NZ Warriors 2020 Round 20 Review: Season ends on a high note as Warriors thump Sea Eagles

After last weeks spirited performance against the Canberra Raiders, the Warriors returned to their foster home on the Central Coast to face the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. 

With neither side moving onto the finals series, this was the last chance they had to end their season on a positive note. After surviving an early onslaught by Manly, it was the Warriors who ended their season in the winners' circle, winning 40-28 in a high-scoring affair.

What a way for the Warriors to end their season. I was confident that they would get the job done but watching Manly starve the Warriors of possession in the early stages and surging out to a 10-0 lead. I must admit I started to worry that the Warriors were already mentally on the flight home. However, as soon as the Warriors got their hands on the ball, all that worry went away as they went off a tryscoring blitz, scoring 5 tries on the trot and once they got the lead, they never looked in doubt despite leaking another 3 tries.

Besides the Sea Eagle's quick start, the Warriors were able to dominate the territory and forced Manly to try and play their way out of their own 20 for the majority of their sets, and most teams would struggle to stay competitive when camped that deep in their own half.

The Warriors look set to farewell Patrick Herbert and Adam Keighran, but I think their efforts in this match showed why the Warriors should keep them around, we have seen what injuries can do to a sides playoff aspirations, so depth is needed, and they are both more than capable of filling spots on the field. If the Warriors do let them go, I hope they get picked up by another club as they still deserve a place in the NRL.

It was a good performance by a side that many had written off (myself included) after a less than stellar start to the 2020 season, and they have earnt plenty of respect from their opposition and the Australian media alike. Now after spending 5 months away from home, they can come back for a much-deserved break to spend some quality time with their families before getting back into the grind of preseason training for the 2021 season.

There was plenty to smile about in this performance which leads me to my positives from the game.

The Warriors played plenty of positive attacking football, and it was beautiful to watch. There wasn't as much "Warriors Football" as you would have expected, but they attacked with intent and played smart football. If they can continue to play that smart football with a healthy dose of offloads and second phase football, then they will be a handful for any side to face.

The forward pack outdid themselves again, the platform they set put the Warriors in the driver's seat, and it gave the backs all the chances they needed to score points. 5 of the pack ran for over 100 metres with my Warrior of the year Tohu Harris leading the way yet again with 159 metres.

There are plenty of young players in this pack, and with plenty of experienced players back in New Zealand due to injury or family reasons it forced the rookies to step up and learn to be first graders without a safety net, and I think they delivered.

Eliesa Katoa, Jamayne Taunoa-Brown and Jack Murchie have all played well beyond their years, and I look forward to watching their careers grow next year.

Behind that rolling forward pack, Kodi Nikorima and Chanel Harris-Tavita had plenty of time to put the side into attacking situations and it was perhaps their best outing as a halves pairing.

Nikorima started to run again and will need to ensure that he consistently brings that facet of his game next season as the Warriors are a more dangerous outfit when he has his running shoes on.

Harris-Tavita showed why he is the future of this club with a great outing, he ended the match with 4 try assists and a solid kicking game.

It's still early days for this pairing, but I think they bring the best out of each other and their combination will continue to grow, especially when they get to play behind that impressive pack in 2021.

Lastly, the Warriors discipline improved this week, with the side only conceding 1 penalty and giving away 5 six again calls.

The six again calls were mainly in the early stages when Manly keep hold of the ball, but it was a great display from the Warriors as they made the Sea Eagles work for every set the got. Going into 2021, I want to see the Warriors bring this level of discipline week in and week out, give away no freebies and watch those other sides start to worry.

There wasn't much, but I did have a few issues which leads me to my negatives from the match.

Those slow starts are coach killers, and the Warriors need to sort it out, they have shown that can bounce back when they are behind in the early stages. If the Warriors want to be competitive in the NRL, they can't afford to give their opposition a leg up in the opening quarter of football.

My usual negative is still here with the Warriors missing 28 tackles. They stilhave great scrambling defence but they need to tighten up that first contact defence to just make winning a little bit easier. I'm not sure if it is down to attitude, communication or technique but improving the defense is a top priority when the team gets back together in the preseason.

