Just watched the full game between ACGS vs GT. Thought the young Churchie lads looked good in patches but looked a little clunky for mine.
I have been told first choice representative playmaker Fletcher Austin is still coming back from injury which could have had a part to play in that.
Just like the form guide suggested Treyvon Pritchard looked dangerous and looks to have resolved the kicking issues he was having last week but the Churchie staff will be sweating on his fitness for round 2 as he looks to have copped a shoulder injury late in the game.
Young Solofa again showed why he is one of the best running forwards in the comp posing a threat in close and in the wider channels.
If there was one area Churchie controlled for the majority of the match I thought it was Churchie’s set piece which was very dominant.
Sam Williams was very good in the air but I also thought their 15 year old TH man mountain Sio Kite was very good at scrum time. I am surprised a man of his size can get as low as he can but what would I know? The Churchie lads not being rewarded at all for their dominance in this area by the ref was mind boggling.
With this in mind, can someone at Churchie please tell me what is happening with young Devin Tauakipulu, who appears to have totally fallen off the map at Churchie? He was one of the brightest loosehead prospects in the state prior to this year and I have’nt sighted him at all during the trials this year. He would add another dimension to the Churchie scrum alongside the current regulars of Solofa and Kite IMO.
The Churchie boys will need to on their game this week against GT if they want another victory prior to a tough month of footy where they come up against all of the competition heavyweights. GT are very capable of beating the Vikings if they are even slightly off their games.
Hey RR,
Have to agree with your assessment mate.
Hats off to Grammar though as they really matched it with Churchie in most facets of the game except for the scrum. But like you said, the referee wasn't rewarding Churchie for their scrum dominance which was baffling and he seemed to pull it up every time Churchie had scrum ascendency?
Churchie's general kicking in play needs some attention as they wont get away with it against teams who counter-attack well but the return of F Austin (whenever that is) as you mentioned should help in that area. From what I saw, I thought Churchie bombed quite a few points scoring opportunities throughout the match and Grammar could of easily conceded more than 50+ plus points. The other concerning factor for Churchie was their goal line defence as Grammar managed to score a couple of tries a few metres from the line.
Churchie's lineout worked a treat with H Solofa hitting his targets very well and I was surprised Churchie did not kick for the sidelines more often as Grammar's lineout was struggling in comparison. I agree that Solofa's power running and footwork has been great to watch and he scored another cracker try in front of the Churchie home crowd which was buzzing. T Pritchard looked dangerous every time he touched the ball but I feel he is trying to do too much too early in the game and he'd be better off conserving energy and strike when least expected. Hopefully his injury is not too bad as Churchie desperately need him available for the next 7 weeks for Churchie to mount any serious challenge as premiership contenders.
I also agree big S Kite is starting to finds his feet and he and Solofa seem to be working well in a pod together. For a big young guy, Kite is getting around the field well and if he can anchor and hold his side of the Churchie scrum up against the likes of Nudgee, TSS, BBS, State High etc, Churchie can upset the mentioned teams as I've previously mentioned. Churchie are by no means a big team, but what they lack in size, they have fitness and honest hard-working players in the players named above plus the likes of returning players J Crothers, captain M Blanch, C Godfrey, G Ward and promising young guns in S Williams & T Wood and I predict Churchie to cause a couple of upsets.
