Ah, the joys of writing about the Warriors, last week was a joy to review, and then I come crashing down this week after such a frustrating game. The Warriors started the match up-tempo, asking the Roosters defence plenty of questions and scored via Adam Pompey in the sixth minute. An injury to Addin Fonua-Blake in the 14th minute saw the Warriors lose some punch upfront. A few errors allowed the Roosters back into the contest when James Tedesco scored a nice solo try, but the Warriors responded with Tohu Harris diving on a Roger Tuivasa-Sheck grubber; the Roosters finished the first half with back to back tries by Nat Butcher and Brett Morris to take a narrow 16-12 lead into the break. The Roosters dominated the second half, scoring three tries, another one for Brett Morris, an intercept try to Drew Hutchison before ending the night with Josh Morris crashing over in the corner. The Warriors looked to have put Ken Maumalo away in the corner, but unfortunately, his hand touched the line before he grounded the ball.
So yeah, not a great night out for the Warriors. There was plenty of talk about the Roosters rookie halves pairing, but the Warriors just didn't pressure them enough to rattle them. It was a concerning match for me in the Warriors first test against genuine top 4 contenders as they did not front up and showed that they are not at the same level. However, they did show me enough that if they had Euan Aitken, Peta Hiku and Fonua-Blake there and worked on a few issues that I will discuss in my negatives section, they could be competitive. Call me an optimist, but I want to believe that the Warriors will learn from this loss and become a better team because of it.
There wasn't much I liked about this match, but there were a couple which leads me to my positives from the game.
After my issues with the Warriors starting matches too slow, the Warriors were in this match for the first 40. Some better defence, and they could have even been leading at the break. So they have shown that they can end games well and can now start well, so the next trick is to combine the two and give an 80-minute performance.
There wasn't much I liked about this match, but there were a couple which leads me to my positives from the game.
Match Positives
Fonua-Blake's early exit hurt the Warriors, but I thought Bunty Afoa and Leeson Ah Mau stood up in his absence and were two of the very few forwards that threatened to bed the line. With both running for over 100 metres. With AFB most likely set to miss the round 5 clash against his former club this Friday, Afoa and Ah Mau will need to deliver again, this time with the rest of the pack chipping in.
My Warrior of the game goes to Bunty Afoa.
My Warrior to improve goes to Wayde Egan.
I did have plenty of concerns, however, which brings me to some to my negatives from the match.
Match Negatives
The Warriors made 13 errors in this match, and it was a huge momentum killer; they just seemed to not be clicking. They were dropping easy offloads, making errors in the play the ball area and just gifting the Rooster's too much ball inside their own half. You just cannot afford to play with such a lack of respect for the ball against any team in the NRL because they will make you pay, as we saw here.
The Warriors turned back the clock to 2019 with the return of their one-dimensional attack; they started the match threatening the Roosters line but reverted into the one out running that plagued the Warriors campaigns for the past few seasons. Wayde Egan was slow getting the ball out of the ruck. Kodi Nikorima and Sean O'Sullivan failed to insert themselves or the backline into scoring opportunities; the wingers are not being used right now, other than battering rams within their own 20 metres. The Warriors need something different in their backline as I feel like they are all just built out of the same mould, so they need a point of difference in the form of a quicker mobile player; I think Marcelo Montoya is a good start. It was frustrating watching the Warriors spend repeat sets on the Roosters goal line and just handing the ball out to a forward in the hope that they would crash over for a try, it was predictable, and the Roosters barely looked threatened. This week's matchup gives them the perfect opportunity to play some expansive football against a struggling side, so I want to see the Warriors give their backline some scoring chances this week.
Their defence was a massive concern; the Warriors ended the match with 33 missed tackles, their worst effort this season. The defensive line looked slow, and the normally decent goal-line defence was disorganised and left plenty of holes for the Roosters to target. Defence is all about attitude and having trust in your teammates, so hopefully, on a positive note, this side with the recent changes can work on the defensive structure during the week and show improvement this week.
Lastly, the Warriors handed the Roosters too many repeat sets on the back of 5 penalties and 5 ruck infringements. Just like the errors, you cannot afford to give your opposition a leg up. With the new six again rule, if you are not up to scratch with your discipline, you are looking at energy-sapping defence, which leaves you with not much left in the tank when you finally get your hands on the ball. The new rules are still something all sides are getting used to, but the Warriors just need to ensure that they keep themselves extra squeaky clean.
Warrior of the Game
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| Copyright Photo: Getty Images |
Bunty showed plenty of energy in this match, running 13 times for 132 metres, 1 tackle break and 41 tackles with no misses. I love his running style and have been impressed at his return from injury so far. After being told he was free to look elsewhere at the end of last year, Afoa has stepped up and shows every week why he deserves to be re-signed. He works hard on attack and defence and always appears to be giving his all; if his drive can rub off on the rest of the squad, then the Warriors will be a tough team to beat. He brings much-needed intensity to the Warriors, but he also balances it with good discipline;. However, he has been charged with a grade shoulder tackle this week (his first offence in over two years) and could miss two weeks if he fights it; he will only miss one week if he pleads guilty.
