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Reds v Sunwolves, Rnd 4 2020, Suncorp Stadium Feb 22 19:15

Pfitzy

George Gregan (70)
Reds owned that game for about 65 minutes. Felt their lost their shape a bit when McDermott went off, but found it in the last 10.

Was great for Thorn to give his T5 youngsters a solid half hour each once they'd put the result beyond doubt.

Yeah, the Moondogs were poo thanks in part to 9 changes, but as with the Ponies game earlier, the Reds were very good in execution terms.
 

Serge

Larry Dwyer (12)
My takeaways
  • Big gap between front row starters and the bench
  • Lukhan should play in the second row allowing better use of our plethora of backrow talent.
  • Good bench player depth in the back five of the scrum
  • 9, 10, 12 ,13 very good again and have pretty much locked down those positions as starters
  • Paisami continues to show far more than Petaia has at Super level
  • Speight, CFS and Campbell good but missed Hegarty's kicking (goal and out of hand).
  • Not sure which is best combination of back three but with Daugunu back in the mix now it will be interesting selections.
  • Malolua better than Sorovi but nothing sparkling in his first hit out
  • Lucas is not a Super level 10 and I am yet to be convinced he is a 15. I suspect he might drop out of the 23 before long if Daugunu shows some form.
 

Forcefield

Ken Catchpole (46)
Don't know if this has been mentioned elsewhere, but the Sunwolves number 4 is ex WA junior Corey Thomas. Hard to get a read on how he is playing now with that kind of score line. Be interested to know though as IIRC he played a handful of good games for Brissie City a few years back in the NRC.
 

dru

Tim Horan (67)
Back from the game and took time to watch the broadcast.

Biggest difference for me between being there and watching on TV was the back 3, especially Jock Campbell who was simply awesome. Positional play in D and attack, supporting lines, looking for the ball when he could, but mostly leadership. He ran the back (even from wing) and was in constant chat with JOC (James O'Connor) calling issues and strengths pulling structure into the back line.

That tongue of his - I'm going to call him the blue tongue lizard.

Really pleased for the bench on this one, pretty much all of them were out after the game circulating for the crowd who stayed.

PS Jock Campbell was sensational.
 

Zero_Cool

Arch Winning (36)
I think the front row gap isn't AS bad as it could be. It is more that our reserve front row isn't as spectacular as our starting front row. 

We have an absolute glut of locks and backrowers, I would have liked to have seen Wright, Willson and McReight, either pushing LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) up into the row or being told to let rip for 60 min. 

Our backs are looking quite good. 9, 10 is locked in, 12 and 13 ought to be locked in, back three might see some changes with Daugunu coming back in. What do people think our back 3 will look like with all of our options avalable. Campbell, Daugunu, Feauai-Sautia, Speight, Lucas, and Hegarty. I think picking a team on the basis of goal kicking, for us isn't going to long term do us good, IF we have to rely on goals to win games I'd rather we lose those games; so in my opinion Hegarty is the odd man out (but I do love Hegarty, I think he's probably our most consistent backs). 

My back 3 would be something like Daugunu and Speight along with Lucas/Cambpell along with the other coming off the bench and CFS to bring in some starch from the bench.

I did really like seeing Malolua but I would have loved to see Sorovi get some quality time and been able to not come into a match with the game hanging by a thread. Sorovi can be absolutely sensational but with that comes the risk that he'll stuff it up, and he's done that the last few outings -- under a lot of pressure too I might add. Malolua is more stable and a safer option but perhaps not as much upside as Sorovi. Always a brilliant halfback to bring off the bench and he won't let you down so going forwards I'd probably prefer to see Malolua but it would have been good to have given Sorovi one more crack at finding some form.
 

Viking

Mark Ella (57)
Amazing performance. JOC (James O'Connor) getting even better in the 10 spot. Loving Paisami at 13.

I often don't agree with Marto, but when he said the Reds scrum was the best in the comp, he may actually be right.

And I have no doubt the number 8 will be a wallaby one day. Maybe not this year, but when he puts on a bit more bulk he'll be even better. Can't wait.
 

Woldog

Peter Burge (5)
My takeaways
  • Big gap between front row starters and the bench
  • Lukhan should play in the second row allowing better use of our plethora of backrow talent.
  • Good bench player depth in the back five of the scrum
  • 9, 10, 12 ,13 very good again and have pretty much locked down those positions as starters
  • Paisami continues to show far more than Petaia has at Super level
  • Speight, CFS and Campbell good but missed Hegarty's kicking (goal and out of hand).
  • Not sure which is best combination of back three but with Daugunu back in the mix now it will be interesting selections.
  • Malolua better than Sorovi but nothing sparkling in his first hit out
  • Lucas is not a Super level 10 and I am yet to be convinced he is a 15. I suspect he might drop out of the 23 before long if Daugunu shows some form.

Far more likely that CFS gets dropped for Daugunu and Lucas retains his spot.
 

The_Brown_Hornet

John Eales (66)
Jeez I enjoy watching this young Reds team play when they click. The skill, passing and set piece were all excellent for most of the game. That pack is going to do some damage in the coming years if they stay together. I'm also liking JOC (James O'Connor) at 10, something that I never used to be able to say. He orchestrated that backline beautifully and combined well with McDermott and Stewart.
 

TSR

Mark Ella (57)
Keen to see Daugunu back out there, but I agree - performing players should get the rewards.

Plus it’ll help drive home the message to Daugunu of the cost of giving up your spot through poor discipline.
 

Cancelled Account

Desmond Connor (43)
If you watch the press conference after the game, Brad’s direction is to establish depth. Saying when he was at the Crusader’s they had All Blacks on the bench. I liked that ASY (Angus Scott-Young) only had a week off and nothing to do with form. Sunwolves would have been regarded as a good game to give the younger players a run.
 

wamberal

Phil Kearns (64)
My fav was Tupou crashing over for his try, nothing more beautiful in rugby union then a tight head prop getting a try from 5m out



Oh yes there is. Kyle Sinckler's try against us from 30 metres out. That is the sort of thing Tupou could do.
 

Adam84

Nick Farr-Jones (63)
How is it far more likely? CFS has been starting and playing well. Lucas has been meh off the bench. I personally don’t think Daugunu gets into the 23 until someone has a shocker, but could be wrong.


It's a hard one, Daugunu is one of the most exciting attacking players in Australian rugby IMO, but his defence is a liability, more specifically his technique is poor. None of the current 15, CFS included deserve to be dropped given they've been pretty good in attack and defence.

On the bench however, Lucas and Hegarty cover the same positions, one of those two is probably most at risk
 
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