Wow - I thought Wests were great yesterday they were excellent in Prem Colts and their Prems just never stopped competing and deserved 2 bonus points from that game. Well done Wests Sylvan Rd had a different feel to what is has for a few years - they are hungry for success.
Agreed, I thought Wests were quite good.
Easts defiantly look like a team that hasn't played as much together due to players coming in and out due to representative commitments.
That being said, they were the better team, and if it hadn't been for 3 bombed tries in the first half, they would have had a more comfortable win margin. That's not trying to take anything away from Wests, because they were quite determined.
I thought the big turning point was when Matt Brandon made that brilliant covering tackle after a full length break by the Wests player. He had been down injured in back play but tracked across and made a beauty of a tackle, before a turnover was made. Really shut Wests out after that.
Toby White was unstoppable at times. In the first half he made line-breaks at will, and was easily the Tigers best player. Still needs to know when to make the pass, but aside from that, it still bewilders me how he has never gotten higher honours.
For Wests, their full back was impressive. Good boot and a strong running game.
I was also really impressed by young half-back Adam Deck when he came on. It isn't a bad option to bring him at 9 and move Mullins into fullback late in the game to add some energy.
Overall, I think the result was fair. Wests showed they are going to cause a few upsets this year. They may not have the star power the likes of Uni, GPS and Easts, but they sure have a lot of ticker and determination.
Easts will be better for more game time together now that the Reds A and Reds U20's has concluded.
