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Awesome effort from all the boys that played last night. Great to see the young side that started the game hold their own for the most part other than a couple of bad reads from the wingers. There was probably only 3-4 guys in that first 17 that will make the top 17 so for those boys to play so well shows how good our depth is this season. Was sitting near the Roosters players area last night which is pretty low so didn’t get as good a view as the Back to Belmore game. I’m sure I’ve missed a few things here and possibly gotten a few things wrong but hopefully this again paints a clearer picture of each performance for those who couldn’t attend.
Backs:
Alofa – Outleaped in the first set by Tedesco but was very solid for the rest of the night. His next bomb defusal was from a swirling torpedo and he took that very well. Solid metres on returns. Great communication with the line which is always a trademark of his. Good to see it transferred into first grade. Grabbed a Tasi offload that went to his toes brilliantly that most players would have dropped. That kept us in attacking just prior to the Cordner try.
Minichiello – Almost broke the line from a kick return at one stage. A couple of good carries but most importantly safe as houses at the back. Took one very good high ball defensively on the left when Tedesco had the jump on him.
Tupou – Strong carries from dummy half like last week. Struggled a bit defensively.
Carney – What can you say really. Diabolic in all forms of defence. On a positive note his attack was the best I’ve seen for a while. Took the ball up strongly a couple of times when we were struggling from our own end. But I really feel he made Moga look bad in defence tonight. Granted he was on the other side of the field to me but after half time it was obvious that he did not trust his centre and was giving his opposition winger a saloon passage to the tryline whenever there was a decision to be made.
Henry – I’m a massive fan of this kid. He’s not the quickest player around but he has evasive speed and could be a very good fill in at right centre throughout the year. Started the game well, looked dangerous on occasion from our end. Came back on at left wing after Moga came off and defended superbly. Twice he stopped certain winger tries with up and in defence covering both the runner and the ball. Also showed great desperation to dive on loose balls multiple times, including the final play to seal the game. Was held up over the line after the final siren after recovering a loose ball and heading down field only to be rounded up by Moltzen.
Tagive – Should get the left wing spot if Leilua is unavailable for selection. Defended stoutly in the final 10 mins to deny the tigers on numerous occasions. Looks in great shape and would make an excellent left winger outside Moga. His work from dummy half was very strong, consistently around 10 metres, a couple over that.
Perrett – Did his job well as usual. Counted on his evasive skills to make a few sets respectable in the middle third of the game.
Moga – Very quiet tonight. Came on at the 20 minute mark and stayed out there until about the 70th minute. As I’ve mentioned, was not trusted enough by his winger imo. The beauty with how he defended last week was that he was giving his centre a bit of room but his strength was always superior to make a solid tackle. Tonight Justin Carney was standing in no mans land because he did not trust that Moga could make the tackle on the centre. Was given no quality service with any space. Received a hospital cut out from Mortimer in the second half which was dropped. Had one nice run from a scrum out from our line and another from dummy half inside the 20 where he looked close to breaking through and scoring from nothing, seemed to catch the Tigers off guard with his strength in that instance. Sustained what looked like a high ankle sprain from that run. Tried to run it off for the next set after we scored to take the lead but was taken off. Didn’t look too bad though.
Aubusson – Easily the man of the match. His defence alone late in the first half was magnificent. He read the Tigers’ left side movements to a tee and Lawrence had no answer for him. I stand corrected that he is an attacking disadvantage at centre because he was just as brilliant in attack. Made an excellent break down the right to set up the scene for Mose’s try (I think). Looks quicker than I’ve seen him so he will no doubt start at right centre in round 1 if SKD is out. Was getting outside Lawrence with ease at times. Basically, we lose tonight if Maubs isn’t playing.
Rona – Got few opportunities and had to resort to hit ups down the middle. Good to see him get rewarded for his exceptional game last weekend.
Mortimer – Really pushed for a bench spot tonight. His defence was great, didn’t let anyone down. Great support work from five-eighth. Showed he is much better suited to a support/running & drawing game rather than a halfback’s organisational game tonight. Will not start in the halves but will give Ant Mitchell a big shake for the 14 jumper. Has done far better than I expected at this early stage and that’s a credit to the young bloke’s attitude.
Kheirallah – I’ve always been a fan of this kid, but I feel he is a genuinely solid replacement for either of our halves. His kicking game was quite good tonight, his second in the attacking zone a neat cross field chip for Bosden to score. Attempted another chip and chase which was unsuccessful, followed up with a nice tackle on Benji though and will learn from that. Found the ground with all of his long kicks.
