#15 Aiden Tolman
- 24th minute: Tolman on for Woods after the Chad penalty goal. He takes the first run from the kick off. Knees + elbows and a good ptb. This set is nearly all forward runs
- Set ends with a kick and Dragons being tackled about 23m out. Tolman isn't involved in the tackle but he is nearby and gets to second marker
- Makes 2 tackles in a row this set, including good contact on Ravalawa and getting him on to his back
- 5th tackle he puts good kick pressure on Clune
- Next set Tolman takes a lead run on tackle 4 and then makes good yards on tackle 5. Gets wrestled onto his back late. End result is slow play the ball and Chad gets thumped as he kicks it
- Only involved in one tackle this set. Legs tackle. Gets to second marker yet again
- Again good kick pressure on Hunt this time. Doesn't quite get there in time to put him off but he would have been in his eyeline for sure
- Next Sharks set is an exit set with backs taking all of the runs. It ends with Wade putting the ball in to touch with Ramien not far away frmo returning
- Roughly 20 seconds elapses between when the ball crosses the touchline and when the ragons play it in the middle of teh field
- Tolman makes one good legs tackle early in the set, but teh Dragons are playing hot potato. A couple more times he covers across to be there if needed, and gets to second marker. On the second of those the Dragons have no dummy half and Tolman gets the pill
- Not involved in this set other than a lead run on an out-the-back play.
- Fifth tackle ends in a Ronny kick to the middle and Tolman chases though to force the repeat set
- Next set is clearly set up for specific plays. Tolman takes a lead run on a right side shift, then quickly comes back to the middle to setup for a support run inside Williams. Next play is an unders play to Tolman from the dummy half but they read it he gets flopped onto his back. Sharks end the set with a poor kick from Wade
- No involvement from Tolman in defence on the next Dragons set, but he's up quick with the line and in position. Dragons kick on the 4th so Tolman doesn't pressure the kicker this time. Kennedy drops the ball
- Tolman makes one tackle in the next set, but the bloke slips as he gets to him. The Dragons set ends with a ball going dead in goal and a Sharks 20 restart
- Tolman makes good metres on tackle 2 (with Rudolf in support). A better play the ball this time leads to a nice shift left, followed by an offload and they make 30+ metres. Next play Kennedy puts it in goal and the Sharks get another set
- Tolman takes the run from the dropout. Really good metres and he gets to his belly, but the Dragons hold on for ages. Still a quick-ish player the ball though and it leads to good metres for Williams on the next play. He takes another settler on tackle 3 before a quick shift. Again a good play the ball.
- The set ends with yet another short kick to the in goal and a repeat set
- This time Toby takes the run from the kick, and on play 2 Tolman runs a tip on for Williams. They make good metres and get a good play the ball from Williams. They go to Chad on the right who uses Tolman as an inside runner and he almost slips through. Brailey is there in support but is flat footed and not quite close enough. If he is closer or if there is an extra support runner on that play and Tolman could easily have offloaded. Instead he gets taken in a legs tackle and gets a really quick play the ball, but as they shift right it's not a great pass from Blayke and Nikora drops it
- On the next defensive set, Tolman is involved in one tackle, but the Dragons go side-line to side line so generally avoid him.
- On the fifth he comes up to pressure the kicker but is taken out by a blocker (one of my pet hates) and can't get to Hunt. Watching again now this is as obvious an obstruction penalty as I have ever seen. McCullough stands in front of Hunt and then eyeballs Tolman coming through and moves to take him out NFL blocker style.
- Sharks bring it out of their own end. Tolman takes a lead run off Nikora. Sharks get a penalty and awful field goal attempts ensue and it is half time
***
- Second half Tolman takes the opening run, gets to his belly and gets an "ok" play the ball. He backs up again on tackle 5 and gets a bet better play the ball setting up for Chad's clearing kick. He doesn't chase the kick, but that could be because he played the ball and didn't want to be pinged for downtown. He lumbers down and joins the line as the tackle is made
- 2 very good tackles on this set. First he dominates Jack Bird and gets him on his back, and then he makes a perfect legs tackle on Merrin. He's caught on the opposite side to the kicker when the set ends, so doesn't come up to pressure the kicker. Brailey and Williams do a good job of that though. Tolman walks back with the rest of the middles and re-joins the attack around tackle 2 while the wingers, centres and back rowers work it out
- On the fifth he lines up for one of those blocker plays I hate so much, but unlike McCullough he lets the Dragons chaser keep his line, and Tolman starts making his way down field as the Sharks shift right and get the kick away via Katoa. Dufty fumbles before recovering, and Tolman makes the tackle (with help). He makes one more tackle in this set before a Dragons grubber is fielded by Kennedy.