My Warrior of the match for the second week in a row goes to Peta Hiku.

There were a few players that could have taken this spot with Harris-Tavita, Adam Keighran and Eliesa Katoa all putting thier hands up but I had to go with Hiku in a strong outing at fullback.

Filling Roger Tuivasa-Shecks boots is always a tough ask and Hiku had a few hiccups in the early stages but as his confidence started to grow he was a constant threat on attack, when he sits out on the edge he is one of the best at putting his winger away but that went to another level when he was out the back as he was inserting himself into the attack all over the park and his pass to Keighran for his first try was fantastic. I'm not saying that I would move him to fullback fulltime but I hope that RTS can learn a few of Hiku's tricks to add an extra dimension to his attack.

Also for the second week in a row, I have no Warrior to improve so I want to give a shout out to Adam Blair.

Blair announced his retirement during the week in what must have been a hard decision for him to make but I think it was the right call. There is plenty of talent in the Warriors forwards now and he may have struggled to get himself into the 17 not to mention 2021 looks to be another year spent in Australia so retiring now and getting to spend time at home with the family looks pretty good.

Blair has had his share of up's and down's and his time with the Warriors has not always been that flash but I think he had a strong 2020 after being moved to the front row.

He will still remain with the Warriors with rumours of him working with the young Maori players in the community and I think he will ace it and I truly wish him the best with this new opportunity. It takes a special kind of player to spend 15 years in first grade and I want to thank him for all he has done with the Kiwis and the Warriors.

So 2020 is done and what a season it has been, at times it looked like the season was not even going to reach the finals but watching the Warriors improvement in the finals stages of the season made this season a little more tolerable.

I miss going to live games and I hope we get games at Mount Smart next year but with how everything is going in the world I am not getting my hopes up just yet but my fingers will be crossed.

I will be taking a break from my writing for a little bit but my season review will be up during the finals. I also want to do some writing during the offseason instead of dissapeering for a few months so if you have anything you would like me to write about let me know.

I was thinking of doing some pieces like my top 5 warriors of the season, 5 that failed to deliver. Things like that so stay tuned.

My weekly show The Stand-Off will still be airing every Wednesday on Facebook and IHeart Radio on New Zealand Sport Radio so if you haven't checked that yet, tune in on Wednesdays at 8 and throw some questions my way.

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I'm proud of how they team has gone this year, obviously making the playoffs would have been better but with all the trials and tribulations the Warriors have faced this season I think they have set a solid platform moving into 2020.

Nathan Brown has a big task ahead of him and will need to ensure that the Warriors start next season in the same manner that they ended this one.

Addin Fonua-Blake and Ben Murdoch-Masila add plenty of size to the pack and Euan Aitken is a handy addition to the backline so anything less than finals football will be disappointing but I must say, it feels great to be feeling optimistic about next season.

So that was a positive Round 20, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Who do you think will win the Grand Final?
Do you think the Warriors can reach the playoffs in 2021?
Who was your player of the day?
Would you be keeping any of the players that the Warriors are letting go?

NZ Warriors 2020 Round 19 Review: Strong start not enough as Raiders overcome spirited Warriors

After lasts weeks heartbreaking loss to the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks, the Warriors travelled to GIO Stadium to face the Canberra Raiders.

The Raiders were looking for a strong win to get themselves closer to the top four but were rocked by a Warriors team that was still determined to compete well above their ladder position. Despite a strong start from the Warriors, the Raiders got the job done, winning 26-14. 

Well, I got my prediction correct this week with the Raiders winning by 12, but the Warriors looked to be on the way to an upset victory in Canberra for the second year in a row after a strong start against a Raiders team lacking in discipline.

The Warriors looked the better team with the ball in hand in the first half and had a chance to put the foot on the throat of Canberra when Jack Wighton was sent to the bin, but the Raiders bounced back and actually scored two tries while having only 12 men on the park. Admittingly the first try was a lucky break with Semi Valemei scooping up a wayward Warriors offload to run the left of the field.

Now, if that try hadn't happened and the Warriors had scored there, it may well have been a different outcome, but the Warriors were unlucky to go into the sheds at the break trailing 16-14.

