Harper’s night to forget as Hasler reveals his gun center was ‘underdone’ in Talakai duel
Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler has revealed center Morgan Harper was “underdone” for his crucial clash against Sharks gun Siosifa Talakai.
Talakai ran riot in the first half, recording 193 run metres, nine tackle breaks, three line breaks and three offloads, while his opposite man missed six tackles.
After 40 minutes the Sharks had a 32-0 lead and despite a huge comeback, the Sea Eagles were unable to best Craig Fitzgibbon’s side.
At halftime, Hasler made the call to bring Harper off and hand young gun Tolu Koula the task of containing Talakai which ended up a successful move.
Harper missed the Sea Eagles Round 6 clash against the Titans due to Covid protocols, and Hasler explained that may have contributed to his poor performance.
“In hindsight, it is wonderful thing hindsight, with Covid he was underdone a little bit, but he won’t use that as an excuse,” Hasler said.
“He is a real proud kid and he will learn, it was a real tough night for him tonight, there is not doubt about that and he won’t hide from that.
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