Enter the Dragon

Oct 2008, 1.00pm, Turf City
Round: 7th WTL '08
Score: 7-5
Dick of the day: None
Player of the day: All players

A week of adequate rest following a convincing win over the inexperienced UWC boys has led us to the deciding round which will determine the league champion for this year's WTL. It appears that the unintended laying off of team practice over the last week may have just given us that crucial bit of recovery that we were all in need of.

Ruck-ups were surprisingly coordinated relative to past weeks and handling was fairly acceptable and will still need improvement. Defense definitely marked a slight improvement which saw players squeezing in and had most adopting a delightful habit of being chattier unlike recent weeks. Wingers communicated well into their centres and links while observing from their vantage point. Evidently, lesser errors were committed in ruck-ups which obviously translated to more possesions enjoyed in opposition's 5. Various players were alloted some remit for a certain amount of flare but still maintaining a formalised approach in attack, allowing the team to play cohesively in general. Tries were scored with our wingers staying wide and only coming in if necessary.

Tries from opposition resulted from the lack of communication in most crucial instances and could have been prevented by players being more vigilant in defense to shut down in time if other man is beaten instead of ball watching or just being undecided. A try also resulted from a winger being caught off side as he advanced to affect the touch. A winger is generally advised against affecting the touch, but to do so would mean making the line as quickly as possible at the very least instead of plodding back. From my recollection, only a try or two at most (or none at all) was scored off a good sidestep, but was generally ineffective against a tighter defense and effective shutting down in the event a man was beaten.

Overall, one of the better games played this season at the same time considering this to be the most crucial. We could have had a harder time playing a more senior Monsoon side today with adequate numbers. For the younger players, it is worth banking in the experience earned today after playing a good side. Still, a good effort for the win but much to be rectified and built upon because its still a long hard road out of hell.

One more to go. NOT over.