I was worried about how the team would go in the second half, knowing that Ricky Stuart would have given the Raiders a right bollocking before running out and while they were the better side in the second half. It showed the difference in class between the two sides, but the Warriors could hold their heads high; they stayed in the contest for most of the match and looked ten times better than the Warriors side that faced the Raiders start of the season.

Having to reshuffle the side after the injury to Roger Tuivasa-Sheck took hindered the Warriors attack a bit, but I liked what I saw from most of the side. The Warriors have got a good base now, and with the named additions to the roster for 2021, I think the Warriors have the ability to reach the playoffs; the key for them is going to be keeping the tough attitude they have developed this season.

Despite the result, some aspect of the match made me smile, which leads me to my positives from the game.

The Warriors have been criticized for slow start in the past couple of rounds, so it was pleasing to see them start the match strong; they just need to find the right balance between starting strong and keeping the pressure going for the entire match. The Raiders are no slouches, but if the Warriors want to be a playoff-contending side, then they need to get that balance right and, more importantly, keep it week in and week out.

The forwards went missing last week, but they bounced back here and appeared to rattle the Raiders pack, which may also be why the Raiders were so undisciplined in the early stages of the match.

5 of the forwards ran for over 100 metres, and they were solid defensively, reducing the Raiders opportunities in the middle.

One forward I want to praise here is Lachlan Burr; now, full disclosure here I am a big fan of Burr, but he hasn't had the best season, and I am not surprised that the Warriors have elected to not extend his stay with the club. However, he had one of his best performance here; it appeared that he was given the task of putting pressure on Josh Papalii, and I think he did a great job; every time Papalii got the ball Burr was right in his face and reduced the impact the superstar prop had on this match.

Burr is fighting for a contract somewhere, and if he can deliver another strong outing in Round 20, then I think he has a shot picking up a deal at another NRL club looking for a cheap forward option. 

The Warriors played with intensity, with a chance to make the playoffs gone. Many pundits across the ditch claimed that the Warriors would now have their sights set on going home and would go back to the heavy defeats we saw earlier in the year. But this Warriors side gets themselves into the battle and makes sides earn their victories.

One thing that has been highlighted on social media after this match was the Raiders runaway try, Valemei was scorching up the field, and the Warriors had 8 players chasing him all the way to the end. Yes, they couldn't stop him but the heart and desire the Warriors showed in that one play make me proud of how far this side has come this season.

Unfortunately, I had some issues with the performance too, which leads me to my negatives.

I always need to bring up the missed tackles; the Warriors ended the match with 29 missed tackles. Their scrambling defence saved them on many occasions, but their first-up tackling needs to be worked on in the upcoming offseason, fix that, and the Warriors will be a harder opponent to defeat.

The Warriors were guilty of forcing passes a little too much in this match; two of the Raiders tries came off wayward Warriors offloads. It's the high risk, high reward style of play that makes the Warriors exciting to watch when they get into "Warriors Football" mode. However, there were several times when the Warriors didn't need to throw a 50/50 pass in this match. It's a bit of a contradiction, but I just want to see them reign the 50/50's just a little bit without going all the way back to the stifled attack of the Kearney era.

Lastly, the Warriors gave away too many penalties; they only had 8 penalties in this match, but 7 of them were in the second half, and it really hurt the Warriors momentum.

The ref didn't have the best night, to be fair, but the Warriors flirted with the rules a little too much and lost out. It is no secret that the Warriors seldom get the rub of the green when it comes to the man with the whistle, so they need to ensure that they are extra squeaky clean. 

Copyright Photo: Getty Images

My Warrior of the match goes to Peta Hiku.

I almost gave this to Burr this week, but I think Hiku had a great night out. He scored the Warriors only tries in this match and almost had himself a hat-trick. Hiku still needs to work on his defence (he missed 4 tackles in this match), but you cannot question his impact on the Warriors attack; for the past two seasons, Hiku has been the centre feeding the Warriors leading try scorer and in 2020 he is the leading try-scorer for the Warriors.

