NRC 2016 SF1: Eagles v Rising

[amirite]

well my observation of the Rising in the albeit, limited amount of what i saw on TV and streaming, was the Super players who should have dominated didn't, the same errors that we saw in Sup18 this year are still prevalent but under less pressure. the Rebels have a very tough draw, and i don't think the second tier Rebels players (Jeffries and Fox aside) have improved all that much. personally i hope i am wrong.

I don't disagree with a number of contracted players not stepping up as much as you'd like, but the reality is you probably only need 1 or 2 to step up and like you said Jeffries was excellent. I also think Fainga'a, English and Reid looked like players playing down a grade.
Things could be worse, add Koribete and probably 1 or 2 more signings to the above post and we're looking fine.

 

[swingpass]

as i said, i hope my pessimism is misplaced. you are right about players going down a grade, that often happens as the more talented, better players think and and act quicker than those around them, see spaces and opportunities that others don't and so try things that in a better all around side come off but at the lower level don't because the "lesser" players cant react fast enough. hence a lot of unforced errors.

 

[199madmave]

"At least JD has been playing well from a Rebels perspective,"

Did you watch the same game that I watched??

 

[Hawko]

I also think Fainga'a, English and Reid looked like players playing down a grade.

I thought Fainga'a was close to best on ground. He was an absolute pain in the arse in a well beaten team.

 

[amirite]

I thought Fainga'a was close to best on ground. He was an absolute pain in the arse in a well beaten team.

Agreed mate, surely at some point an international cap for Tonga beckons.