Warrior to Improve
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| Copyright Photo: Warriors.Kiwi |
Egan offered so little in this match that he may as well have not been on the field. He made one run for 2 metres, and his passes were so slow out of dummy-half that the Roosters defence was already in the face of the Warriors when they got the ball. His failed to offer any spark on attack, and his one-off passing at the Roosters try line was head-scratching at best. Nathan Brown has faith in Egan being the hooker to lead the Warriors, and with few options to replace him currently, he appears to not be at risk of losing his spot, but patience is thinning, and he needs to show the fans a sliver of what Brown sees in him. The Warriors have a pack that can charge up the field now, so Egan needs to be taking advantage of that with snipes out of dummy-half or, at the very least, quicker delivery to his halves.
Round 5 sees the Warriors return to the Central Coast Stadium to face the bottom of the ladder Manly Sea Eagles. Manly have been woefully poor this season and show no signs of improvement anytime soon. All signs lead to a comprehensive win here for the Warriors, but I would not take the Sea Eagles lightly, especially since Tommy Turbo should make his return this Friday. Despite his probable inclusion, I am picking the Warriors to walk away with a victory, so I'm picking the Warriors to win by 22.
Round 5 thoughts and prediction
With AFB potentially out injured and Jamayne Taunoa-Brown still suspended, another prop will need to be brought in, and I think it's time to give Kane Evans a shot from the bench with Ah Mau moving into the starting line-up. I also would potentially look at making changes to the backline; it is not working right now, so some changes could be welcome, maybe giving Paul Turner, Hayze Perham or Rocco Bery a chance to add some spark in a backline sorely needing it.
So that was a disappointing Round 4, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.
What changes would you make to improve the side's attack?
Who was your player of the day?
Who was your player to improve?
What is your score prediction for the Sea Eagles clash?
Curran as replacement prop? Kane Evans also a good choice.
ReplyDeleteAgree the back line isn’t functioning so the inclusion of Paul Turner or Hayze Perham
I’d keep Egan as hooker but insist on more dummy half runs when situation calls for it
Our attack close to the line was woeful.Why? Soft Roosters tries flattered them.
Tohu was my man of match despite a mistake or two...he tackled ferociously as usual.Jazz good too.
Manly are awful but if we improve on this poor performance we should win by 16 despite Tommy Turbo’s return
Curran could be an option, but I think Evans, Tom Ale or Jackson Frei would be given the shot upfront first.
ReplyDeleteTurner or Perham would be great at offering a spark, but there are rumours that Turner is on his way to join the Broncos so that Reece Walsh can join the Warriors early.
Egan needs to be more active for sure.
I'm not sure why the Warriors attack in the redzone was woeful, they just appeared to try and barge over for points which doesn't work against the best sides in the comp.
I don't want to jinx it but I cant see Manly being good enough on Friday.
So right as usual Brad.
ReplyDeleteI know I pick the Warriors every week but I had no confidence for this Roosters game. The chooks demonstrated how a really professional club manages injuries and player depth.
It was one of those games where you just end up feeling sad and hollow, particularly after the optimism fuelling high of last week.
I honestly can't remember the game enough to pick a player the day, though perhaps they were all became just similar shades of vanilla as the game went on, with few standouts, hence the result.
It seems that so often you ask how we could fix our attack! If only we knew how.
I admit to feeling disappointed at the possible loss of Paul Turner, who, with limited opportunities has actually looked sharp and dynamic which can't be said of too many of our players at the moment. I wonder if he could offer something given more game time.
Egan is an obvious choice as a player who needs to improve. I'm not sure what he is being asked to do but when you think about the hookers in the NRL who have a big impact and influence over a game, he is miles off the mark.
I think we all know that the Manly game could spell real trouble for us. They have to win eventually and they will look to swoop on us with dented confidence and missing Fonua-Blake (for some weeks it seems which totally sucks) and Afoa.
But pick my team I must, so a Warriors victory it is but not by many. Perhaps less than 6 points. Man, I hope we win.
Yes was such a deflating game, I have no started filming a short video review of the game for New Zealand Sport Radio's morning news and the video for this match was hard to watch, not real points or answers (a good reason I wait until the Monday to release my reviews).
ReplyDeleteThe Turner situation keeps developing with the recent news being that his management were the ones looking at getting him out instead of the Warriors wanting to push him out to get Walsh. I don't want to see Turner go and think he will get his time to prove himself, patience is key.
Egan is way off the mark right now, Nathan Brown seems intent that Egan is the Hooker for the Warriors and I hope we start to see what Brown see's soon.
The match against Manly could possible be a hiccup game, where the Warriors go in super confident and end up getting embarrassed. The team's depth is being tested right now but I am confident that the will have enough to get past the struggling Sea Eagles. I'm really looking forward to seeing how Kane Evans goes in his first hit out for the Warriors.
The team does have a slightly unfamiliar look about it this week with the likes of Evans, Montoya, O'sullivan etc who we still don't know much about. Is anybody else concerned about where David Fusitua's game is heading? And did we let Papali'i go a bit too soon?
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