Pearce – Excellent performance and showed signs that this could be his big year where he stepped as and becomes a game breaker. Scored a nice try picking his moment and slicing through the line on the right. Even beat a defender with his step on the attacking set before his try and went close to scoring. The double threat of Cordner and Aubusson outside him really helped his running game tonight I thought. He looks stronger than last season too and was really solid in defence. His long kicking was good. Didn’t get to see many attacking kicks from him tonight.
Forwards:
Ailaomai – Much better game from him this week. Did his job early carting the ball for 8-10m most runs. As with most of the younger guys that started struggled a bit with the speed of the Tigers forward roll at the start.
Takairangi – Played prop all game and was sensational. Just as effective up the middle as he is down the edges. Good selective offloading, nothing silly. Made great metres with each run and looks a chance at a bench spot of the back of that performance. Great versatility, has now proven he can play anywhere from centre to prop.
Arona – One of our best again in my opinion. Came on after 20 and pushed out from marker superbly. Was again effective in attack bending the line on occasions. Could not have pushed his claims for a spot in the 17 any better than he has this pre-season.
Liu – Played in the second half and was very solid as well. Close to sneaking over under the posts once late in his stint. Was not overawed by the experienced Tigers pack. As with nearly all of the young forwards trialled looks very capable of competing strongly in first grade should injuries occur to the first 4 props. We’re in good shape for props this season when you consider Liu, Ailaomai, Takairangi and Tago have all shown that they can more than hold there own against more experienced packs. Consistency will be the main issue for them should any of them get a regular gig in first grade at some stage this season. Bit of bad news on the prop front. Kane Evans injured his leg (ankle I think) in the 20s game yesterday. Unfortunate, as it looks as though he would get a run in the first grade trial today.
Tasi – Another big game from Lama. Consistently got over the advantage line. I think he’ll get even better as the season goes on. Good engine which I think could see him shift to the backrow instead of being interchanged throughout games this year. Looks dangerous running just wide of the ruck defence.
Masoe – Some massive charges from the big fella. Really put us back on top prior to two tries to get ahead. Scored a barge over himself which surely he and Friend will continue to do throughout the season. He has started back where he left off at the end of last season which was not the case early 2011 so that’s a great sign. I think he’ll start the occasional game early in 2012. Really stood up last night in the absence of Kennedy and JWH. His dominance down the middle was one of the big things that swung the game for us I felt.
Mitchell – You’ve gotta feel for this guy. He will probably lose out to Mortimer for the bench spot but he hasn’t done a thing wrong in either trial game. Was lively out of dummy half in the first 20. Made a nice half break down the short side early in the game.
Friend – Lifted the intensity when he came on last night. Tackled strongly and had a few good nippy runs from dummy half. Good service all night and directed the forwards really well. Another big year coming from Friendy. Looks more like a leader every time he plays.
Bosden – Great in the first 20. Went up high for his try off a delicate cross field chip from Kheirallah. Had great footwork into the line and bustles forward well each time he takes the ball up. Could easily slot in at lock or on the edges and the team would not miss a beat imo. To think he may be playing for Newtown in a fortnight seems a bit ridiculous. Can’t wait to see him offload a bit more, looks to have unbelievable control of the ball while holding it like Ali Laui’titi.
Cordner – Boyd was sensational again last night. Has sewn up a starting second row spot imo. Scored a brilliant try running a great line off Pearce over the top of Benji. The line was Aubusson-like. I thought it was Maubs that had scored actually. The way he skipped outside his man then hit the hole at pace was awesome. And to think he’s only 19 still. He will be one of our best this season without doubt and will push for Origin within a year. The improvement in his game from last year is astounding.
Symonds – Another who showed very good signs last night. Looked to be playing more of a roving lock role. Showed good leg speed and a good fend into the line. Looked very likely in attack early. Perhaps the Tom Symonds of old is back. Still needs to shore up his defence though, dominated a couple of times by Woods and Galloway.
Guerra – Aiden played on the opposite side to me for the most part and he went unnoticed a bit. Didn’t seem to do much in attack but was solid in reading the defence.
Nuuausala – Looks up for a good year. Possibly tried a few too many barge-overs last night playing tight in the first 20 mins. One or two good offloads from memory but also pushed a one or two. I thought one offload up the middle to Mini probably should have been caught. Will most likely start at lock in round 1 unless Arona has done enough in Smith’s mind.
