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The NRL is back, and the New Zealand Warriors got to kick-off their campaign at Mount Smart against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
Both sides have spent the preseason being written off and were determined to prove that they deserve to be taken seriously.
The Warriors made a statement with their biggest first-round win with a 40-6 victory that has them in first place at the end of round one.
What a way to kick off the 2019 season, the Warriors looked like a team that should not be taken lightly this season.
The Bulldogs offered very little in this matchup but you can only play who are across the paddock from you each week, and it was promising to see the Warriors put the Bulldogs to the sword, and they will need more performances like this to cement their claims for a top four.
The Warriors played an up-tempo level that the Bulldogs couldn't keep up with and were clinical while still containing a hint of the razzle-dazzle they are known for.
Firstly my positives from the match.
Alex Corvo's second year with the club is reaping benefits with the Warriors looking in even better shape this season, the Warriors forwards appear to have gained some size, in particular, Bunty Afoa and Sam Lisone and it did not seem to affect their conditioning as they were still fronting in the dying stages of the match.
Watching the round one games I felt like a lot of the teams looked overweight and unfit and I think the Warriors will be able to use that to their advantage in the early stages of the season.
The forwards were relentless in this game, four of them running for over 100 metres with Tohu Harris and Bunty running for 164 and 154 each.
My biggest issue in 2018 was the forward pack not pulling their weight and relying on the Warriors big wingers to do the lions share of the run metres, so it is good to see that this has been addressed.
Lachlan Burr and Leeson Ah Mau both had strong outings in their first games for the Warriors (first game back for Leeson after leaving in 2009).
The key will be the Warriors packs ability to keep this level as a constant throughout the season.
With the forwards marching up the field with ease; Blake Green was allowed the space to unleash pinpoint accurate kicks with his kick to Ken Maumalo for his try being my highlight.
Having an experienced half like Blake directing the backline around the park is just what this side needs as they move towards a more consistent and direct style of play.
It is clear that this is Blake's team now and he showed in this match that he can lead this side to many more victories this year.
Roger, Fusitu'a and big Ken are the best back three in the NRL.
All three had a massive game with all of them running triple digit metres with Ken and Roger running 212 and 208 each.
Roger has increased his playmaking role within the side and is sure to create headaches for the opposition.
If these three can continue their 2018 form throughout this season, the Warrior fans will have a lot to be excited about.
The defence across the park had a dramatic improvement, as I said in my preseason preview the Warriors have excellent goal line defence but everywhere else on the field they seemed to be exposed.
Again the Bulldogs didn't offer a lot in terms of attacking football, but the Warriors kept their defensive line intact and eliminating the majority of the Bulldogs attacking plays.
I thought Solomone Kata and Peta Hiku's defensive effort improved tenfold, but we will see if this is was a one-off when they face the Tigers this week who are sure to offer a more significant challenge.
It was only round one, and there is a long season ahead for the Warriors, but if they can keep their performances at the level they played in this first game then it may well be a fruitful year for the New Zealand side.
My last positive is the Warriors club giving out free tickets on gameday.
With the devasting events that happened in Christchurch, it's fair to say many people had their thoughts as far away from football as possible and it was a great gesture from the club to try and bring some joy to what was a dark time for the country.
Here is where I usually put my negatives from the match and to be honest I don't have many.
All I really have to nitpick is the unforced errors, there were a few too many for my liking, be it dropped balls or forced offloads that should have been left alone.
It's an easy issue to fix, and I'm sure it will be addressed this week.
And the last negative is that the game had to end, I was having a ball watching this match at Mount Smart, and the Warriors looked like they could have kept going for another half.
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My Warrior of the game goes to Solomone Kata.
It was hard to pick this week with so many players putting their hand up, but I had to go with Kata.
In my preseason preview I didn't pick Kata in my gameday 17, and when it was announced that he would be moving to the right edge, I had a lot of doubts and started having nightmares of Fusitu'a going from the NRL's leading try scorer to only scoring a handful.
However Kata surprised me, besides an early error I thought he had a strong game, he did actually pass the ball to Fusitu'a, and although Fusitu'a didn't score any tries this week, I am confident that he can score plenty of tries this season off Kata's shoulder.
As mentioned above Kata's defence showed great improvement, there is still work to be done there for the Tongan centre but after one game (again it's just one game) I'm confident that he has worked on his game in the off-season and is a better player for it.
