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Despite the Raiders resting several players, the Warriors were still expected to be handed yet another defeat in what has been a horrible season.
The Warriors did not get memo however as they came from behind to defeat the Raiders 24-20.
2019 has been a horrible year with the Warriors failing to deliver much on the paddock, but it was good to see the team end the season with a victory.
Although the Raider rested some key players, the Warriors also were missing several players with the likes of Peta Hiku, David Fusitu'a and Chanel Harris-Tavita missing the match. So a Warriors team that has struggled for much of the year came into this match missing a fair share of it's attacking threats, but they showed glimpses of what could have been if they were able to perform with some consistency which leads me to my positives.
I have to repeat it, but it was great to end 2019 with a win. This season hasn't been great to write about with this past month probably being the hardest month of reviews I've written.
Writing about heavy loss after heavy loss takes it's toll so this final week was a welcomed change.
The offloads are back, the Warriors had 20 offloads in this match including that highly nerve-racking last tackle run which lead to Tuivasa-Shecks try which went through 13 or 14 passes.
I have said it earlier this year, but when the Warriors throw the ball around they are tough to contain, and if they played with this style more often they would be a dangerous side to compete against so fingers crossed the Warriors embrace this style moving forward.
When the Raiders started to pull away, I began to fear the worst and expected the Warriors to drop their heads and give in like they have done for the past 6 weeks, but they kept themselves in the hunt and kept attacking right to the final whistle.
Once again, it is a case of "where has that attitude been" for the past few months, but it was good to see the Warriors show some heart.
Taane Milne had to wait until the last round, but he finally made his debut for the Warriors and had a solid outing.
He made some massive tackles and didn't overplay his hand on attack. The biggest question I have is why did Stephen Kearney wait so long to bring Milne up. His form in reserve grade has been good from what I managed to see even though most of it was in the second row, but with the Warriors centres and second rowers not really delivering, I believe he could have made an impact a lot sooner.
Moving into 2020 I would have Milne in my gameday 17.
There was still plenty of issues with this performance, though, which leads to my negatives.
The Warriors defence was painful at times, the Raiders scored several soft tries with Josh Hogdson's try just before halftime being an unfortunate spotlight on the Warriors poor marker defence.
There was even a situation in the second half where the Warriors had no markers at all as the tacklers ran back to the defensive line.
I'm not sure if the players lack confidence in each other or are just not talking in the defensive line, but I'm sure it is one of the facets of their game that is at the top of the list to be fixed this upcoming preseason.
The Warriors error rate is still too high, with 8 errors in this match.
I'm a realist and know that if the Warriors throw the ball around like I want to see them do, then the error rate is going to go up.
It's a double edge sword, but just a little bit more respect for the football would keep me handy.
The penalties were still too high for me also, some of the calls were a bit rough but the Warriors have been playing the game long enough to know they have to play to the whistle and make changes depending on how the referees are calling the match.
Having two referees with two different viewpoints doesn't make thing easy, but if the Warriors want to be successful, they need to learn to adapt.
My last negative isn't to do with the Warriors but is about Hudson Young and his eye-gouging of Adam Pompey.
I cannot comprehend why players continue to do things like this when there are cameras directed at every inch of the field.
Young has already been suspended for five weeks this season for eye-gouging and is certain to be looking at possibly double that this time around.
There's no need for this kind of act in the NRL, and hopefully, this will be the wakeup call he needs.
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Tuivasa-Sheck form continued with another strong outing, dominating the Warriors side on attack and saving the team with several key defensive plays.
His ability to keep the opposition second-guessing when he has the ball in hand contributes so much to the Warriors scoring ability, and that was evident in that passage of play that lead to his try. He touched the ball three times in that crazy last tackle play, and you could see the Raiders panic each time he got the ball.
The scary thought is where the Warriors would be without RTS, and hopefully, the team improves sooner rather than later because if they don't, they may lose him.
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Papali'i hasn't had the greatest season, and this game was no different, he made plenty of tackles but also missed several important ones that lead to Raiders scoring opportunities.
Papali'i is still very young, and I'm sure he has learnt a lot this season it will serve him well in the future as he grows into a great player for the Warriors.
Well, the season is done now and there no game to preview for next week, but there is the Warriors members forum tomorrow night.
The forum will be interesting after such a disappointing year, and I will be intrigued to see what Cameron George, Stephen Kearney and co say to the members that attend, I'm sure they will have some tough questions directed at them, and hopefully, they give some honest answers.
I aim to have my season review up next week, and it will follow a similar format to how all my reviews have been, with my thoughts on the season overall, players of the year, players to improve, players that are leaving and ideas on where to go from here.
Will be tough to write, but I'm looking forward to putting an end on the 2019 season.
So that's my take on a better Round 25, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.
Would you have Taane Milne is your 17 for 2020?
Who was your player of the match?
Going into the preseason, what would be your first significant change?
Is there anything you want me to discuss or mention in my upcoming season review?
the Warriors need some hard men forwards not once they picked the players out of the fox comp that are playing good they are older players but they should of give them a go droped a lot of the players when they got a lot of points on them or half way into the year the fox comp is for the reserves and the Warriors to pick from why do they not care about the grassroots in the old days they were picking players out of there the fox comp
ReplyDeleteI am happy with the back-line but yes the pack needs plenty of work, 1 or 2 big men upfront added to the rotation would be my first job for the 2020 preseason.
DeleteSort of agree with Unknown, HAVE to pick up a couple of BIG HARD MEN to give the backs some good go forward, BUT were do you get them from?
ReplyDeleteAussies are Aussies & don't want to leave Australia, do we look, like, the Green Machine, to Pommie Land, there must be a few running around over there who could do with a bit of sun.
Yes I think they need to start looking at the UK for some big forwards, Aussies don't want to come here unless they have no choice and in that case the Warriors end up paying overs, but there are plenty of young forwards in the super-league that could be an option, I might look into which young guys have potential and are off contract for my season review.
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