Phil Mooney has made three changes to the Reds this week, two of which suggest the team will be on all out attack against the Stormers. Laurie Weeks comes in for Dayna Edwards to sure-up the scrum, but it is in the inclusions of Mungo McLinden and Will Genia that hint at Mooney’s cunning plan.
Both Genia and McLinden provided some real zest to an otherwise flat first up performance by the Reds, Genia with his confrontational style and McLinden with his ‘run-it’ mentality from the back. The challenge for both will be to maintain that level of involvement for an extended period, something that won’t be easy against an equally exciting Stormers outfit.
Outside centre is a problem for the Reds as neither Charlie Fetoai nor Anthony Faainga, had the impact that Mooney would have been hoping for. Hopefully at training this week the Reds will have worked on attacking with some depth, as last week there was not the space to allow the outside men to strut their stuff.
The Reds’ forwards were well beaten last week, particularly at the scrum and breakdown. It is hard to see how this week will be any different going on what the Stormers showed us last week More is required of Daniel Braid, who, while being solid in his only two outings for the Reds, has been well and truly dusted by his opposite number on both occasions.
The up-tempo game of the Reds seems to be at odds with the less than dynamic performance of Braid and Leroy Houston, so I expect the Stormers to force plenty of ruck turn-overs which lead to so many problems for the Reds last week.
The Reds are going to have a real crack at this game after barely raising a whimper last week – you get the feeling with team selection being as it is, the backs have a licence to run it from anywhere. A win seems beyond them, but the Reds will be looking for at least one bonus point for scoring four tries, maybe two for finishing within seven points?
The only reasonable chance of a Reds victory is in the hands of the Stormers. Should the Stormers enter the game in the wrong frame of mind and fail to reproduce last week’s heroics, they might be in trouble given the Reds will attack and score points.
Cote’s head says Stormers by 12
Cote’s heart however, says Reds by 6 – I reckon the Reds will be better for the last weeks run, and, up against a team that is not as imposing as the Bulls, they will fancy their chances. Last week when the Bulls got in front after the Reds had a man in the bin, I expected the Reds to run up the white flag and cop a real pantsing. It didn’t happen, indeed the Reds showed some ticker and kept plugging away, is it heart?…is it fitness? Who cares – they showed enough for me to get out of bed at 3 am and watch them!!!!!
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Gotta say Cote, I thought the ex-mungoloid made one of the tastiest jinking runs I saw all last week. What’d he step – 4 men within 10 metres? Will be interesting to see what happens over 80 minutes.
I think you’re head’s right, but if your ticker comes through, this could be the start of a decent season for the Reds.
Our hearts and heads are in alignment Juan Cote. I guess if the Reds get up you will be winning the foxsports tipping comp!
And buying the beer – the Reds are at odds of $5.70 to win….tasty
..my summation is that we need to wait until after the road trip to see how the Reds develop. I think it was a mistake trying Hynes at full-back. McLinden has gone reasonably well in trials, so putting Hynes back on the wing restores the balance.
Funny old game this for the Reds. They dominated possession in the early stages but just couldn’t put points on the board. The Stormers finally put a bit of pressure on and the gates opened. At 27 – 5 it looked ‘all over red(s) rover’. However, this Red’s side is a different kettle of fish to the Eddie Jones module. They dug deep (sorry ’bout the cliches Juan) and stepped up. You sort of always thought that the Stormers would have the maturity and discipline to not allow themselves to fold at the end. When you’ve got experienced guys like Percy, ‘Cheeky’ Watson and Ham Burger, you can count on that…..
Well, the Reds said that this season they were going to give the ball a bit of width and depth. They certainly didn’t die wondering….which was good to see. Quade Cooper is in his element with this concept, and although there was a bit of crap as well, generally he tried to be creative.
The weakness is the tight five…..no doubt about it. They’re all journeyman and desperately in need of a bit of Madness and Big Kev. Braid and Houston toiled hard but were overshadowed by their opposites. Higgo had a storming game….best game for the Reds so far and developing well. Liked the look of Diggers at outside centre…but I think he’d go well in any position, now that he’s got the handling yips under control. He will command a Wallabies starting wing spot this season….absolute menace with the ball. You know, I think they really miss someone like Turinui in the backs – despite being from NSW, Morgs does have a brain and has sweet distribution skills. He was really firing at the end of last season.
I think the Reds can take some positives out of these two games. They’ve got a bit of ticker back and the development of players like Cooper, Barnes, Hynes & co is progressing. Not sure whether they’re going to have more wins than last year….Lions, Cheetahs and maybe the Force but I can’t see them winning too many after that ……they’re going to have to find some front and 2nd row depth to really be able to challenge.
Good summation of the game Lance – when you think that Madness, Big Kev and new recruit Ezra Taylor are yet to return, this could well sort out the Reds’ forward frailties.
Is Diggers the new Tana?
There was a lotta good out there. Higginbotham had an absolute bloody storming match. I really like the look of him.
I’m wondering if Quooade is the 10 though. There was a helluva lot of him dancing on the spot in the first half as he figured out what the fark to do with the ball, and then there were the intercept passes he was chucking. I think he’s a lot better off with less to think about at 12. Let Barnes or Lucas do that.
The scrum was pulverized in the first half, but became dominant by the end. How did that happen?