The Agony Of Defeat

The Agony Of Defeat

There’s a fine line between agony and ecstasy. There is no better feeling than when we beat the Roosters. On the other side there is no worse feeling when they beat us. Last night we felt the agony.

In a game where we should have won, our completion rate (62%) let us down. It’s hard enough to beat any team giving up that much possession let alone one of the competition heavyweights.

Déjà vu

It just wasn’t our night last night. From the opening set it was a case of déjà vu. Again losing a forward for the game. This time it was Hame Sele. How often have we seen that happen over the last year? 

It really throws your bench rotation around. Having Tom come on in the first minute rather than around 20 minutes in, meant we weren’t going to have his impact coming off the bench when we needed it. We didn’t have him when we really needed him up against JWH.

All Over Them Early

Despite the setback we were all over them for the early part of the game. Getting out to a 10-0 lead. With the way we were dominating in that first 25 minutes we probably left one or two tries out there. 

Sadly we let them back in the game in that last 10 minutes of the half. Poor goal line defence to let Brandon Smith in. 

Then did I mention déjà vu? 

Another Try Before Halftime

We conceded a try right on halftime. That is the 4th game in a row (including the preliminary final) where we have conceded a try in the last minutes of the half. It is a concern. When you consider we have lost the last 2 games by a converted try or less it shows how big it is in the context of the result. 

We did manage a penalty goal right on halftime to go into the sheds with a small lead. 

A Try Goes Begging

Coming out in the second half we opened them up. Campbell Graham only had to pass to Thompson yet went himself. A try gone begging. One of at least 3 we bombed. I won’t be too critical of Campbell though as I thought he was our best out there. Not only in attack, but his defence as well.

It’s bad enough when a player drops the ball, but when a player tries to throw the impossible offload it puts the team under so much pressure. The Chee-Kam offload turned the momentum of the game. Instead of finishing the set and having the Roosters running the ball back deep from their own end they were on the attack. 

Paying For Mistakes

They made us pay for that mistake and took the lead. We now found ourselves in a position where we had to hit back. Despite the mistake we should have held them out. It was a poor defensive effort by AJ. 

It all seemed to go downhill from there. The errors really started to kick in. 

The Roosters were giving us chances, but we didn’t take them. The same old story. Giving them the ball back. 

Tass No Try

We did manage to make a break but some great defensive work by Joey Manu forced Tass to lose the ball. Another try gone begging. It did look to me as though Tass was trying to shift the ball to the other arm. In the end that cost him a try. A try there would have shifted the momentum of the game. 

It didn’t help having Murray off the field. The shape he adds to our backline movement is second to none. We needed him out there. 

Sadly the Roosters got another try to Jaxson Paulo. A bit of a contentious one. Manu stopping in the line and Cody played for the penalty. I don’t know when the rules have changed but I didn’t think a player could stop in the line. 

The Roosters converted and we found ourselves down by 8. 

It was an uphill battle from there. You could see the boys were off their feet. Yet they never gave up. One thing I could never accuse the team of is giving up. 

We did manage to get a penalty for a high shot on Tass. Manu and Chee-Kam both sent to the bin. Time was getting away from us. 

I didn’t like that we went for the 2 there. I know what they were thinking, but it was too far out and took valuable seconds off the clock. It was lucky it ended up going dead. 

One Last Set

We did get the ball back and finally get over the line to give us one last set to win the game. The clock stopped with 1:23 remaining. Even though he got the conversion, Latrell took 40 seconds to kick the goal. That made our task that much harder. 

In the end time ran out and Latrell had to take an impossible shot out wide from halfway. It wasn’t to be.

We didn’t get much go our way last night. The calls went against us. Losing 2 forwards during the game also played its part. But the biggest factor was our completion rate. Get that right and the other 2 things aren’t a factor. 

I thought our halves really struggled at times in the game. Although they had some good moments, I felt like they weren’t there for the big moments of the game. 

I do worry about Izaac Thompson. I have a feeling that he is a stop gap solution. He does have some good runs out of our own end, but there are some worrying signs with his hands and his defence. Last night didn’t do anything to change my mind. 

Best Performers

Outside of Campbell Graham, I thought Keaon had a great game except for the lazy defensive effort for the Smith try. Tatola showed why we missed him the previous week. Murray also had a strong game for us.

Despite the loss there were some positives to come out of the game. Only losing by 2 points whilst having 15 errors really hurts. What it also shows us is that we get that right and we will be hard to beat. 

I have to make special mention to our captain and the way he has his team mates back. When Tass was hit high Cam was the first one there to stick up for him. This is not an isolated thing. 

Now we find ourselves with one win out of 3. Next week we play the undefeated Sea-Eagles. This is a game we need to win with our tough draw to start the season.

The Agony Of Defeat.

By Josh Kemp for Bunnies TV.

Special thanks to The Burrow – South Sydney Rabbitohs Supporters Group members David Morton, Shawn Sstid O’Farrell and Mark Higgins for their contibutions from Allianz Stadium last night.