Leading up to the match, all the talk about the side was about their reaction to Kearney's sacking and how the team wasn't in the best mindset which had me worried about what kind of performance we would see from them. Unfortunately, it was more of the same with the Warriors going down 50-6 in a disappointing but not overly surprising showing.
Well, that's not the way Todd Payten would have wanted his head coaching career to start, in fact, it was the first time since 1931 that a midseason replacement coach has been kept scoreless at halftime.
The Warriors started the match strongly, but after a few fumbled scoring opportunities they seemed to drop their heads, and the Storm did not take their foot off the Warriors throat, and the New Zealand side never had a chance to claw their way back into the match.
Losing Karl Lawton early on was a significant loss for the Warriors, but it was good to see Chanel Harris-Tavita back on the field again, and I hope it is a sign of things to come as Chanel has too much talent to not be included in the game day 17.
Fingers crossed however that Lawton is back soon as I think he has been having a strong year.
There have been rumours that players are unhappy in Australia and that some have requested to come home unless their families are moved across the ditch. I know it's hard for the players but the Warriors need to focus on improving their performances on the field, many of them are off-contract. They are fighting to keep their careers alive, and if they don't turn things around now, they will have more than missing their families to worry about.
It may be harsh, but Payten needs to find the Warriors that are focused on the current season and build around them, if players want to leave, let them and give their spot to younger, hungrier talent.
Much like last week, there wasn't much to praise, but there was a couple, which leads me to my positive from the match.
The Warriors discipline improved considerably compared to last week, only conceding 3 penalties.
If they can keep that penalty count low and improve some of the below facets of their game, then they may start to reap some rewards.
The forward pack still impressed me, yes they were outmuscled in this match, but they kept on fighting.
The Warriors missed Eliesa Katoa tremendously, and they need him to recover from his injury sooner rather than later especially with the unfortunate news that Poasa Faamausili will be heading back to the Roosters now due to all the injuries they sustained this week.
Faamausili has been a shining light in the Warriors pack this year, and I was hoping that the Warriors would be able to obtain him long term, but it wasn't to be.
There was plenty to be concerned with, however, which leads me to my negatives from the game.
Last week I criticised the Warriors abysmal defence and said if they did not sort out their defensive model then the blowout scores would continue, and I wasn't wrong.
The Warriors did cut down their missed tackles but still ended the match with 31 missed tackles, they need to reduce this stat tenfold to stem the flow of points being scored against them.
The Warriors respect for the ball was dire, making 13 errors during the match. You could say that the Warriors were trying to force opportunities as they were falling further and further behind on the scoreboard but the basic errors they were making showed how far behind the top tier sides they really are.
That flows right into my last negative from the match, and that is the Warriors inability to convert their chances into points. The Warriors had a few opportunities to score but could not get across the line.
It showed that the Warriors can get themselves into scoring positions they just need to work on capitalising on those opportunities.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck tried inserting himself into a more playmaking role, and it just didn't work in this match, he needs to stop the no-look passes, two scoring chances were squandered when players dropped Sheck's passes.
I know those players should have caught the balls, but if Sheck just delivers the ball without trying to be fancy, then the Warriors could have easily scored.
It may look pretty, but the Warriors need to get the basics working first.
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This was hard as I could have easily not picked anyone from this performance, but I think Herbert was one of the only players that could walk off the paddock with his head held high.
He almost scored a try in the first half and scored the only try for the Warriors in the second half and was always a threat with the ball in hand.
Defensively Herbert was solid too, the Storm has a dangerous backline, but he stuck to his defensive assignments and did not let anyone down.
I am happy to see Herbert continue the season in the centres and I'm glad that pushing him out to the wing is an experiment that is over now.
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Peta Hiku makes it two weeks in a row. The Storm did their research and targeted Hiku on defence, and it worked with Hiku missing a team-high 7 tackles.
His defence has always been his weakness but what he offered on attack and setting his wingers up to score always meant that you kept him in your lineup, however with his attacking flair currently neutered it is getting harder and harder to not give another player a chance in the centres.
Round 8 sees the Warriors face the Brisbane Broncos.
The Warriors have not had the best season in 2020, but no one has been on a steeper decline than the Broncos since the season started up again the Broncos has been 0-5.
This is the time for the Warriors to get themselves back in the winner's circle, it looks certain that Tuivasa-Sheck will be missing at least this match due to a shoulder charge citing so there will be some shuffling around in the squad.
Even though I just criticised him, I would move Hiku to fullback, just going on previous experiences Hiku has played his best matches for the Warriors at fullback so moving back there could help both him and the Warriors out, at least until their skipper returns.
With Faanausili leaving and Katoa injured, we may also see some changes in the pack, the Warriors have just announced that they have reached an agreement with the Penrith Panthers to obtain prop, Jack Hetherington, for the foreseeable future.
I don't know much about the 24-year-old other than that he was the Panther 2018 rookie of the year, he has size and could be an excellent fit for the Warriors, he just has big boots to fill as Faanausili has been fantastic during his time with the Warriors.
Since they are up against the Broncos, who are struggling, so why not ring the changes and try to spark some life into this Warriors side.
After the past two weeks, I would not be confident in picking a Warriors to win, but I can't see even the Warriors losing to Brisbane right now, so I'm picking the Warriors to win by 18.
There has been no further news on the coaching situation. Still, I am deeply concerned about the future of this club, I want to dig a bit deeper into the facts and figures, so I think I will do a separate write up about my concerns with the direction the club appears to be going so watch this space.
So that was a brutal Round 7, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.
Who was your player of the day?
How would you improve the game day 17?
Who would you put at Fullback if RTS is suspended?
What is your score prediction against the Broncos?
The most memorable part of this match was Todd Payten speaking at the press conference post match. I wish I could tell Todd that I understand the difficult position he has suddenly found himself in and that I am fully behind him as he does his best to squeeze some positive results out of this team. On one hand I was troubled about how he spoke about the player's degree of commitment, but on the other, I admired him for being so open and accurate in his remarks; showing genuine disappointment and frustration. At least he seems totally invested and determined to get the team winning. It was odd seeing his reaction to the visit of Bellamy and co. in the Warriors dressing room. That little visit could be seen a few different ways, but Payten looked uncomfortable and perhaps disempowered. I write this after the Bronco's game, but I had forecast a close unfortunate loss for us but it was a joy to be proven wrong!
ReplyDeleteYes I think it is refreshing to see the Coach being so open at the press conference, calling the players out for thier commitment does make me wince but it looks like it has helped the team bond and show a bit more grit, which may have been his plan. Yes he did look uncomfortable when Bellamy spoke to the team but I don't blame him, it would be hard seeing someone come in and try to do you job when you just been there for a week. Tough way to start your head coach career but I do like what I see so far.
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