Captains Call: Round 6
Welcome to week six of Captains Call.
They won, they finally won. The Raiders posted their first win of the year. It was a game that showed some great fight in defence as they only had 32 percent of the ball in the first half, but it also showed some great individual efforts in both attack and defence. I hope they play like that for the rest of the year (key word, hope). The Eels on the other hand slumped to their fifth loss. It wasn’t a lack off trying or effort as they had enough ball and put on some big hits. They also limited the Panthers to just one try which is a great effort. It just seems nothing is going right for them at the moment, whether it be a clunky attack or no luck with the referees or even something so simple as quick service out of dummy half. With Gutherson to return this week, could we see a reversal in form?
Last week we touched on the penalty counts and over the weekend there was a drop of about three penalties a game to bring it down to 15. Watching the games over the weekend I could notice an improvement in the flow of the games. Lets hope the games keep trending this way as it makes for much better viewing.
Let’s have a look at the five from last week and as there were not zeros, there wasn’t anything to write home about. McGuire and Crichton both got a workhorse with Crichton only two involvements away from a double. Both Taylor and Maloney got a try assist and if it wasn’t for James Tamou, Maloney would have crossed for a try. The best of the week though, surprise, surprise was Damien Cook. Even though he missed out on a fifth consecutive double, he still got his workhorse and a line break. He also ran for a whopping 134 meters.
Lets look at five more this week and don’t forget to vote or leave a comment below.
And no Damien Cook this week 😉
Daniel Alvaro – safe bet
Besides the first week where he hit right on 40 involvements, Alvaro has acquired an easy workhorse every week to the point where in round three he had the involvements for a double, just no the meters. You generally won’t get much else out of him but if you need a guaranteed eight points, he is your man.
Peter Wallace – safe bet
Like Alvaro, Wallace has managed an easy workhorse every week as well. He gets the involvements for doubles, you just wish he’d run the ball more. The advantage with Wallace is he can pick up the odd try assist here and there. Again, if you want a guaranteed eight points with the possibility of a couple more then Wallace can do the job.
Cameron Smith – safe bet
Smith has had a quiet start to the year in terms of attacking stats, but he still has four workhorses’ in five weeks with the only one missed was due to a sin binning. Watching the way he controlled the game in the second half of last weeks game, I expect him to come out and do the same from the start this week. This could be a big game from Smith.
Jordan Rapana – risk and reward
Although Rapana has had a quiet start to the year, the right edge for the Raiders found a bit of form last week. If that continues to evolve this week, Rapana could benefit greatly, especially if Leilua plays like he did last week.
Mitchell Moses – risk and reward
Another player who has had a very quiet start to the year. Moses looked like he was starting to find a bit of that attacking flair he had at the back end of last year. Add Gutherson into the mix and their combo could really strike against the Raiders if their defence isn’t up to scratch.
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Adam Hewat
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