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With their season on the line after four straight losses and the team's heart being called into question in recent weeks, the Warriors needed a strong outing, and they delivered, defeating the Dragons 26-18.
The Dragons have been a bogey side for the New Zealand side, but the tide may be changing with the Warriors now defeating the Dragons three times in a row.
It has felt like an age since I have been able to write about a Warriors victory, but with the Warriors down 18-6 at halftime, I thought they were staring down the barrel of their fifth loss in a row.
The Dragons started strong, scoring all of their points in the first 23 minutes of this match but Corey Norman's absence and an apparent lack of fitness saw them unable to hold back a Warriors side determined to return to the winners' circle.
The game wasn't perfect, but the Warriors showed a lot of improvement which leads me to my positives from the match.
Against a large pack, the Warriors forwards came to the party, when the Warriors started to claw their way into the match at around the 30-minute mark, the forwards set the platform and allowed Roache and Lawton to scoot out of dummy half, really keeping the Dragons on the backfoot.
Green directed play well, and new signing Kodi Nikorima had a solid outing showing some spark that has been missing this season.
The new spine could become quite dangerous with a few more games under their belt.
The Warriors fitness shone through in this victory, as the time was running out the Dragons looked out on their feet and the New Zealand side looked like they had more points in them.
Their conditioning is still one of their most significant assets, and as long as the Warriors can keep themselves in the contest, they are always a chance of turning a game in their favour.
After the Knights neutered the back three last week, they returned strong in Brisbane. With the Dragons not getting the best territory in the second half, they were forced to keep their kicks in the field of play more often than not, and this allowed Tuivasa-Sheck, Maumalo and Fusitu'a to start the Warriors sets off strong, and when that happens, the Warriors confidence increases tenfold.
Lastly was just the fact that after such a quick start, the Warriors were able to stop the Dragons from scoring a single point for the last 60 minutes of the match. Most of the games this season have seen the Warriors leak points in the late stages so to see the Warriors hold a team out for the entire second half instils some confidence in me for the remainder of the season.
The match wasn't flawless, however, which leads me to my negatives.
There are still too many missed tackles for my liking, 38 missed tackles is a severe issue. 14 of those came from Green and Nikorima getting run over by the large forwards, but the Warriors need to just tighten the defence in the middle up, the edge defence has improved with the addition of Patrick Herbert, and I'm confident that they can sort the middle out too.
I'm just picky now but I wasn't happy with the slow start, it may have been the occasion of the Magic round, but the Warriors seemed to be a step behind for the first 20 minutes, the Dragons got burnt out, so it worked for the Warriors. If the Warriors start slow against a stronger side, they may find themselves in strife.
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| Copyright Photo: Patrick Hamilton / Photosport |
Lawton was the definition of an impact player in this matchmaking the most out of only his second appearance of the season.
With his contract expiring this season, he showed Warriors management plenty of reasons to keep him on their books.
His ability to spot lazy defenders lead to him running for 92 metres in only 20 metres, and he doesn't shy away from his defensive responsibilities.
As experienced as Issac Luke is, I would be more than happy to see the Roache, Lawton combination continue this week.
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| Copyright Photo: Warriors.kiwi |
Quite a few of the players didn't play fantastic in the first half, but all the ones I would have picked bounced back in the second half so I just and going to give this section a miss this round, fingers crossed this trend continues for round 10.
Round 10 has the Warriors stay across the ditch, heading to Panther's country to face a Penrith side that is on a 5 match losing streak.
The Warriors have had issues this year facing teams on losing streaks, and the Panthers will be desperate to put on an improved performance for their fans so this match could be a banana skin game.
I think the Warriors should keep the same 17 for this match and if they do they should walk away with another victory.
I'm picking the Warriors to win by 16 here, they will be too strong for a Panthers side that has failed to show their claws this season.
So that was a much-improved round 9, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.
What were your thoughts on the Magic Round?
Who were your player of the match and your player to improve?
Are there any changes you would make to the game day 17?
What is your score prediction for Round 10?
Another great summary Brad. As for the Magic Round, I was there for all the games and it was great. Suncorp is an excellent venue and it was so good having more than just one game to look forward to. We commented after the game that it might feel a bit disappointing next time we attend a lone fixture, like, is that it? When does the next game start?
ReplyDeleteIt was also fun to be able to be part of the audience for the Matty Johns Show as they filmed two episodes outside the ground after the games.
Player of the match; one of my favorites: Peta Hiku. Yes he missed a few tackles of course but I will continue to push his case as an underrated attacking weapon. He just does unexpected things that a lot of players in our team don't and possibly can't do. Did you see his one handed dummy then quickly swap hands to score? Who else would do that?
Paasi and Sao were also good but special mention must go to Lawton, who did so much in his time on the field and it was great to watch live as he sped into gaps and really created chaos. We must see more of him.
Player to improve, probably Blake Green. Maybe still accommodating a wee injury or just getting older. He was still good but just seemed lacking in energy and his kicking game was predictable and not always that threatening, though his style may have been deliberate and part of the game plan.
I would probably be reluctant to make changes after a confidence boosting result like that but certain players deserve more game time, Lawton and Sao for a start.
Like us last week, the Panthers come off four straight losses and who better than to play yourself back into form against than the erratic Warriors? And at home too, so this has all the makings of a disappointing loss for us. I believe it's actually a similar challenge to meeting one the top four teams so it will be a real test of character for us in Panther land.