Defenders know that he is always ready to flick the ball to his winger, so I think this creates chances for him to throw a dummy and go himself. Perhaps it is something he can try to incorporate into his gameplan moving forward. He only got a one-year extension with the Warriors, but I expect him to go from strength to strength in 2021 and get himself a longer contract.

Copyright Photo: Getty Images

I don't have a Warrior to improve this week, so I just want to give a shout out to Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in what was his last performance for the Warriors in 2020.

When RTS limped to the sideline, my heart sank. It is well documented how tough RTS had it in 2020, and he did not deserve to see his season end in this way.

He is the heart and soul of this team, and he has really shown why the Warriors picked him to be their leader.

Roger, thank you for all the sacrifices you have made, and I hope you truly enjoy your much deserved time with your family in the upcoming weeks.

I know there are rumours that he may leave the club if they are forced to stay in Oz for all of 2021, but I'm hopeful that with the extra time to plan for a 2021 season spent abroad, the Warriors will be able to ensure that all the players have their families join them across the Tasman.

Obviously, I would prefer the Warriors to play in NZ (I miss going to Mt Smart), but with COVID still running rampant, I don't see it happening.

Round 20 sees the Warriors return to Central Coast Stadium for their final match against the Sea Eagles.

Normally I cringe when the Warriors face Manly, but they have not had the best season, and both sides will most likely be without their superstar fullback, with Tom Trbovich likely to miss this encounter after getting injured in his return match last week.

Both sides will be looking at ended their season on a high, but I think the Warriors will have the edge here. I think the Warriors will move Hiku to fullback, but I'm not sure who they will bring into the centres, but Paul Turner could find himself back in the 17 (he also could come in at fullback). I'm predicting it will be a tight contest, but I'm going with a Warriors win by 14.

There are rumours that the Warriors are chasing Addin Fonua-Blake and Jack Hetherington for 2021; I think both would be welcomed additions to the Warriors squad and give them one hell of a pack. I will be covering my thoughts on this news in my online show The Stand-Off on New Zealand Sport Radio on Wednesday night so if you want to hear more about that, tune in at 8pm on Wednesday (the show airs on my Facebook page love).

So that was an unfortunate Round 19, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Who would you play at fullback in RTS absence?
Do you think the Warriors can reach the playoffs in 2021?
Who was your player of the day?
What is your score prediction for the Sea Eagles clash?

NZ Warriors Round 18 Review: Heartbreak as Warriors playoff dreams dashed in defeat to Sharks

After last weeks disappointing loss to the Parramatta Eels, the Warriors travelled to Netstrata Jubilee Stadium to face the 8th placed Cronulla Sutherland Sharks. 

It was a must-win game for the Warriors if they wanted to keep their dreams of a top-eight finish alive. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be as the Warriors went down 22-14, ruling out any chances of making the playoffs.

Devastated is probably the best word to describe how I felt when Toby Rudolf barged over for his try in the final stages of this match, sealing the Warriors fate. 

I legitimately thought the Warriors were going to walk away with the two points here, but the Sharks had a game plan and never really looked in doubt despite losing their lead in the second half.

The sharks won the battle of the forwards, and Shaun Johnson unleashed his short kicking game causing plenty of havoc for the Warriors. The Warriors showed glimpses of promise on attack but couldn't string enough attacking threats together to take control of the match.

It looked like the side lack some confidence, when they took a shot at goal to take a two-point lead instead of trying to get another try, it was a telltale sign of a side not backing their attack. 

I am disappointed, but the way this side has performed through all the adversities they have faced is something the fans can take pride in. Two months ago I stated that I thought the Warriors only had one more win in them (against the Bulldogs) and I have never been happier to be wrong.

This team has punched well above its weight this year, and I'm hopeful that the Warriors take everything they learnt this season and build on it in 2021. If they can perform for an entire season in the way they have since round 11, then they give themselves a great chance of playing in the 2021 playoffs.

Despite the result, there was some aspect of the match that made me smile, which leads me to my positives from the game.

