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It's fair to say that the first 11 rounds have not been fantastic for the Warriors and Warriors fans alike and how they make their return from the bye round could make or break their season.
The Warriors have 10 points and currently sit 12th on the ladder with a 4-7 record and a -20 points differential.
With the NRL once again being a tight competition the Warriors are 2 points outside of the top eight and 4 points outside of the top four (Although they are 10 points behind the Storm and the Rabbitohs.
After having one of the best away records in 2018, the Warriors now share one of the worst with a 1-4 away record (not including their "home" win in the Brisbane Magic Round).
Coming into the season, I had predicted a 6-5 record at this point, so I wasn't too far off, but I was hoping for a few more wins.
Keeping in the theme I started last year, I'm going to break my wrap up into good, bad and ugly so to get it started, let's go with the good.
The Good
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The Warriors have shown glimpses of how dangerous on attack they can be, even though they are 15th in running metres with only 16,794 metres this year they are near the top in line breaks (tied 2nd with 47) and 5th in Offloads with 131. If the Warriors can work on fine-tuning their 5th tackle options, they should be able to get themselves into a potential playoff spot.
The youngsters have stepped up in 2019, Adam Keighran and Chanel Harris-Tavita both showed promise in the limited time they have been given.
Both players have the potential to grow into a decent half for the club and will need to make the most of their time sitting in the wings, learning from Blake Green and new signing Kodi Nikorima.
The last young recruit I want to highlight is Patrick Herbert, it looked like Herbert was destined to be trapped in reserve grade forever with Kearney hesitant to drop either Kata or Hiku, but when he was finally given a chance, he took it in both hands and has not let go.
He has tightened up the right edge, stopping it from being the Warriors biggest weakness and has been quite accurate with his goal-kicking responsibilities.
My game of the year so far is the Warriors magic round defeat of the Dragons at Suncorp Stadium.
The Warriors have always struggled against the Dragons, but this was their third win in a row against St George and showed how dangerous the Warriors can be.
The forwards gained the upper hand, allowing the backs to wreak havoc on a shellshocked Dragons side. New recruit Nikorima showed what he will bring to the club in his debut, his pace adding a much-needed dimension to the Warriors attack. They defended in numbers, wrapping up the ball carrier to restrict the second phase, the Warriors need to get back to this game's intensity as they head into the business end of the season.
Lastly, I wanted to highlight my Warrior of the season, Ken Maumalo.
2018 saw Big Ken start to live up to his potential and he has shown no signs of slowing down.
After playing second fiddle to Fusitu'a last season, Ken now leads the Warriors in running metres and tries scored, Hiku's switch to the left edge has funnelled the Warriors attacking plays down that way, and Maumalo is reaping the rewards.
2019 hasn't given Warriors fans a lot of chances to smile so far which leads me to the bad.
The Bad
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The Warriors season to date could have looked different if they hadn't lost three games that they had put themselves in a position to win, they should have defeated the Rabbitohs, Cowboys and Storm in rounds 5,6 and 7 but due to the following issues, they didn't get the job done.
Too often the Warriors have been found lacking up front this season, and the lack of depth in front rowers leaves a lot to be desired.
Bunty Afoa and Agnatius Paasi have been the front runners. While Leeson Ah Mau has not been as strong as I had expected, he is still vital in the prop rotation, but the quality of props drops off the cliff after those three, Lisone and Sao have had strong outings when given a chance but haven't been able to hold onto a spot in the 17.
The Warriors have money left in the piggy bank and need to look at bringing some fresh blood into their front row either immediately or for next season.
The Warriors may have the ability to break the oppositions line this season, but once they get themselves into scoring opportunities, they have struggled.
With the exit of their primary playmaker for the past 8 seasons, the Warriors were always going to have some wobbly wheels as they adjust.
Keighran and Harris-Tavita did well for youngsters but were let down at times, but their pack and Blake Green has been plagued with injuries this season and has not delivered the crisp kicking plays he brought to the side last season mainly I think due to often being the sole kicking on the field.
Nikorima's spark is excellent for the side, but the Warriors need to find a way to help take some of the load off Green.
Lastly, for the bad, I want to mention missed tackles.
The Warriors are by no means the worst in this category, sitting 8th with 350 missed tackles and I still can't get my head around how a side can be so strong with their goal line defence but exposed defensively everywhere else on the field.
Herbert's addition to the side has improved the defence, but there is still a lot of work to do.
I'm not sure if the Warriors need to change their technique or if it's merely an attitude or skill issue, but if they don't improve this area of their game, they will be watching the playoffs not playing in them.
