NZ Warriors 2017 Round 20 Review: Bowen dashes Warriors playoff hopes

Copyright Photo: www.cowboys.com.au

After the embarrassment of Round 19, the Warriors packed their bags and headed to North Queensland to face the Cowboys.

With the season on the line and playing without Shaun Johnson and my pick for player of the year James Gavet, the Warriors had their back against the wall.

The Warriors showed heart but lacked precision and ultimately went down 24-12.

The 2017 season trend continued as the Warriors were first to score through Bunty Afoa and showed grit and determination as they forced multiple repeat sets.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, the repeat seats didn't lead to points, and after a Mason Lino kick had gone out on the full, the Cowboys clawed their way back into the match with back to back tries to Justin O’Neil and Javid Bowen.

The Warriors put the final stamp on the first half with a try to Simon Mannering to level the scores 12 all.

Issac Lukes conversion of that try would be the last points the Warriors would score in this match although not for the lack of trying.

Ethan Lowe grabbed a Kyle Feldt offload and crossed for the Cowboys third try midway through the second half.

The Warriors had a few chances to force the game into Golden Point but could not convert them into the much-needed points.
Including a head scratching dummy-half run from Solomone Kata on the last tackle when the Warriors really needed to get the ball out to Kieran Foran to either set up a try scoring opportunity or force a repeat set.

Javid Bowen sealed the match with a length of the field try after scooping the loose ball from a Warriors bomb to end the game 24-12.

Copyright Photo: www.photosport.nz

My Warrior of the game yet again goes to Simon Mannering.

I don't know what more I can say about Simon, he is a consummate professional who leaves everything out on the field.

He has always been the Defensive linchpin of this side, but it is his recent effort on attack that has impressed me, once again Simon was one of the leading metre eaters with 133 metres gained from 16 carries.

He continues to put his body on the line for this club, and I hope that the younger players in this organisation take note and try to emulate Simon's work ethic, if they do the Warriors future will be bright.

Copyright Photo: www.warriors.co.nz

My Warrior who needs to improve is Solomone Kata.

That dummy half run killed this match, as soon as Solomone went into dummy half on the last tackle I knew he was going to try and bash his way over, the problem is the Cowboys knew it too and had more than adequately prepared for it.

With the season on the line the Warriors needed to get the ball to Kieran and any other player on the field at that moment would have done it.

Solomone isn't a team player, he has stated in interviews that he doesn't pass the ball as all he wants to do is score tries.

That would be great if he was actually scoring tries, but he has only scored 6 this season.

Stephen Kearney needs to teach Kata to play for the team instead of himself or drop him, with a player like CNK waiting in the wings I would choose the latter.

With the season on the line, the Warriors really needed a win here, and you could see that they were pushing the Cowboys to the limit.

Kieran Foran stepped up in the absence of Shaun Johnson and put it all on the line, an attempt at a 40/20 that narrowly missed could have completely changed the result here, but it just wasn't to be.

Mason Lino did not look out of place in first grade yet again and was not gun shy, and Chris Satae showed promise in his first-grade debut with a strong 10 minutes after James Gavet was cruelly ruled out for the season with an arm injury.

This was definitely an improvement compared to Round 19, but you don't get competition points for trying, the Warriors need to start winning again sooner rather than later.

This week the Warriors are back at Mount Smart and are set to face the Cronulla Sharks in what will be a brutal encounter.

The Warriors now need 5 of their last 6 matches and have other results go their way if they are to have any chance of playing finals football in 2017.

Stephen Kearney has named the same side that faced the Cowboys to face the Sharks, and if the players can bring the same intensity that they showed in North Queensland, they could run away with the upset here.

Unfortunately, I think the Sharks forward pack will be too much for the Warriors, and I'm picking the Sharks to win by 8 on Friday night.

So that was a frustrating Round 20, and as per usual, I will leave you with some questions.

What is your score prediction for the Sharks match?

What are your thoughts on Solomone Kata’s dummy half run on the 5^th tackle?

Do you think the Warriors are going to play finals football still?

How big a loss do you think James Gavet is?