After last weeks hard-fought victory against the Sea Eagles, the Warriors made their way back to their makeshift home ground on the Central Coast to face the top of the table Penrith Panthers.
This was always going to be a tough ask for the New Zealand side, especially when Penrith were looking to score their club record-breaking ninth win in a row. However, I think many fans were hoping that if the Warriors could not walk away with the win that they at least show a bit of fight. And fight they did as the Warriors agonizingly went down 18-12.
The Warriors new attitude has been a shining light the past four weeks, the Panthers have been building this year and look like they could go all the way and the played that way in this match, starting the game strongly, dominating possession and territory. Nathan Cleary terrorized the Warriors and kept them camped in their own red zone forcing repeat sets. The Warriors goal-line defence withstood many attacks, but eventually, the points started to come.
The Warriors kept themselves in the hunt though scoring just before the break and scoring the only tries in the second half. I think they were a little hard done by on one occasion when Stephen Crichton snatched a try saving intercept from what looked to be an offside position, a tough call for sure but one that wasn't even mentioned anywhere after the match.
The loss was hard to take with the chances of a top-eight finish eroding, but I think the Warriors will walk away from this match with confidence and their tough draw no longer looks that bad.
Originally I had picked the Warriors to only get one more win this season, and that was the upcoming match against the Bulldogs, however now I think the Warriors could quite possibly win the majority of their final matches, with the hardest one being their round 19 encounter against the Raiders.
Will they make the eight, no I don't believe so but the end of the season is not going to be as dire as I thought.
Before I move on, I just want to mention the fans that were kicked out of the grounds for allegedly hurling racist taunts to Brent Naden. There is no place for that in the game, and I hope they get punished, life ban from grounds or something. Unfortunately, it took the sheen of a good Warriors performance and was the only talking point at the end of the game.
There was a lot from this match that brought a smile to my face, which leads to my positives from the game.
When the Warriors were down 16-0, I was worried, I thought that after all the hard work the Warriors had done the past few weeks to be a more competitive team was about to go down the drain.
But that newfound grit started to shine, and the Warriors clawed their way back into the match and could have easily snuck away with the win. With everything that has gone on this year, it's great to see the Warriors ear respect from the commentators and opposition alike. However, I was a bit disappointed that their performance barely got a mention in any of the wrapup shows from across the Tasman.
I will be talking about the Warriors defence a bit later, but I want to highlight the Warriors goal-line defence. It felt like the Warriors were camped on their own goal-line for an age and the Panthers have shown how dangerous they can be with the ball in hand, but the Warriors refused to let them stroll over without working for it.
That type of effort comes down to attitude, and hopefully, it is a sign of what's to come for the rest of the season and beyond.
Again I thought the Forwards did well, due to constantly having to fight out of their own half they struggled to get the big numbers, but against a more experienced pack, the young guns stood up. I look at 2020 as a character-building exercise for the younger players, and I think the Warriors pack is going to be stronger for it next season.
The halves pair continued to grow chemistry and are meshing well. There is still a long way to go, but I think Kodi and Chanel complement each other, and I look forward to watching Chanel take more control of the kicking game when he grows in confidence.
Before I move on I just need to mention Chanel separately, that kid has heart in spades, and his tackle on Liam Martin will be included on highlight reels for years to come. I love watching him throw himself into tackles, I wince because I worry that he is going to hurt himself, but so far he hasn't, and it's great to see him trying to turn a game in the Warriors favour when the pressure is on. He is a star in the making and will be a cornerstone of this Warriors club for many years.
I did have some issues, however, though, which brings me to my match negatives.
I praised the Warriors goal-line defence but everywhere else on the park the Warriors were woeful. They ended the match with 42 missed tackles their highest tally for weeks. If it wasn't for some good scrambling defence, the Panthers could have opened the game wide open.
Reduce the missed tackles and increase your chances to walk away with the much needed 2 points.
The Warriors could have got the win here, but they let themselves down with errors, making 12 in total.
There were several in the final stages of the match when the Warriors really needed to wrap the ball tight and get themselves into scoring positions.
Was it weather, fatigue, trying too hard or overthinking Im not sure but they need to show the ball more respect this week.
The Panthers had the lions share of the football due to some smart plays, but the Warriors made matters worst by handing Penrith more possession through penalties and ruck infringements.
They conceded 7 penalties and 6 ruck infringements which is way too much against the best team in the league right now. Yes some of the calls against them were suspect but effort to cry foul.
Thankfully it is something that can be worked on, and I expect to see a more disciplined performance this Sunday.
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Harris has been fantastic this season and lead from the front yet again, leading the Warriors in tackles (58) and running metres (142).
I hope that the young players in the camp are using this COVID situation to absorb everything Harris does throughout the week in regards to training and prep and it results in a stack of forwards that deliver consistently every week.
Rumours were circling throughout the week that Harris is looking to leave the club, he has disregarded this news but with his contract expiring at the end of next season, the Warriors will need to start working on ensuring he stays with the club for longer as he will be a massive loss if he decides to move on.
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I was almost tempted to give everyone a pass this week but Papali'i stood out for me for all the wrong reasons.
After not making the side for several weeks, Papali'i finally got the call up with Jack Hetherington being suspended and it was his time to make a statement as he looks to earn a new contract.
Unfortunately, he didn't do much to show the club that he needs to be kept on, he appeared slower than usual and didn't offer anything on attack and made several poor defensive reads. I feel that his time at the club is at an end and the best thing for both parties is to move on, I'm sure with a new start at another club we will see Papali'i grow and utilise the promise that he use to show, he just seems to be in a rut right now.
Round 15 sees the Warriors travel to ANZ Stadium to face the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in a rare return to Sunday afternoon football.
Despite the Bulldogs languishing at the bottom of the table, they have been battlers all year and have been every team really work for their wins this year.
I think the Warriors will get the win this week, but this could be a speedbump game and the Warriors can not come into the match underestimating the Bulldogs.
If the forwards can gain the upper hand, it should allow Kodi and Chanel plenty of time to get the backline into scoring opportunities.
I'm picking the Warriors to win this match by 12.
So that was a valiant Round 14, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.
Do you think the Warriors are heading in the right direction for 2021?
Where do you see the Warriors ending up on the ladder?
Who was your player of the day?
What is your score prediction for the Bulldogs clash?
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ReplyDeleteAn expected loss but I suppose it is encouraging that some of the top teams are finding us difficult to beat and we really had a good chance to win this one, but I suppose that is the difference; the better teams usually find a way home.
ReplyDeleteAgain, a bit like the Roosters game, our own errors and missed tackles enabled the opposition to maintain control and wear us down. Though as you said, our goal line defence was impressive for a long period early in the game.
The Panthers hardly made any mistakes later in the game when it mattered and it was interesting to see how they wisely used their captain's challenges twice at critical times. It also felt like a lot of the marginal calls went the Panthers way.
Harris-Tavita still has a way to go before he becomes a confident, game controlling half and I just hope he has the personality for it and is able to be as assertive as the role demands.
Difficult to go past Harris as player of the day but the likes of Hiku and Nikorima probably deserve a mention. We hardly seem to go left on attack so some of the players on that side get a bit forgotten for me as their attacking opportunities are limited.
We will probably finish 13th but 12th or better is possible and could be a pass mark of sorts for a season like this.
Now, the Bulldogs game presents one of those very Warriors problems where of course we should win but would you bet your life on it? A loss would not be a huge surprise but I am getting behind the boys here for an eight point win