Fortunately, all of the above can be addressed and fixed, I just hope for the sake of the fans that improvement is on the way.
And now all that's left is ugly.
The Ugly
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Firstly, Round 3's 46-12 loss to the Sea Eagles in Christchurch was by far the Warriors worst display of 2019, the Warriors were defensively weak and abysmal when on attack.
It was a disaster of a game for the NRL starved community of Christchurch to witness, and thankfully the Warriors have improved since then, but it was a rude reminder of how bad the Warriors can be if they don't show up with the right attitude.
That's all I really have on the team in regards to ugly, but I have two things that need to be mentioned here.
First, Stephen Kearney's bench selection.
Kearney bench selections have been frustrating this season with his puzzling desire to run a small bench despite the Warriors desperately needing larger bodies to help Afoa and Paasi keep the pack rolling forward.
I don't mind having Jazz Tevaga and a hooker on the bench, so long as Tevaga is used as a second rower or lock but having a back also on the bench is a waste of time.
Thankfully the past few weeks has seen a shift in the way the bench has been selected and fingers crossed Kearney continues the three forwards and a hooker bench.
And my last ugly goes to Adam Blair.
Blair has been awarded my player to improve award so often this year that im tempted to start calling it the Adam Blair award each week.
When Blair was signed, I was optimistic and was hoping for the best, and despite the silly penalties, I think he was a pivotal contributor to the Warriors improved goal line defence but Blairs 2019 is a throwback to how he was performing at the Broncos.
With the Warriors needing more metres out of their forwards, having Blair take a hit up just appears to suck the life out of the Warriors sets, Blair seems to be a black hole for momentum, and something needs to change.
Blair is not delivering and needs to either ship up or ship out.
Looking at the rest of the draw the Warriors still have a strong chance of making the eight but will need to start stringing some wins together.
The Warriors favourite time of year is now upon us with the State of Origin period starting now and is a good a time as any for the Warriors to start getting those wins.
Round 13 has the Warriors hosting the Melbourne Storm in what will be a tough encounter.
The Storm may make the trip minus a few players due to the State of Origin, but that does not make them any less dangerous.
The Warriors should have defeated the Storm on Anzac day but I feel that the Storm has got better since then and I see them beating the Warriors by 12.
So that was my Mid-Season review, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.
Who has been your player of the year to date?
Who is your player that needs to improve the most?
Where do you see the Warriors finishing on the ladder?
What are your best and worst games for the season?
What is your score prediction for Round 13 against the Storm?
Player of the season so far: Easily Ken Maumalo. So encouraging to see a player develop so strongly after an ordinary start to his first grade career. Credit to Kearney for persevering with him.
ReplyDeletePlayer to improve: Well, Adam Blair is the obvious choice, but actually I just don't want him playing at all. I was never happy with his signing and he is doing exactly what I thought he would; giving away penalties, doing nothing on attack and absorbing too much of our salary cap. Please just retire Adam. So, in that case, my two players to improve are Leeson Ah Mau (another signing I was dubious about) and Isaiah Papali'i. He just needs to develop an attacking game.
I think we will finish somewhere around 10th or 12th sadly.
We defeat the Storm by 4.
Yes I agree about Ken, I'm critical of Kearney sticking with players that are not doing the job but this is one case where the player has shown great improvement.
ReplyDeleteSadly I think Blair is here to stay for a bit, he still has time left on his contract and seems happy to sit here taken the $.
Ah Mau needs to improve his consistency, he was fantastic as am interchange forward for the Dragons but his move to starting prop for the Warriors hasn't brought the same results and with a few slight adjustments he could be quite the talent.
Isaiah is still young and I'm sure will develop more aspects to his game as he grows, he was brought in last year when the Warriors attack was focused on Tohu, SJ, Hiku and Fus so he didn't need to do much, now that they need more from him he will learn.
The competition is tight so unless the Warriors string wins together they could well be in the 10th-12th spot you have predicted.
I'm not sure where i think they will wind up, they could sit anywhere from 8th-13th in my eyes.
Beating the Storm is a bold prediction and I hope your right, I think the Warriors generally have one good game and one poor game against the Storm and I fear that the Anzac clash was the good one.
Ken the best player no doubt. Bang on the money with Blair and penalties. Always gives the last shove or push and concedes a penalty. Luke just as bad sometimes doing that. Sadly cant see much improvement coming. Doesn't say much for the team if we have to look to State of Origin as a time we can win consistently. Needs to be better than that.
ReplyDelete