Beating the premiership favourites at full strength (minus Tuqiri) without our captain, our two best props and our most creative outside back tells me that we may be in for something special this year guys. Lasting the 26 rounds will be the main issue I think. But if we continue to play as a team, the young guys keep improving and Pearce steps up as a game breaker, I think we could really give it a fair shake this year.
Backs:
Alofa – Outleaped in the first set by Tedesco but was very solid for the rest of the night. His next bomb defusal was from a swirling torpedo and he took that very well. Solid metres on returns. Great communication with the line which is always a trademark of his. Good to see it transferred into first grade. Grabbed a Tasi offload that went to his toes brilliantly that most players would have dropped. That kept us in attacking just prior to the Cordner try.
Minichiello – Almost broke the line from a kick return at one stage. A couple of good carries but most importantly safe as houses at the back. Took one very good high ball defensively on the left when Tedesco had the jump on him.
Tupou – Strong carries from dummy half like last week. Struggled a bit defensively.
Carney – What can you say really. Diabolic in all forms of defence. On a positive note his attack was the best I’ve seen for a while. Took the ball up strongly a couple of times when we were struggling from our own end. But I really feel he made Moga look bad in defence tonight. Granted he was on the other side of the field to me but after half time it was obvious that he did not trust his centre and was giving his opposition winger a saloon passage to the tryline whenever there was a decision to be made.
Henry – I’m a massive fan of this kid. He’s not the quickest player around but he has evasive speed and could be a very good fill in at right centre throughout the year. Started the game well, looked dangerous on occasion from our end. Came back on at left wing after Moga came off and defended superbly. Twice he stopped certain winger tries with up and in defence covering both the runner and the ball. Also showed great desperation to dive on loose balls multiple times, including the final play to seal the game. Was held up over the line after the final siren after recovering a loose ball and heading down field only to be rounded up by Moltzen.
Tagive – Should get the left wing spot if Leilua is unavailable for selection. Defended stoutly in the final 10 mins to deny the tigers on numerous occasions. Looks in great shape and would make an excellent left winger outside Moga. His work from dummy half was very strong, consistently around 10 metres, a couple over that.
Perrett – Did his job well as usual. Counted on his evasive skills to make a few sets respectable in the middle third of the game.
Moga – Very quiet tonight. Came on at the 20 minute mark and stayed out there until about the 70th minute. As I’ve mentioned, was not trusted enough by his winger imo. The beauty with how he defended last week was that he was giving his centre a bit of room but his strength was always superior to make a solid tackle. Tonight Justin Carney was standing in no mans land because he did not trust that Moga could make the tackle on the centre. Was given no quality service with any space. Received a hospital cut out from Mortimer in the second half which was dropped. Had one nice run from a scrum out from our line and another from dummy half inside the 20 where he looked close to breaking through and scoring from nothing, seemed to catch the Tigers off guard with his strength in that instance. Sustained what looked like a high ankle sprain from that run. Tried to run it off for the next set after we scored to take the lead but was taken off. Didn’t look too bad though.
Aubusson – Easily the man of the match. His defence alone late in the first half was magnificent. He read the Tigers’ left side movements to a tee and Lawrence had no answer for him. I stand corrected that he is an attacking disadvantage at centre because he was just as brilliant in attack. Made an excellent break down the right to set up the scene for Mose’s try (I think). Looks quicker than I’ve seen him so he will no doubt start at right centre in round 1 if SKD is out. Was getting outside Lawrence with ease at times. Basically, we lose tonight if Maubs isn’t playing.
Rona – Got few opportunities and had to resort to hit ups down the middle. Good to see him get rewarded for his exceptional game last weekend.
Mortimer – Really pushed for a bench spot tonight. His defence was great, didn’t let anyone down. Great support work from five-eighth. Showed he is much better suited to a support/running & drawing game rather than a halfback’s organisational game tonight. Will not start in the halves but will give Ant Mitchell a big shake for the 14 jumper. Has done far better than I expected at this early stage and that’s a credit to the young bloke’s attitude.
Kheirallah – I’ve always been a fan of this kid, but I feel he is a genuinely solid replacement for either of our halves. His kicking game was quite good tonight, his second in the attacking zone a neat cross field chip for Bosden to score. Attempted another chip and chase which was unsuccessful, followed up with a nice tackle on Benji though and will learn from that. Found the ground with all of his long kicks.
