Tony Ensor 5.5/10: Bit of a mixed bag. Made a good break and did well to stop Akira Ioane in a one-on-one late in the first half. Had a few mistakes too though which he needs to stamp out of his game.
Jayden Spence 5/10: Virtually nonexistent. Fell off a tackle on Ioane which led to Otago having to scramble and threw a good pass to put Matt Faddes into space in the second half.
Matt Faddes 7/10: The most dangerous Otago back and solid on defence too. Ran strongly with ball in hand and was solid on defence, notably making a trysaving cover tackle on Ben Lam. Surely must stay at centre now.
Michael Collins 6.5/10: Worked hard all day, tackled well and made some great defensive reads. Tidy on attack, supported well at the breakdown and was prominent on the kick chase.
Jack Wilson 6/10: Made a few mistakes, but scored a great try in which he dummied in field and beat Charles Piutau to the corner.
Fletcher Smith 5.5/10: Nothing amazing, passed the ball well enough though. Threw an offload which was intercepted and could not make his kicks wider out.
Josh Renton 6/10: Was the first option in exiting from the kickoff and passed well from the base.
Mika Mafi 6.5/10: Worked hard and had a few impactful runs. Tackled well and got to plenty of rucks.
Adam Knight 7/10: Was really involved, tackled well, made one good break after running a good line and was good in the air.
Naulia Dawai 8/10: The standout performer whose impact went far beyond his tries. Ran explosively and brought leg-drive to go forward in contact, was physical in the tackle, got around the park quickly, threw a couple of good offloads and stole some ball at the breakdown.
Tom Franklin 7/10: A safe target everytime in the lineout and busy around the field. Really looks assured at this level now and brings important consistency.
Blair Tweed 6/10: Worked hard in the tight, got to plenty of rucks and was solid at setpiece.
Hisa Sasagi 7.5/10: Easily his best game for Otago. Had an exceptional work rate, making a ton of tackles, showing good speed off the ground, getting around the field at pace and turning over ball at the breakdown twice. Was unlucky to be taken off as he was still going well.
Sam Anderson-Heather 6/10: Got involved on defence and was active in support on attack. Threw well into the lineout too and was generally very tidy.
Craig Millar 7/10: Another who got around the field well and is one of the best at supporting the ball carrier going into contact. Made his tackles and was part of a solid setpiece.
Sekonaia Pole 6/10: Was energetic around the park and threw accurately into the lineout.
Donald Brighouse (No Rating): Came on for the last few minutes and did not really get a chance. Played halfback at one ruck and passed to his right.
Aki Seiuli 6/10: Did not have quite the same impact as in other games, although still got stuck in on attack and defence.
Josh Dickson 5.5/10: Solid, made one halfbreak up the left hand side. Missed the tackle on Simon Hickey which put Otago on the back foot and saw them concede the penalty which took the deficit to six towards the end.
Dillon Hunt 6/10: Another who was solid and did not shy away from anything on debut. Notably ripped the ball off an Auckland runner to give Otago a chance to snatch a win in the dying moments.
Kaide Whiting (No Rating): Came on for the last ten minutes and was energetic. Was involved in the final sequence which nearly saw a try scored, but could not link up with an Otago player when he got the ball.
Sio Tomkinson 6.5/10: Very physical, particularly for such a young player. Tackled well and ran hard on attack, while also showing some nice footwork.
Tei Walden 5.5/10: Did okay considering he was out of position. Looked not bad when he ran, although a few of his kicks were pretty ordinary.