The Warriors didn't give up and fought back from a 12-0 deficit to take a 14-12 lead. They weren't able to keep the points ticking over, but for the second week in a row, the Warriors showed heart when in the past we have seen the Warriors drop their heads and get thumped. Again it's a quality that I hope to see continue into next season.

The forwards were bullied up the middle, but Jack Murchie had another outstanding night. He lead the tackle count with 46 and also lead the team in linebreaks, making 2. He has had a great few weeks, and the Warriors second-row stocks look great for the future. With Murchie, Eliesa Katoa, Tohu Harris and Jazz Tevaga, the Warriors have themselves quite a dangerous-looking pack.

Lastly, we didn't see enough of it, but the Warriors looked dangerous when playing some expansive football. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Peta Hiku threatened several times with Hiku's flick pass that lead to Adam Pompey's try being a standout for me.

I hope we see plenty more of the attacking flair in the final two rounds with nothing to lose. Let's see the Warriors end the 2020 season with some flamboyant football.

Unfortunately, there was plenty to frown about, which leads me to my negatives.

The Warriors showed heart with their bounce back, but once again they started the match too slow. The NRL is a tough competition, and you cannot afford to let any side run away with a lead in the early stages. I'm not sure if its an attitude thing or just an issue with the Warriors gameplan but it's something Todd Payten can try to address in his final two weeks in charge of the New Zealand side.

Apart from a handful of exciting plays, the Warriors seemed to lack some direction on attack. Often relying on predictable short passes to a forward. It a good ploy when you spot a weakness in the defensive line, but the Warriors need to reduce the predictability, especially with a tough match with the Raiders coming this week.

My regular complaint about the Warriors is back once again with the Warriors missing 35 tackles. They still can scramble well, and they were a lot better at wrapping the ball carrier up this week, but they need to cut their missed tackles in half if they want to win more matches than they lose.

Towards the end of the match, they appeared to be out on their feet due to the Sharks making plenty of dummy half running. Once the Sharks started doing that the Warriors were in trouble and couldn't stop the Sharks momentum.

Lastly, the Warriors had a poor showing with discipline and errors.

The Warriors made 10 errors and gave away 9 penalties, when you let your opposition off the hook almost 20 times in a match it is hard to walk away with the victory.

The Warriors were hard-done-by with some of the penalties they were pinged with and were unlucky with some calls not going their way, but it wasn't the difference between winning and losing here.

The Warriors seldom get the rub of the green when it comes to the man with the whistle, so they need to take him out of the match, give no reasons for the Refs to step in and watch the team string some wins together.

Copyright Photo: Getty Images

My Warrior of the match goes to Tohu Harris.

I may as well call it now, but Harris has been my Warrior of the year. In a pack filled to the brim with inexperience, he as stepped up and lead from the front.

Leading the pack with 202 metres and playing some of the matches in the front row, Harris always bent the line as he attempted to get the Warriors on the front foot.

He is the cornerstone of the Warriors forwards, and if all the young players around him can emulate what he brings to the park, then the Warriors are going to have one of the top packs in the NRL.

Copyright Photo: Getty Images

My Warrior to improve goes to Kodi Nikorima.

I feel like I could almost cut and paste what I said last week when I selected Nikorima for this section.

Kodi didn't run the ball enough once again, the forward's lack of punch was a key reason, but the Warriors really need Kodi to get his running boots on again.

When he takes the line on, the Warriors attack goes to another level, and they can compete with the top teams in the competition. I have confidence that Kodi and Chanel will be a good halves pairing for the Warriors, they just need Kodi to show some consistency.

Round 19 sees the Warriors head to Canberra to face a Raiders side looking at cracking the top four.

It is going to be a tough outing for the Warriors, and with Parramatta taking back George Jennings and Daniel Alvaro after the loss to the Sharks it makes the clash just a little bit harder. Jamayne Taunoa-Brown is also set to miss the match after getting charged with a dangerous contact charged which he has plead guilty too.

With the playoff dreams dashed and only two weeks to go, maybe it's time to give some of the players that have not been used that much some game time. Guys like Tom Ale, Adam Keighran and Paul Turner deserve a shot. 