But of course I pick the Warriors by 2 to 4 points.
It looked like an awesome weekend and would have been great to be in the crowd.
DeleteGoing to the Matty Johns show would have be great too, I'm a fan of the show and watch it every week.
Hiku had a strong showing, his D is still and issue but I would have him in my side for his attack alone, it;s no coincidence that the Warriors leading try scorer two years in a row is the winger that partners him on his edge.
Forwards did well and I think the whole bench was great and it's good to see SK retain the bench for this weeks match.
I was close to picking Green as my player to improve but he should a lot of improvement in the 2nd half, so he may have needed some time to gel with Kodi, his kicking game needs to improve though.
As you have said in the past, the Warriors seem to struggle when playing a team on a losing streak but I'm hopeful that the Warriors will be too good for a Panthers side that appears to be a complete mess, but perhaps that makes them more dangerous.
Totally agree with you Mark. I would however have Bully back on the park. Adds an extra kicking option, plays smart under pressure and reads a game well. I'd have him their in place of Roache and have Lawton come on as an impact player. Love the magic round concept too.
ReplyDeleteGreat summary and interesting to read. The boys came out in the second half with what seemed like more tools in their toolkit. It would’ve been great to hear Kearney’s half time rev-up.
ReplyDeleteYes I agree with you about Lawton, he made a huge impact off the bench.
Thank you, Kearney appeared to show legitimate emotion at halftime in the sheds so would have been interesting to be a fly on the wall. Lawton is a talent and I would have him in my 17 every week.
DeleteGood read as always Brad!!
ReplyDeleteI'll be honest, I was more that a little worried when we were down 18-6 after only 20 minutes, but what a comeback. Showed real character from the team. The big standout for me was their line speed. So many games I find myself screaming at the tv for them to stop waiting for the opposition to come to them. They were constantly trying to keep the dragons within their own 20. Our forwards have copped a lot, was good to see them muscle up in defence and show us what they can do.
Player of the match, I'm going to agree with Mark and pick Hiku. I have always been one of his biggest supporters. His attack and his ball skills are easily among the best in the team. I like Beale too but have always said that if I had to pick between the two, I would go Hiku. A player with poor defence and be support by the players around them. Even a missed tackle can at least slow a player down enough for someone else to get involved (just like Kodi and Green were doing on Saturday). We need players that can break the line and keep the opposition guessing.
Don't reall have a player to improve. The only thing I didn't like seeing was Herbert rushing out of the line. I still rate him and think he is leagues ahead of Kata (have to mention that I am still stunned that Kearney finally dropped him), but it felt like he was going for the big play a little too often.
I'm with you in that Luke still deserves to be on the team. He adds so much out of dummy half. He really hasn't played big minutes this year and seems to be showing signs of winding down as a player with fitness and injury concerns, but with Roache or Lawton on the bench and Tevaga as an extra backup when needed, we should still be using him. How good was Lawton too. Had a very high opinion of him since he debuted for the Warriors against the Dragons last year (which is still one of my all time favourite games).
I'm picking another good win from the boys on Friday. Warriors by 18.
I have always tried to keep a pretty optimistic view going in to each game as well all know that the Warriors can win any game if they turn up. I actually have a question for you now. We have had a pretty shocking win loss record coming in to last weekend, but how would you rate the teams performance for each week? Either good, average or shit. So far I have seen the games as 1 - Good, 2 - Shit, 3 - Shit, 4 - Average, 5 - Good, 6 - Shit, 7 - Good, 8 - Shit, 9 - Good. So 4 good games, 4 shit and 1 average. Far better than what our win loss stats portray.
And one last point. We were robbed yet again of one possibly two tries. Tevaga didn't have a hand on him and had every right to get back up and score. I thought Maumalo tapped it back but was 50/50 on that one.
ReplyDeleteYeah Ken's try was a try in my eyes and I don't know if Jazz would have made it but he wasn't touched so should have been allowed to continue. Ref's have been shocking this year.
DeleteThanks Jason.
ReplyDeleteI was worried too, at halftime I was almost ready to admit defeat, especially given how the Warriors have been in the final quarter of the matches to date.
That line speed was great to see, the Warriors need to keep that up for the rest of the season, keeping their opponents in their own territory will reduce the chances of them kicking the ball into touch on the last.
Hiku has been great this year, the D is still the concern but like you said you can surround him with stringer defenders but his attacking ability what the team needs.
Herbert made a few incorrect calls on defence and I wasn't happy when he did a Kata out of dummy half but overall I think he will continue to improve and will keep his position in the side now over Kata just down to goal kicking alone.
I like Luke and his kicking game is needed with Kodi not having the strongest kicking game, and I think with Roache perhaps not being 100%, Luke and Lawton may be the hookers this week.
Karl is a talent who needs to be used more by first grade, he is off contract at the end of the year but I would be keeping him on.
I weary of a Panthers side licking their wounds but the Warriors should be too good, 18 a big call but I hope your right.
Oh a question for me, rating the games to date, to be honest its identical to yours.
1. Good, 2. Shit, 3. Shit, 4. Average, 5. Good, 6. Shit, 7. Good, 8. Shit, 9. Good
4 Good, 4 Shit and 1 Average is better than what the win loss record is currently but the shit performances need to stop now.