Pearce – Excellent performance and showed signs that this could be his big year where he stepped as and becomes a game breaker. Scored a nice try picking his moment and slicing through the line on the right. Even beat a defender with his step on the attacking set before his try and went close to scoring. The double threat of Cordner and Aubusson outside him really helped his running game tonight I thought. He looks stronger than last season too and was really solid in defence. His long kicking was good. Didn’t get to see many attacking kicks from him tonight.
Forwards:
Ailaomai – Much better game from him this week. Did his job early carting the ball for 8-10m most runs. As with most of the younger guys that started struggled a bit with the speed of the Tigers forward roll at the start.
Takairangi – Played prop all game and was sensational. Just as effective up the middle as he is down the edges. Good selective offloading, nothing silly. Made great metres with each run and looks a chance at a bench spot of the back of that performance. Great versatility, has now proven he can play anywhere from centre to prop.
Arona – One of our best again in my opinion. Came on after 20 and pushed out from marker superbly. Was again effective in attack bending the line on occasions. Could not have pushed his claims for a spot in the 17 any better than he has this pre-season.
Liu – Played in the second half and was very solid as well. Close to sneaking over under the posts once late in his stint. Was not overawed by the experienced Tigers pack. As with nearly all of the young forwards trialled looks very capable of competing strongly in first grade should injuries occur to the first 4 props. We’re in good shape for props this season when you consider Liu, Ailaomai, Takairangi and Tago have all shown that they can more than hold there own against more experienced packs. Consistency will be the main issue for them should any of them get a regular gig in first grade at some stage this season. Bit of bad news on the prop front. Kane Evans injured his leg (ankle I think) in the 20s game yesterday. Unfortunate, as it looks as though he would get a run in the first grade trial today.
Tasi – Another big game from Lama. Consistently got over the advantage line. I think he’ll get even better as the season goes on. Good engine which I think could see him shift to the backrow instead of being interchanged throughout games this year. Looks dangerous running just wide of the ruck defence.
Masoe – Some massive charges from the big fella. Really put us back on top prior to two tries to get ahead. Scored a barge over himself which surely he and Friend will continue to do throughout the season. He has started back where he left off at the end of last season which was not the case early 2011 so that’s a great sign. I think he’ll start the occasional game early in 2012. Really stood up last night in the absence of Kennedy and JWH. His dominance down the middle was one of the big things that swung the game for us I felt.
Mitchell – You’ve gotta feel for this guy. He will probably lose out to Mortimer for the bench spot but he hasn’t done a thing wrong in either trial game. Was lively out of dummy half in the first 20. Made a nice half break down the short side early in the game.
Friend – Lifted the intensity when he came on last night. Tackled strongly and had a few good nippy runs from dummy half. Good service all night and directed the forwards really well. Another big year coming from Friendy. Looks more like a leader every time he plays.
Bosden – Great in the first 20. Went up high for his try off a delicate cross field chip from Kheirallah. Had great footwork into the line and bustles forward well each time he takes the ball up. Could easily slot in at lock or on the edges and the team would not miss a beat imo. To think he may be playing for Newtown in a fortnight seems a bit ridiculous. Can’t wait to see him offload a bit more, looks to have unbelievable control of the ball while holding it like Ali Laui’titi.
Cordner – Boyd was sensational again last night. Has sewn up a starting second row spot imo. Scored a brilliant try running a great line off Pearce over the top of Benji. The line was Aubusson-like. I thought it was Maubs that had scored actually. The way he skipped outside his man then hit the hole at pace was awesome. And to think he’s only 19 still. He will be one of our best this season without doubt and will push for Origin within a year. The improvement in his game from last year is astounding.
Symonds – Another who showed very good signs last night. Looked to be playing more of a roving lock role. Showed good leg speed and a good fend into the line. Looked very likely in attack early. Perhaps the Tom Symonds of old is back. Still needs to shore up his defence though, dominated a couple of times by Woods and Galloway.
Guerra – Aiden played on the opposite side to me for the most part and he went unnoticed a bit. Didn’t seem to do much in attack but was solid in reading the defence.
Nuuausala – Looks up for a good year. Possibly tried a few too many barge-overs last night playing tight in the first 20 mins. One or two good offloads from memory but also pushed a one or two. I thought one offload up the middle to Mini probably should have been caught. Will most likely start at lock in round 1 unless Arona has done enough in Smith’s mind.
Beating the premiership favourites at full strength (minus Tuqiri) without our captain, our two best props and our most creative outside back tells me that we may be in for something special this year guys. Lasting the 26 rounds will be the main issue I think. But if we continue to play as a team, the young guys keep improving and Pearce steps up as a game breaker, I think we could really give it a fair shake this year.
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