I think the Raiders will be too strong for the Warriors in this match, and I'm going with Canberra to win the game by 12, but I have my fingers crossed for a strong effort by the Warriors, I don't want to see them drop their heads now that a spot in the playoffs is off the table.

So that was a heartbreaking Round 18, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

What is your assessment of the Warriors 2020 campaign?
Would you bring in the players that haven't played yet for the final two rounds?
Who was your player of the day?
What is your score prediction for the Raiders clash?

NZ Warriors 2020 Round 17 Review: Warriors valiantly go down to Eels in game marred with controversy

After last weeks impressive victory over the Newcastle Knights, the Warriors made the trip back to their makeshift home at Central Coast Stadium to host the 3rd placed Parramatta Eels.

After the Sharks lost on Friday night, a win here would see the Warriors only one win out of the eight with a chance to level up with Cronulla in round 18. It wasn't to be, however, as the Warriors went down 24-18, albeit in controversial fashion. 

Man what a demoralising defeat. At the start of the match the Eels were at their best, constantly making breaks and after thier first try I thought the Warriors were on the way to a massive defeat, but then the Warriors started to fight back and got themselves back into the match with some solid defense and exciting moments with the ball in hand.

Losing Jazz Tevaga for ten minutes saw the Warriors concede 12 points and ultimately in my opinion put the Warriors on the backfoot and they could never recover.

They fought back and almost got themselves the much needed victory but the Eels did just enough to hold on but should wipe any hopes for Parramatta fans the their side have a shot at title glory.

Does this result stamp out the playoff dreams for the Warriors? I think so unfortuantely, they need to win their last three matches and rely on the Sharks to lose all three. Now while I don't see the Sharks winning again this season, I struggle to see the Warriors defeating the Raiders in Round 19 so it will be yet another year that the Warriors miss the playoffs by just a few points.

I truly hope that isn the case and we see the Warriors sneak into the playoffs as I believe they are a better team than some of the teams that are currently sitting in the eight (Knights and Sharks if I am to call any out).

Before I move on to my positives and negatives from the match, I will just mention the elephant in the room. Grant Atkins performance with the whistle tonight was tremendously poor.

It isn't the first time this year that Atkins has had a howler and I think he could be stood down once again much like he was in the 2019 season. His sin bin decision was one of the biggest overreactions I have seen in a game of league in some time. Labelling Tevaga's push to Nathan Brown while in a tackle as a punch was laughable and has dire consequences on the result. You can't turn back the clock but if the Warriors didn't lose Jazz, you could argue that the Eels wouldn't have scored the 12 points that saw them charge out in front.

It wasn't just the sinsbinning decision though, as Atkins missed several forward passes (for both sides to be fair) and there were also plenty of six again calls that he missed when the Eels were adding some extra niggle in the tackles. 

Referees, just like players can have off nights but when a playoff spot is on line you cannot allow your decisions to affect the result which is what happened this week. 

It is going to be interesting to watch Graham Annesley's football briefing this week to see what he has to say about this match.

Despite the result, there was some aspect of the match that made me smile, which leads me to my positives from the game.

Being down 16-0, the game appeared to be over but the Warriors hit back strong and I thought were the better team for the majority of the match. They showed more on attack expect for a period towards the end of the match (more on that below).

Despite everything the team has gone through this year, it is fantastic to watch the toughness they have developed. When the odds are stacked against them, they keep pushing through and performing better than anyone thought they could. If only they had started this run a few rounds earlier.

The Warriors were physical throughout this match and you could see that it was getting under the Eels skin. If you can front up to your opposition and not take a backstep then you are on your way to wrestling a match in your favor. The Warriors got in the Eels faces and as a result they Eels appeared to deviate from their gameplan. We know the Warriors need to win the last three games of the season and if they bring this physicality into these games they will give themselves a hell of a shot.

Lastly it was good to see some "Warriors football", the tries Chanel Harris-Tavita scored came off some good ad lib football. I have said it time and time again but when the Warriors can play some second phase football they are incredibly dangerous and hard to stop. 

It's also very exciting to watch. If the Warriors somehow can keep playing an exspansive style while also retaining this newfound toughness, then the Warriors will be a tough opponent for any side in the NRL. This season may be done but I have my fingers crossed that this mentality sticks around in 2021.

