Ben Smith 7/10: Got involved on attack and made some good runs in the open, threw a good pass to his right to set up the second try and was perhaps unlucky to be denied one himself a bit later on.
Richard Buckman 7.5/10: Was probably the best of the Highlanders on show, looked good with ball in hand, making a few breaks and taking the right options. Finished well to score his try and was pretty tidy at the back despite being under pressure.
Malakai Fekitoa 6/10: Ran hard at the line and attracted plenty of attention from the defence, although did not make quite the impact or number of breaks as in recent weeks.
Shaun Treeby 6.5/10: Had a handful of good runs and did well in the midfield, come back on a couple of nice angles to go into gaps.
Patrick Osborne 6.5/10: A bit of a mixed night. Ran dangerously, especially early on and scored an opportunistic try. Unfortunately also did a poor job covering and put the team under pressure, leading to the first Reds try and turned the ball over a bit much.
Lima Sopoaga 5/10: Provided some good ball for his backs early, but needed to take control as the game progressed rather than keep throwing it around. Made an error covering which led to the Reds second try and was unfortunate to drop a ball on his own line after a horrible pass from Aaron Smith.
Aaron Smith 6/10: Looked dangerous running, but could have done it way more as the gaps were there close in. Mostly passed well other than his shocker to Sopoaga which led to the pushover try. Should have also taken control and looked to use his forward runners more as the game progressed.
Nasi Manu 7.5/10: The best of the forwards, the only forward who provided go-forward with ball in hand and also the only tackler to get into double figures.
Shane Christie 6.5/10: Made some good runs and his usual quota of tackles. Was a bit slow to the breakdown at times, although this was also because of the width the Highlanders were playing with, which prevented him scavenging like normal.
Gareth Evans 6/10: Had a few runs in the open while ranging and made some tackles in closer, claimed two turnovers too.
Joe Wheeler 5.5/10: Supported play well and made a few tackles, but had to leave the field after 30 minutes and did not really get a chance to show his true worth. Would have been handy towards the end when the scrum was under pressure and Elliot Dixon was playing lock.
Jarrad Hoeata 4.5/10: Had a pretty quiet night, not overly prominent around the field and was part of a scrum and lineout that really did not function well at all.
Ma'afu Fia (No Rating): Left the field after ten minutes with a concussion, but looked good while he was on. Made a good tackle and supported play well.
Liam Coltman 4/10: Did alright around the field, but his lineout throws were simply too short and deprived the Highlanders of too much possession in attacking positions, was pulled at half time.
Kane Hames 4.5/10: Made his tackles, but was another who struggled at set-piece not scrummaging well after not getting away with what he has been over the past few weeks.
Ged Robinson 6.5/10: Much better at lineout time, although had to throw into less. Made nine tackles in 40 minutes which is outstanding and ran good angles when used as a forward runner.
Matias Diaz 5.5/10: Was fairly active around the field, tackling and looked ball hungry when it was loose. Struggled in the scrums though, like everyone else, conceding penalty late in the game.
Chris King 4.5/10: Cleaned up a bit of loose ball, but was pulled after 50 minutes after coming on as a replacement initially. The conceded try from the pushover scrum was his final act.
Tom Franklin 6/10: Another who has to take some responsibility for what was going on in the scrum, but was pretty involved around the park, made some handy runs and went looking for tackles.
Elliot Dixon 6.5/10: Did well considering he was playing out of position at lock. Added some energy when the team was on the back foot and helped with the pack's speed around the field.
Fumiaki Tanaka 7/10: Scored a good opportunistic try, got a turnover and tackled bravely.
Hayden Parker 6.5/10: Pretty tidy, ran well when he decided to and kicked accurately.
Phil Burleigh 3/10: Was playing quite well until he kicked the ball away at the end, which really was unforgiveable.