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Typically I would have a Warrior that needs to improve, but this week I couldn't pick any player that played poorly enough to be named and shamed.
What I do want to do is mention Adam Keighran.
Adam had a lot of expectations heaped upon his shoulders, and I think he delivered, he displayed great composure and didn't overplay his hand taking his opportunities when they appeared, leading to an excellent solo try.
He is a solid defender, no doubt due to his time playing as a centre in reserve grade and his goal-kicking was superb, only missing one and if this season is anything like the previous few every point is going to count.
I'm expecting big things this year for the young Australian.
Round two finds the Warriors making their way across the ditch to face the Wests Tigers.
The Tigers had a good showing in their defeat over the Sea Eagles and will definitely provide stiffer competition for the New Zealand side.
I don't see many changes being made to the game day 17 for the Warriors with perhaps the only change being Isaiah Papali'i making his return to the side with Blake Ayshford dropping off the bench.
Providing the Warriors bring the same level of intensity into round two I don't see the Tigers being able to match them, and I'm picking the Warriors to win by 12.
So that was a great Round 1, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.
Who was your player of the day?
What was the most pleasing aspect of this performance for you?
Are there any issues that worry you after watching this week's match?
What is your score prediction for the Warriors first away game?
Spot on assessment. I think the win needs a bit more perspective. A lot of people are brushing over the win as it was against one of the supposed wooden spoon contenders. If we make a comparison to last year, there were so many games we played against bottom 8 teams where I felt like we should have absolutely demolished them, instead the Warriors struggled to score points. There were only 5 games the entire season where we won by 20+ (3 of them were by 20) and our biggest winning margin was 24 points. We only scored 30+ 4 times (36, 34,32 and 30). We have already beaten both of those stats in our first game. The boys showed so much intent and didn't ease off for a second, even then they had the game in the bag.
ReplyDeleteSol was outstanding. I have been his biggest critic but he really proved me wrong.
I couldn't pick a player of the day. So many played well for so many different reasons. Iggy and Bunty hitting the line was something to behold, Maumalo was a work horse as usual and he secured our first 2019 try with what I would say was his all time best. And of course Sol. Tackled like a beast, discovered that he can actually pass and sold a dummy like a boss.
Most pleasing aspect for me was the team work. Everyone was doing there part and they all maintained the same intensity till the end.
My only concern was Sol and Fus drifting in a few too many times. I hope the opposition doesn't start to identify this as our week spot.
Score prediction for next week, I'm saying win by 18. Even with the Tigers notching up a win, I think the Warriors are out to make a statement. I haven't watched the latest Inside The NRL but look forward to Jamie Soward eating his words.
Can't wait till round 3 to see the boys in action in Christchurch.
Thank you, yeah exactly you cant help which team you face each week but when against a team that is around the bottom of the table you need to pout them away so I'm happy to see the Warriors do that, and scoring 18 points in the second half was encouraging as i was worried they would relax and allow the Bulldogs a chance to come back into the match.
ReplyDeleteKata had a great game, I just hope its a new Kata and not a one off performance.
It has hard to pick a player of the day as so many played well.
Yeah the team appear to be a better unit this year all playing for each other which can only benefit them in the long run.
Yes that drifting in needs to go away otherwise that will become a target,
I think a decent win for the Warriors is on the cards this week so 18 could be a good pick, I haven't read or watched much yet but looks like Soward not ready to budge just yet using the "it was only the Bulldogs" line currently.
I wish i was able to go to the Christchurch game but was out of my budget, I'm making the trip to Wellington though.
So pleased to see your reviews back again Brad, I have been looking forward to your return! My player of the day would be Bunty Afoa or Maybe Ken Maumalo. They were both so heavily involved and Bunty seemed to be everywhere. Most pleasing aspect was that the team played two great halves of football rather than running out of steam in the last 20 minutes. The Bulldogs never got an opportunity. I suppose a concern would be defence around the centre of the field particularly around the play the ball, I just feel that teams will try and catch us out here rather than challenge us out wide too early. We should beat the Tigers by 8 points.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mark it's good to be back.
DeleteBunty and Ken had huge games, I couldn't really fault any of the players in Round 1.
Two quality halves of football was pleasing for sure, the Warriors need to ensure they for the full 80 every week if they want to be contenders.
Bulldogs had plenty of possession but were shut out, a large part of that was there lack of attacking threat but any chances they had the Warriors were quick to shut down.
Yes defense around the play the ball needs to improve. 8 point win not a bad choice.