Round Four
Fremantle Roosters 44 – Joondalup Giants 4
By PETER ROWE
Fremantle Roosters made it two in a row at Treeby Oval on Saturday as they saw off the challenge of the Joondalup Giants 44-4.
In a physical game with a lot of positives to take from the performance coach Duane Butler though, is asking for more from his team.
“Joondalup gave it to us, a lot of credit to them,” Butler said. “Respect is the word.
“And while it was good to get the win, we still have a lot of work to do if we are to stay in the race for the playoffs.
“We had too many lapses and we switched off with no talk, so that’s something I will have to look at.”
The Roosters completion rate was another subject Butler knows he has to work on.
“We ground it out on defence but our competition rate was 27 of 39 sets, We need to up that rate.
“It’s about our rugby IQ – we have to improve.”
Ever the hard taskmaster Butler though saw lots of positives as well from a game they were always in control of.
“Sonny Kerr was awesome with 26 tackles, Ryan Woolley in the second row with 23 before he came off with a wrist injury, but I was impressed with his work rate.”
The eight tries came from skipper Ezra Taimoa, winger Nick Riggs, Woolley, Centre Eli Beattie and doubles from fullback Te Toa Parkinson and Jaydon Solomon.
The Giants, who started the game well and stayed the course for the first 20 minutes, then became the architects of their own downfall as the tries began to mount.
“We scored in the second half, but couldn’t defend our errors,” captain Taurean Sheehan said.
“We need to understand that we have to take the chances when we get them and build some mental strength to defend our mistakes.
“Despite the loss there was a lot of improvement form the previous week, but we had two stepping up from reserves on the day. We really need to avoid that and have a fresh 17.”
Jo Jo Ranger was their standout, with solid performances from scorer Mitch Haggart and prop Edison Silata.