I also had some concerns, which leads me to my negatives from the match.

After praising the forwards for the past few weeks they have made their way to my negatives.

Only 3 of the forwards ran for over 100 metres this week. With the Warriors needing to come from behind in this match, they needed a few more of thier big bodies to bend the defensive line. Most of the pack are relatively young and a drop off game was inevitable but hopefully we see a bounce back in round 18. The forwards did front up on defense after a poor start so it wasn't all doom and gloom.

The Warriors defense at the start of the match left plenty to be desired. If they didn't miss the tackle, they failed to wrap the ball carrier up and allowed the Eels to offload almost at will. Some superb scrambling defense kept the Eels from piling on the points. On a positive note though, the Warriors defense got better as the game progressed, they just need to ensure they don't start poorly like that in round 18.

The Warriors let themselves down with some simple handling errors, they made 9 which doesn't seem like a lot but when a game is a close as this one, you cannot afford to hand your opponents the ball back so easily. Normally i give them a slight pass if the errors come from trying to throw the ball around but in this match most of the errors came from losing the ball in the tackle. It is something that can be worked on at least so i expect to see the Warriors show the ball some more respect in the upcoming rounds.

My last negative is the Warriors return to one-out football. After praising the Warriors expansive attack there was a 10 minute period in the second half when the Warriors went back to the just passing one off the ruck 4 times before kicking. It was reminiscent of the lacklustre attack the Warriors started the season with. 

I'm not sure what happened to make them change their attacking style in the middle of the match but thankfully it only lasted for a small portion of the game.

Fingers crossed it was a one-off and that we don't see it return any more. 

Copyright Photo: Getty Images

My Warrior of the match goes to Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.

The Warriors skipper gets my MOTM for the second week after another strong performance with 277 running metres, 2 linebreaks, 5 tackle-breaks and 1 try-assist. 

What can you really say about RTS that hasn't already been said, he continues to show his class in what has been a brutally tough year for him.

The Warriors new gameplan has opened up plenty of chances for Roger to run in open space and it is something they need to keep doing as he is too valuable as an attacking weapon to be used solely for getting the Warriors out of their own 20.

Look to see him continue to run off the shoulders of his teammates ready to break the opposition wide open.

Copyright Photo: Getty Images

My Warriors to improve goes to Kodi Nikorima.

Nikorima has been in career-best form since taking over the mantle as the Warriors lead half but took a step backwards this week.

The Warriors have been playing their best football when Nikorima takes the ball to the line and in this match, he managed only 4 runs. I'm not sure if it was just an off night for him or if iT was due to the pack not running for as many metres as they have in recent weeks. I'm confident that he will get himself back on track, Warriors fans will just be hoping that it's sooner rather than later.

Round 18 sees the Warriors head to Netstrata Jubilee Stadium to face the Sharks in what could be the most important game of the season for both sides.

The winner of this match keeps their playoff dreams alive, while the losing side is basically out of the race (Sharks technically are still in the eight but with tough matches in the final two rounds a loss for them here basically rules them out).

There has been no news on if the Warriors will welcome back their Parramatta loan players George Jennings and Daniel Alvaro, they also could even see Penrith Panther Jack Hetherington return as well which would definitely bolster the Warriors gameday 17.

The Sharks, on the other hand, have been dealt a blow, losing both Chad Townsend and Wade Graham after they both plead guilty to their charges from their match against the Knights.

Shaun Johnson may return from his groin injury but that has not been confirmed yet.

So with the season on the line, this is probably the best time for the Warriors to face an understrength Sharks sides.

I think if the Warriors can get some of the loan players back and can fix some of my negatives, that they give themselves a great shot at walking away with the much-needed two points. 

I feel that the Warriors are the better side right now so I'm picking the Warriors to win this match by 14 and keep the slim playoff hunt alive for another week.

So that was a controversial Round 17, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Do the Warriors have any chance to make the eight now?
What was your take on the Sin Bin decision?
Who was your player of the day?
What is your score prediction for the Sharks clash?