Eels Blogs

First of all I'd like to say that even though the scores were very close and that only goal-kicking divided the two teams (7 tries each) this would have to be one of the worst defensive displays by Wenty this season. None of our players wanted to take the legs of the Sharks and it was the first half display of non-tackling that led to us losing the match. We were too focused on trying to wrap up the ball and in that time the Shark's forwards were able to gain 2-3 metres after initial contact. Another thing that I noticed was the inconsistent 10 metres the ref was giving the teams. Late in the second half he was making Wenty get back about 12-13 metres each play whereas he was barely getting the Sharks back 10. And the biggest thing on the field was George Rose, oh boy is he fat.

2) Justin Hunt - Started the game out at fullback but then moved around to wing and centre during the match. He scored a try late in the match when Ken Sio popped a ball to him. He had quite an average game, he did some nice things but definitely wasn't as strong when he started the season at fullback.

20) Henry Raiwalui - No comment

1) Ken Sio - Started out at right centre then moved to fullback when Hunt swapped with him. He looked more comfortable at fullback, he caught a few bombs and ran the ball well. He is definitely a classier player but he wan't really doing that well in bringing the ball back.

17) Api Pewhairangi - Didn't really see much ball as Kelly's side dominated the play and the ball seeme to go to the right than it did the left. He did some okay things when he got the ball but he is definitely more suited to the "spine" positions on the field.

5) Bureta Faraimo - Was one of my picks for the best player on the field. He played on both wings and when given good early ball from Matterson he was able to make a lot of metres. He scored the first try of the match even though he was given the ball a bit too early and pushed his way past his opposite then held off 2 scrambling defenders to get the ball down. He scored later on in the match to keep the Magpies in the match after chasing a nothing kick from Foran that was bat back by the Sharks winger. He brought the ball back well when it was kicked behind him and he took a few high kicks nicely.

6) Ryan Matterson - Didn't really see much of the ball as as I said earlier Kelly seemed to demand the ball a lot more than Matto did. When he did get the ball he was a bit hot and cold. A few of his passes went to the feet of his outside men and some hit them right on the chest whilst they were running with pace. A few of the times he took on the line he made no impact and sometimes he looked damaging. Most of his kicks though did hit the ground but weren't putting pressure on the Shark's backs. To describe Matto's game today I'd say he wasn't taking bad options but he wasn't taking the best options either.

7) Luke Kelly - As I've mentioned in 2 posts he demanded the ball a lot and with that can come some good decisions but also come with bad decisions. There was a few times that he took not only the bad option but took the worst option possible, one that pretty much ended Wenty's comeback where he was in the line with the Shark's defenders and then hit a Magpies player with the worst face ball I've seen. Although getting the ball did come with it's perks and he set up a few tries. I don't think Kelly has the playmaking skills to be the sort of half that he tried to be today.

8) Isaac Maliota - Didn't start too well but his second stint was much better

9) Liam Foran - Is not a hooker. He doesn't know how to take the correct option most of the time and has absolutely no running game from dummy half.

21) Mitch Allgood - Along with Bureta Faraimo I'd put him up for one of the better players for Wenty. He was the one of the only Wenty forwards that was able to get the Sharks attackers to the ground. He ran hard with the ball and made a lot of metres but was only making about 1 hit-up per set.

13) Lorenzo Ma'afu - Did okay on the right edge but seemed to cramp Kelly a little bit. He runs hard which is good but he doesn't run the best lines to open up the defence or keep the defence guessing where the ball is going to go. His best position is definitely in the middle.

12) Pat Mataele - Much like Ma'afu runs hard but just doesn't run the correct lines.

23) Sam Gorman - Shouldn't be playing in this position. He's good enough to be in the team but Wenty doesn't have the forwards to let us play Gorman at lock.

14) Ben Jones - Came on and provided a bit more structure in attack and was much better than Foran in this area.

15) Waler Vaeau - Not noticeable.

16) Taunaola Kei - Not noticeable.

10) Daniel Alvaro - Was brought on and definitely made an impact both in attack and defence. He was able to get good initial contact and really worked hard in attack. He made at least 1 hit up per set and sometimes made 2 per set when possible.

Wenty lost 40-36.