- Sharks work it away from their end again without much involvement from the forwards, though Tolman has one lead run and then a hit up on tackle 4 with a quick ptb. Ramien makes good metres from dummy half on the back of it and gets a good ptb himself for tackle 5 and the clearing kick. Tolman is in the lead chasnig group but doesn't make a tackle. Tolman makes another good tackle in this set, and gets to second marker again. Lomax throws the ball over the sideline on the next play
- Great next set for Tolman despite not getting a touch. Dummy run, lead run, dummy run, hold position, dummy run. This is the sort of play that will never show up on a stat sheet, but makes a huge difference. Sharks go 60 metres in 5 plays, kick to a corner and have the Dragons 10m out on tackle 1. Unfortunately at the end of teh set the Sharks let an innocuous bomb from 40 out bounce and teh Dragons score
- 90 seconds later, Tolman leads the chase from the kick off, makes the tackle, and then backs it up with 2 more after that, and a 4th one for the set. Vaughan goes through Williams and Brailey but Nikora gets enough of him to take him down. Tolman is right there covering and dives on Vaughan after he is on the ground.
- Dragons set ends with a bomb and Brailey diving on a bat-back and the Sharks again come out of their own end through outside backs. Tolman is in the lead chase pack for the kick but doesn't make the tackle
- The next defensive set is a bit of a debacle. On the first tackle Dufty walks about 3m off the mark and takes the first marker out of play (Billy). This leads to a quick play the ball, followed by Brailey falling off a tackle. Tolman and Moylan are required to tidy up the half break. Then Brailey on tackle gives up a set restart. It hasn't been a happy few minutes for Blayke, but he makes a good tackle on the next play and Tolman is there to help. Tolman makes another good legs tackle soon after, before Hunt brushes off William and Tolman arrives too late to stop the offload. Dufty's gets excited and puts in a terrible kick no tackle 3 though, so the Sharks aren't made to pay.
- On the turnover, Tolman takes the hard yards hit-up from his own 10, makes half a metre and gets the world's slowest play the ball because he's got a Dragon draped over him. Another play that won't get him any love from the stats column, but I guarantee the other 12 blokes out there were glad he put his hand up. Graham, Magoulias and Williams take the next 3 runs in similar fashion, all making hardly any metres and getting whacked for their trouble
- Sharks get a set restart on the Williams run for inside 10. The edges come in now and ruck it away. Tolman with another good lead run for Ramien on tackle 2 and a dummy run for Billy on a nice left side shift on play 4 that ends with Dugan having a half chance. Sharks kick to the corner and tackle the Dragons ~12m out. Tolman is in the lead chase group and is involved in the tackle
- Tackle 3 and 4 Tolman is involved in the tackle
- Tackle 4 Dufty goes straight up the guts. I've covered this plenty when talking about the other two guys. Tolman does his job here imo. He holds at second marker, tracks the play well, and has every reason to expect Williams to close the distance
- 90 seconds later, Tolman is in the lead group from the kick off and makes the tackle.
- Dragons cough it up on play 2, Tolman takes a settler in good field position and gets a slow play the ball off a surrender tackle. 2 tackles later he takes a lead run for Woods. Unfortunately Woods turns it over on tackle 5. Tolman makes one tackle on the next set before the Dragons spill it again. The game is getting a little sloppy
- Another set, another lead run and 2 more dummy runs for Tolman - and another dropped ball (this time Wade)
- Tolman makes 2 tackles in the next set, gets a rest for the the review of the Ramsey no-try, and is replaced by Toby immediately following the scrum
**
After a short rest, Tolman returns to the field after the with 5:51 remaining. As per usual, he leads the chase from the kick off and makes the tackle. He also makes a good legs tackle on McCullough on the 4th and then chases hard from marker to catch Hunt on the last for a handover
- Sharks work it away. Tolman has another lead run and this time Woods gives him the footy. Sharks kick to a corner, get the ball back, and Woods scores on the first tackle. Anyone want to guess who the outside dummy runner was before Chad turned it back inside to Woods?
- Last couple of minutes after kick off Tolman has one more dummy run, and the game is done
**
Tolman's work off the ball is fantastic. Watching him closely you really notice how quick he gets in to position for set plays, lead runs, etc. and how often he is supporting the ball runner and taking pressure off his teammates. He is certainly not fancy, but I'm very impressed by his attention to detail on these little 1% plays. He's also a very strong defender with good mix of great low-tackle technique and the ability to dominate tackles up high. If those are the sort of minutes we get out of him all year he will be worth every penny.
