Well the 2020 NRL season has been one of the strangest to date, with the Covid-19 situation affecting everyone worldwide and placing the 2020 season into hiatus, but now after 2 months of will they, won't they, the NRL is back with Round 3 starting next Thursday.
This also means that I'm back.
I will be writing reviews of all the Warriors games, but I thought before the season starts back up again, I would make a little season restart piece. Kind of like a season preview V2.0 going over the recent news and developments, the new draw and how I think the Warriors will go.
So here we go again.
Hit the Reset Button: 2020 Season take two.
Unlike when I was writing my season preview earlier in the year, I am genuinely looking forward to the season starting up again.
Yes, there will be no crowds, and quite possibly no games played on NZ soil. Still, the Road Warriors story intrigues me, depending on how the Warriors players approach this situation it could either grow them as a unit or make them implode.
I'm hoping for the former rather than the latter as if the Warriors can have some success this season it will be a hell of a story.
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| Copyright Photo: Warriors.kiwi |
Leeson Ah Mau, Jazz Tevaga and Adam Keighran join Gerard Beale, Nathaniel Roache, Taane Milne, Jackson Frei and Bunty Afoa in the casualty ward with the majority out for the season.
7 out of 8 of these injuries are knee-related, and I'm not sure if that points to an issue with the teams training or if it's just plum lousy luck, but while the Warriors are confined within the Australian border, they cannot afford to lose any more players.
The NRL has approved the use of loan players for this side which will be extremely helpful, and they have already signed a player for this season (more on that below).
It will be interesting in the next few days to see who the Warriors target in this loan scheme, as there is some excellent talent that is potentially looking at zero football until next season so this can be a win-win for both parties.
Retired players like Sam Thaiday and Paul Gallen have put their hands up to play for the Warriors, and that's great; however, I would like to see the Warriors give some fringe players the opportunity instead. Who's to say that some young players from other clubs join the Warriors for 2020 and love what they see and become new signings once their current deals expire.
It could be pie in the sky thinking, but this is an unprecedented situation so who really knows what could come from this loan player situation.
Speaking on signings, there have been recent developments on that front.
Signings: Forwards get a boost
Eliesa Katoa has re-signed until 2024 in what has been a great move by the club, Katoa's start to 2020 has been impressive, and he screams potential. He still has plenty to learn, and with experienced players like Tohu Harris to learn from I see big things coming for Katoa for 2020 and beyond.
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| Copyright Photo: Nrl.com |
In the first two rounds of this season, the Warriors lacked a lot of punch up the middle, and this lead to the Warriors attack lacking any real sting. Unless the forwards start making a dent, then the Warriors are going to continue the poor results we saw in the first two rounds.
Help has come in the form of Canberra Raider front-rower Jack Murchie who has signed for the 2020 season as a replacement player and adds much-needed size to the Warriors engine room.
There were rumblings in the preseason that the Warriors were looking at signing Murchie for the 2021 season, so there may be a chance that he extends his time with the Warriors. But as of writing, he is only with the club for this year.
I'm looking forward to seeing how he goes, I haven't seen much of his game footage but have heard good things, and I'm sure he will be out to prove himself.
There is also news that the Warriors have signed Sharks forward Toby Rudolf on a three-year deal starting in 2021.
There still has been no official word from the club on this signing, but it appears to be a done deal.
Much like Murchie I haven't seen much of Rudolf but know that the Sharks were interested in keeping him long term so I will be keeping a closer eye on him for the remainder of the 2020 season.
With Ben Murdoch-Masila already on the books for 2021, the Warriors have already improved their forward pack. If Rudolf and possibly Murchie are added to the forwards, then the Warriors may actually have a large pack like the Australian commentators always love to say and that should help the Warriors attack finally click into second gear.
2020 Draw
The NRL had to make some tweaks to the 2020 draw, and this resulted in the Warriors playing a lot more Friday Football than usual.
Including the first two rounds, the teams the Warriors have to face twice are the Knights, Raiders, Panthers, Sharks and Sea Eagles.
The 2020 draw was tough for the Warriors before the season was put on hold and it hasn't got any easier, and after starting the season 0-2, they need to lock in some back to back victories as soon as possible.
On a positive note due to the current restrictions, the Warriors travel numbers have come down considerably.
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| Copyright Photo: Nrl.com |
Round three sees the Warriors face the Dragons at the Warriors adopted home ground, the Central Coast Stadium.
David Fusitu'a is not available due to still being in quarantine so I would bring Gerard Beale onto the wing and move Patrick Herbert into the centres.
I still believe that the Warriors should partner Kodi Nikorima and Chanel Harris-Tavita in the halves as Blake Green continues to be an anchor, dragging the Warriors attack down.
On paper, I think the team I have selected below is a capable side that has plenty of attacking potential, but I don't believe Stephen Kearney will go with my choices anyway.
My new Season Prediction
In my original prediction, I had the Warriors finishing 12th. After the first two rounds and the current injury situation, I think the Warriors are going to have a rough time.
I feel like the team will bond during this trying time but if they continue to lose matches by 30-40 points like the did against the Knights and Raiders then morale will be at an all-time low, and it will be hard for the Warriors to get it back.
From what we have seen so far the Warriors attack is lacking severely with the only try scored so far being a penalty try.
Unless the Warriors attack improves, it is going to be a long season.
Due to that, I am changing my prediction to 13th. The Warriors lack direction on attack, and I believe they will suffer for it.
I have my fingers crossed that I'm wrong and that the Warriors we see in Round 3 are markedly improved from the side we saw in March.
I look forward to the season coming back and writing more often and hopefully, the Warriors give me something good to write about.
If you like what I'm doing here, please share my blog around with your friends and leave comments telling me how you think the seasons going.
I've been kept on as the Warriors correspondent for NothingbutLeague.com for this restarted season. So please show them some love by checking out my articles on their site each week too.
So that's my take on the Warriors for this take two of the 2020 season, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.
1. Are you looking forward to the season coming back?
2. What are your thoughts on Jack Murchie's signing?
3. Do you have any other loan players you would target for this season?
4. Where do you think the Warriors will finish in 2020?
