Great wrap-up cf2. I was also a bit disheartened to find your article's moniker used by the mwse site but I guess you should be flattered. You'd think "for a few dollars more" they could have come up with something original. They should have at least offered you "a fistfull of dollars."
Anyhow, it was a great game (full credit to the boyz) but to win we really needed some points from our mammoth effort in the first half as it was bound to take it's toll in the second. Although we deserved another try or three, Ill discipline (or perhaps our inability to recover) leading to five consecutive penalties cost us the game I thought. It also seemed like it was one of those games that we weren't meant to win. I thought in some frames you could just make out a smokey silhouette of a ghost or ghoulish figure that was making our passes go a little askew and the kicks a fraction too far. There was one whispering something in Kite's ear with five minutes to go. They're also noticeable around Inglis, whenever he was tackled they seemed to be making him just flip over like a red wine on white shag pile carpet. Doesn't Freddy Krueger wear a Rabbitohs jumper? Hmmm.
Some of Tooves' decisions i.e. G.Stewart playing 80 and J.Buhrer playing 08 made no sense at all. Surely we have other options, Gower not really being one, no disrepect. With Gulavao, King and Fa'oaso gone we're going to be pretty light up front and no match for big packs. I hope we have some fresh beef in the other two grades that are ready to step up and if need be leave their addiction to American franchised fast foods behind them. Surely it can't be too hard to find a couple of crash test dummies that can catch.
Our attack as said was as it's been all year, 'disjointed' and will improve in time with more 'big match' practice. As I've said before, I wish we could treat every game as a 'big match' at least so that the emotion and intensity becomes more familiar, manageable and our performance consistent.
The low light for me was watching a Diesel troop carrier try to morph into a Porsche 911. Yes he drove more miles than he should have had to and the reserve tank was flashing "HELP", but how much experience is needed to realise when it's necessary to put it in neutral and just roll down the hill. As disconcerting as that was seeing good field position given away with cheap penalties and careless tackles, giving a giant forward pack (which we were handling very well) easy metres whilst putting extra strain on our own pack.
This eyesore/mind-ache/aneurysm producing game was for me countered by the toughest man on the park knocking the childhood memories out of both over-hyped over-fed over-inflated Burgess brothers. I wish all four of them had played just to see the league's premier hit-man add to his vast bone collection and delete an entire families history.
Steve Matai: I salute you. Thank you for giving me something to cheer and a smile whenever I remember that brutal game.
P.s. Leave the no-look pass to Benji bro.