NZ Warriors 2022 Round 13 Review: Warriors clip injured Sea Eagles wings in rain-soaked encounter

After last weeks close encounter against the Tigers, the Warriors made the journey to drenched Lottoland to face the Manly Sea Eagles.
With the Warriors being featured in the news all week for everything but this match up it would be fair to assume that the New Zealand side may have not been up to the challenge. However the Warriors newfound toughness shined through with the team walking away with hard-fought 26-22 victory and their first back to back wins since 2019. 

Despite predicting a Warriors win, I can honestly say I had my doubts that they would be able to show up after the week they had. Those doubts subsided just seconds into the match when George Jennings and Chanel Harris-Tavita dragged Daly Cherry-Evans over the sideline with the first tackle of the game. The points started to flow, and it looked like the Warriors were going to win comfortably, but when Karl Lawton was sin-binned, the momentum switched, and the Sea Eagles forced themselves into the game. The Warriors didn't dropped their heads and regained control and were able to hold onto to the lead despite Jack Hetherington also going to the bin for a high shot on Martin Taupau. The weather did neither side any favours, but I think it suited the Warriors more aggressive mindset, they look to enjoy getting into a tussle now and hopefully, this means we will not see any more blowouts this season.
I cannot fault the Warriors new mindset, they have been through plenty of drama and challenges this year, and it appears to have made the side mentally tougher and unbelievably they are slowly edging themselves in playoff discussions. Now I still think their draw is too tough, but I'm more than happy to be wrong on that call. You cant go overboard though, Manly were depleted and lost Fonua-Blake and Taupau during the match so the Warriors should have walked away with the win.

Todd Payten appears to have rallied this side together, and it is a shame that he rejected the Head Coaching role as I think he had shown some good qualities. However, I understand his decision and hope the team finish the year strong and send him out on a high note. 

There was a lot from this match that brought a smile to my face, which leads to my positives from the game.

Firstly, the Warriors grit was outstanding, playing a quarter of this match with only 12 players should have gifted the Sea Eagles the win but right now the Warriors are showing plenty of resilience. During the match, Brent Finch was shown on the sidelines. Todd Payten advised that he has been brought into the camp and is speaking with the players, showing them some hindsight about the situation they are in and how they will look back at this time and realise how good it was to be "in camp" with the squad for the entire season. I think that this has made the side closer, and while we have seen some of the benefits this year, I feel that the Warriors will reap the rewards of this situation for seasons to come.

With Blake Green leaving for Newcastle on Tuesday, I finally got the halves pairing of Kodi Nikorima and Chanel Harris-Tavita that I had been asking to see since early on in 2019. In their first outing together I think you could give them a pass mark. They weren't perfect but showed plenty of promise. Nikorima looked more comfortable on the right-hand side and had some nice kicks, Chanel was a bit rusty after having limited time on the field but will be good for the run, and I expect to see him grow with the extra responsibility. The Warriors appeared to have more options on last tackle and showed plenty more on attack, which is what we have all been asking for. 

I thought the forward pack was strong once again, they didn't hit the big numbers like they did last week, but they edged Manly in the battle up the middle. Losing some experience men in the middle didn't help the Sea Eagles, but I think the young Warriors pack have built into a tight unit and the experience the younger talent like Jamayne Taunoa-Brown have got this season will make them stronger players next season. With the addition of Ben Murdoch-Masila and Leeson Ah Mau and Bunty Afoa returning from injury, the Warriors will have a pretty decent pack.

The backline looked more threatening this week, George Jennings looked a lot more comfortable this week, and he is yet another loan player that I wouldn't mind the Warriors keeping hold of. I'm not sure if that is down to the exit of Green, allowing a more attacking style or if the backs are just started to mesh well and enjoying playing behind a dominate pack. I was worried when Ken Mauamalo and David Fusitu'a left the camp, but I'm enjoying how this current setup is working out.

There were some issues, though, which brings me to my match negatives.

The Warriors discipline let them down in this match, most notably the two sin bins but they also conceded six penalties and seven ruck infringements. With a tough game this week and a brutal run home, the Warriors cannot gift their opposition any let-offs so play to the whistle and reign in the aggressive hits just a tad.

Lastly and once again I need to point out the missed tackles, the Warriors missed 31 in this match, and they were lucky that it didn't cost them in the end. If they don't reduce that stat this week, the Panthers will have a field day. Defence may well play a part in if the Warriors surprise everyone and make the eight so they need to improve it asap.

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My Warrior of the match was Tohu Harris. 

Harris had yet another strong performance with 214 running metres and 38 tackles and must be a shoo-in for Warriors player of the year. He is head and shoulders above the rest of the pack this year and is continuously bending the opposition defensive line, if the Warriors could get their backs to run off his shoulders more you could see the side really open opponents up and score plenty of points.

It's fantastic to see him step up this year and lead this young forward pack and I hope the club can extend his contract beyond 2021.

Copyright Photo: Getty Images

My Warrior to improve goes to Jake Hetherington.

I almost didn't pick a player to improve as I thought all 17 did well but decide at the last minute to pick Jack.

No since his first match as a Warrior I have heaped the praise onto this young forward and have pleaded that the Warriors do everything they can to try and keep him long term. My thoughts haven't changed, and I would love to see him stay with the club longterm, but he had a shocker in this match. 

The high shot on Taupau was obviously a silly decision that could have cost the Warriors the game, but Hetherington also made a few silly errors, he is a talented footballer, but he needs to work on his discipline and his hands.

He is off to the judiciary for the high shot (his sixth appearance in what has been a short career to date) and will be gone for a minimum of four weeks. His loan deal runs out in two, and it sounds like the Panthers will be bringing he back to their camp while he is on suspension, so this match may have been Hetherington's last game in Warriors colours.

If that's the case, thank you for your contribution this year, and I still have my fingers crossed that you jump the ditch.

Round 14 sees the Warriors return to their makeshift home on the Central Coast to host the table-topping Penrith Panthers. The Panthers have won eight on the trot and look to be the team to beat in 2020. The Warriors will need to be at their best if they want to walk away with their third win in a row, the Forwards will need to control the middle, and the backs will need to play an expansive style to combat the tough Panthers defence. Unfortunately, I don't see the Warriors getting the win here, but I'm hoping to see plenty of fight from the New Zealand side, so I'm picking the Panthers to win by 16.

Before I go, my thoughts on the recent coaching news. The Warriors have announced that they have signed Nathan Brown as head coach on a three-year deal and have also signed Phil Gould on as a consultant. Brown isn't who I would have gone with (I still would have liked to see the Walker brothers given a shot), but the decision has been made, and we will have to wait and see. He isn't a bad coach by any means and has spent time with the club already, so I genuinely hope it works well. 

The news regarding Phil Gould, however, has me excited. There has been plenty of things Gould has said that I have disagreed with, but there is also a lot that I have sided with him on, and there is no disputing that he has a heck of a football brain on him. The Warriors need help creating pathways with the youth of this country, and he has shown to be able to assist with that if you look at Penrith's system. There is so much talent in this country that is lost to union or to clubs across the ditch so if they can work out a way to keep that talent here, then the Warriors could have a more fruitful future.

Plus with Brown at the helm and Gould helping the club, that may entice players that the Warriors are targeting to sign on the dotted line, after seeing the club lose most of the players they have targeted this year.

So that was an excellent Round 13, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Do you think a top-eight finish is realistic?

What are your thoughts on Brown and Gould's signings?

Who was your player of the day?

What is your score prediction for the Panthers clash?