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| Copyright Photo: Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz |
This truly was a game of two halves with the Warriors appearing a bit gun shy in the first half, passes were sloppy and their last tackle options left a lot to be desired but they still managed to have the game locked at 12 all at the end of the half.
A rev up from Coach Andrew McFadden kicked the Warriors into gear and they piled on 5 unanswered tries before the Knights got a late try to end the game.
Stat’s wise the Warriors were all over the Knights, their defense was improved (Only missing 19 tackles which was the second best performance in the round), and they ran almost double the metres with a total of 1434 metres compared to the Knights 780.
Manu Vatuvei returned and played his best game of the season averaging just less than 9 metres every time he ran the ball.
Overall this was a pleasing performance, still lots of room for improvement but they have the monkey of the back after ending the losing streak and can now move forward and make an impact in this competition.
Shaun Johnson improved dramatically this week and was threatening the line and opening holes for the rest of the team to get through; hopefully, this is the start of him getting back to his dangerous self again.
My player of the day goes yet again to Roger Tuivasa-Sheck for the third week in a row.
He is leading the competition with overall running metres and was a genuine threat whenever he held the football.
A positive for the Warriors is that Roger has yet to reach his best form yet.
A special mention goes to Manu Vatuvei; his hit-ups from the Warriors own 20 gave their sets the start they needed.
My player who needs to improve is Jeff Robson, Jeff missed 3 tackles this game (Taking his season total to 19 which is second worse in the competition), he also made three handling errors and these are things he needs to work on immediately if he wants to stay in the side.
Thomas Leuluai is due back from his injury soon and very well may take his position off him if he continues his poor form.
On another note I must say it was good to see Konrad Hurrell back out on the field, his minutes were limited but he had a few good runs and I think the Warriors need to find a place for him in the 17 every week, his runs help the team get the go forward required especially when the props are tiring and he seems very keen to get on the field and get amongst it.
They need to use his enthusiasm to the team’s advantage.
The next game up for the Warriors is against the Sydney Roosters; the Roosters are yet to win in 2016 and will be desperate to change that.
I think if the Warriors play with the same intensity they showed in the second half against the Knights they will get the win in a close encounter but we will talk about that game in next week’s piece.
I hope everyone enjoys Round 5 and I will see you all next week.
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