I was at AAMI Park when the Rebels almost ended the Sharks winning streak and did what no other team had done up until that point, scoring 4 tries against the Sharks. The Rebels earned 2 Bonus Points that night and it was some of the most exciting Rugby I had seen in a while! My throat was hoarse from screaming and I was up on my feet hoping for that one last try in the last 2 minutes of the game.
Even with a loss, the crowd were 100% behind the boys and we knew they had given it their all. Of course there were mistakes and missed opportunities but I have yet to see a perfect game of Rugby and you just hope that enough is done to get a win.
The crowd left AAMI Park jubilant in seeing their team almost take down the competition leaders and undoubtably the most in form team in 2011 so far.
Beset by injuries, most recently to both Lipman and Gerrard during the Sharks match, the depth of the Rebels squad was always going to be tested and be a contributing factor on how well we would do against the Reds.
Watching on Friday Night was heartbreaking. It was difficult to view and coming off such a great game the previous week disappointing.
There were massive errors made and I felt like I watching an entirely different team. And really I was!
We knew Lipman was going to be missed and would be difficult to replace, he has been exceptional in the 3 previous games but I had strong reservations about the coaches decision to juggle the backline with 4 changes rather than simply replacing (as best we could) Gerrard at Fullback.
There is a lot of experience with the backs in the Rebels but the reality is they have barely had a chance to gel and create the instinctive combinations and plays that come with being together for years. Over the past 3 weeks, you could see a vast improvement in their decision making and a developing trust in each other. This took a giant step back with the move of so many players from the positions they were starting to become accustomed to new areas.
It could have worked mid to end of season, or more probably next season; we definitely need to have versatile players who can move in and out of a number of positions so that we can cover injuries (Every teams worse nightmare) but also provide opportunities to develop our players in reserve for growth and improvement. But we're not there yet.
Having now been to 3 Home games and watched 2 televised Away games (2 heart in throat great games, 2 very disappointing heartbreaking games and 1 game that could have been better, but wasn't that bad), I really believe that the Rebels rather than being a crappy team that fluked a couple of good games are a GREAT team in the making, who have played a couple of bad games and who if in the next 4 months work hard, iron out some of their key issues (line out and ball handling) and capitalise on their opportunities will cause some major upsets.
I'm sure, the 2011 season is going to continue to be some of the best and worse Rugby that I'll see (I'm hoping more best than worse) but I am without doubt positive that with time and patience, I am seeing a team that will grow into one of the BEST teams Australia and Super Rugby has to offer.
