After watching the opening play-off matches on replay this week I was amazed at how some of those matches were appraised.
The blow-out scores at half time took many of us by surprise, but it’s how it happened that the surviving teams need to get their heads around, and fast. Some might be fooled by the wrong information offered up.
Manly, in a manner very unlike them, were blown away by a Souths onslaught from midway through the first half. That was surprising enough on its own, but what really did the damage was how Souths undid them.
While the Rabbits’ monster middle-men of Sam and George Burgess and David Tyrell did a solid job in defence and carried the ball when needed, it was not them who caused the damage to the Eagles.
Initially it was sneak plays out of dummy half by Reynolds and Issac Luke, with Luke Keary not threatening inside passes to the big men but having a crack himself instead.
Then it was Sutton’s left side power running with the occasional offload that led to breaks, and just a little later those exquisite and “adventurous” pre-line passes on second plays on kick return sets by Tuqiri and Walker to Walker and Johnston respectively allowed those exciting speedsters to blow open the famed Eagles defence.
And the final nail on these sets was the last play bombs to Manly’s left wing Jorge Taufua and reaction grubbers for Reynolds and Keary tries. They were rich rewards for smart play. They showed great attacking confidence in sets starting from their own goal-line.
That is the sort of variety most of that almost no-one could or did predict as the formula for the Rabbitohs’ attack. Manly didn’t see it coming on the night, and plenty still didn’t recognise where it came from with post-match analysis.
So what was Manly’s failure? Impotent go forward by their middles didn’t help, but they did meet Souths middles pretty strongly. The Eagles’ very long shift in opening sets for a 35-metre gain worked okay, but a much improved Souths’ edge defence on both sides shut down those shorter shift plays much better than other Manly’s opponents previously this season.
I reckon their opponents this weekend should know even more than Souths about how to stop them again this weekend!
Certainly those Bulldogs smashed the Storm’s plans for more play-off glory with a devastating defensive performance. And that sloppy defence that has troubled Melbourne all season was exposed again. It was way too much pressure, as their attack couldn’t ease it for them at all.
Canterbury found ways to negate almost everything the Storm’s trifecta of tremendous attack – Slater, Cronk and particularly Smith couldn’t spark enough decent plays.
Melbourne will have months to work out what they need to address. Manly has only a week.
So Saturday night’s match stands out as one for lovers of watching the breaking down of a dour defence by a champion but desperate team. Do the 2014 Eagles still have that quality of digging deep as previous squads have shown or is this the end of an era as many are saying other great Melbourne rivals?
Tonight’s match looks like the battle of the bullies. The Roosters’ premiership-winning formula adopted by the Cowboys this season means we are in for torrid opening of relentless and ruthless collisions.
If one team trumps the other in this explosive physical aspect the score could be another blow out.
The Roosters’ right side defence was a small weakness in 2013 in an almost complete team. Thurston will be trying to bring it down again in combination with Cooper, just they did to Broncos right side so easily last weekend.
Brisbane, too, has months to sort that out. Wayne’s back as well, so no worries!
The Roosters will no doubt go back to that same well of power footy. All the Chooks’ eggs will be in that basket of beating the Cows at their own game too.
If that goes Roosters way will find out if the Cows have done anything about their own right side defence as it will come under all sorts of pressure from Maloney, Cordner Jennings and Tupou.
I find it hard to picture but if it does come down to the last minutes of the match the Roosters will be looking for better efforts than they got from each other, under pressure in the loss to Panthers.
That end on shot of players on the Roosters left and middle jogging, or even some walking, when a sprint was necessary to contest that bouncing ball from Dallin Watene-Zelezniak’s desperation pass. For the Panthers to score that so easily should have alarm bells ringing at Moore Park.
Loose balls are always a measure of enthusiasm and desire.
I reckon the talk will have been more about efforts and enthusiasm and 80 minutes than back to back premierships.
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