Take a bow to No.9 Finlay Christie, who kept the Blues in check with the Rebels from the start, before he turned his side around into cruise control in the 2nd half & the rest is history under his leadership & on-field input. He wanted to make that happen so many times tonight, so the Blues cannot go wrong or fall behind because the Rebels are not an easy side to face in this competition. But with the added patience & support from his men later on, he was able to find a gap through the gate before a series of big score tries came his way including two for himself. And with the Blues well secure with the easy win, he deserves an early mark too.
Next up is another two-TRY Blues star in Mark Telea at No.14 (Right Wing). Now he may have made a series of mistakes earlier on that saw him being consigned to the naughty chair in between half-time breaks for 10 mins. However, he can be forgiven when Mark was blessed with the support needed to express his finishing skills through an abundance of pace & power. If Mark continued to make the mistakes like he did earlier on, then the Rebels would’ve won but he’s glad that Mark learnt his lesson before he came back better that helped his side steer clear in the end. This is his year now both at SR & International level for the ABs after Sevu Reece (Crusaders) has to sit out for a long time now due to injury.
And Jordan Uelese did help the Rebels make the Blues pay when he unexpectedly came on for Alex Mafi at hooker in the 15th minute. The way he offers to the Melbourne-based side such as the experience, leadership and physicality puts them on the front foot, particularly when being given the chance to get the job done going forward. Yes, he might have played with the pain a bit just before HT when Jordan helped Brad Wilkin nail down another Rebels TRY, but then he couldn’t continue thanks to another unfortunate knee injury. Let’s hope it’s not so serious as he comes back sooner to continue his hard work that caught the eye of current Wallabies coach Eddie Jones.
