KEY POINTS:
I'm sorry to stress again that New Zealand has a deficiency in the halves which was again exposed on Friday. Thomas Leuluai was not worth the fuss or cost of the airfare to Sydney. The speed of the Australian game was too much for him to adapt to, especially early in the game.
Lance Hohaia, although a late inclusion, tried to cope and familiarise himself at stand-off but was a little rusty. The kicking game of the Kiwis was laboured and misdirected and offered the Australians little concern. This area must be addressed before the World Cup starts in October.
I thought that once Sonny Bill Williams was allowed to be given the ball, his skill created many opportunities. I say 'was allowed' because it looked as if the instruction was to use him as a decoy as the Kangaroos may have targeted him and stacked numbers in defence. As we struggled through the first half, it was apparent the game plan was deficient. It was predictable and covered comfortably by Australia.
The moment we shifted emphasis to using Sonny Bill as the weapon he is, then we started to create a little havoc. Moving the ball a little wider and playing the ball at the line opened up prospects, with Iosia Soliola and Setimana Sa more than matching their opposites, Mark Gasnier and Justin Hodges.
An option I hope the selectors look at is moving young Isaac Luke into the halves, utilising his exceptional pace and ball skill. In the first half he looked the only threat to the Australians with darting runs out of dummy half and timely passes to support runners; a player for the future.
The last area for concern was the defensive line which at times looked a little soft, especially around the ruck.The Australian pack exploited it on numerous occasions and easy yards were found and soft tries conceded.
There were some positives but, please, if we do not address the bad parts of our game then the World Cup is just a phrase and not a real possibility.
It would be remiss of me not to mention of the newly launched book of Peter Leitch, QSM. This man needs little introduction but I am sure not many people know exactly who he is or what he contributes to the community at large.
Peter's generosity is not limited to money nor his vocal support of rugby league. The Mad Butcher gives to all sports, charities and community groups nationally. But it is his time which he contributes to the community and I am surprised he found the time to write a book about his life.
I look forward to reading it and contributing to the beneficiary which is a charity. I am sure this man has a great story to tell. Peter disagrees with a few issues I raise, especially in this column - and he lets me know it. But that does not prevent him from being a good friend and part of the support network everyone needs in life.
