pounded away at the Roosters' right-hand side of the field.

In the end, though, the visitors did the business and collected the two premiership points. They won by 20, away from home, with no injuries; that's a pretty good afternoon's work in anyone's books. They move back into the top four and clearly have their best football in front of them.

The Storm now drop outside the top eight at the mid-point of the season for the first time in Craig Bellamy's coaching career. The Storm will need to lift to meet the challenge of qualifying for this year's play-off series. In Sunday's performance, we at least know they won't go down without a fight.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/l...#ixzz343XSHyu7

[Chook Norris]

Don't understand Gus's assessment. Don't think Pearce is anywhere near his best, but i thought Maloney threw some beautiful passes today. Had some really nice touches. When Maloney's throwing long cut out passes to Jennings and RTS, you know he's full of confidence

[ROC181]

I doubt that Gus has a 'hate' for the Roosters after his association with us but he tries hard to be objective when it comes to opinions about us...though it borders a little on the negative side.

[Chook Norris]

I doubt that Gus has a 'hate' for the Roosters after his association with us but he tries hard to be objective when it comes to opinions about us...though it borders a little on the negative side.

Exactly my thoughts too

[Bansai Pipeline]

I think he makes some very valid points.

We're failing to control games.

[Vasco]

Gus is only repeating what many of us have written on here.