NZ Warriors 2021 Round 6 Review: Step in right direction as record-breaking Warriors vanquish Dragons

After Round five's embarrassing loss to the Sea Eagles, the Warriors made the trip to Netstrata Jubilee Stadium to face a Dragons on a four-game winning streak.

I was nervous about this match but was happy to get my prediction wrong with the Warriors returning to the winner's circle and the top eight with a 20-14 victory.

Well, that was a better effort, the Dragons have been on a roll, but the Warriors continue to have the edge over the St George outfit, with this being the 5th win in a row against the red V.

The Dragons drew first blood with young speedster, Cody Ramsey, crossing over in the corner in the 7^th minute. The Warriors bounced back and took the lead with two tries in the space of three minutes when Tohu Harris barged over to score, and then Paul Turner, who found himself on the field sooner than expected when Peta Hiku left the field with a shoulder injury, dived on a grubber that Matt Dufty failed to ground. Massive winger Mikaele Ravalawa bulldozed his way over in the corner in the 29^th minute to narrow the Warriors lead. The rest of the first half saw both sides shut each other down with some impressive defensive displays. The Dragons containing Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and the Warriors kept Corey Norman quiet to see the Warriors hold onto a slim 12-8 lead as the teams went into the tunnels. The second half offered more of the same, with neither side able to get the upper hand until a try by Dufty in the 59^th minute gave the Dragons back the lead. It looked like it might be all they needed to walk away with the victory, but Warriors skipper Tuivasa-Sheck took control and, in an excellent solo effort, forced his way to the try line to wrestle the game back into the Warriors favour. A penalty goal in the 69^th minute by Kodi Nikorima pushed the Warriors lead back out to 6, which lead to a tense final 10 minutes with the Dragons throwing everything they had at the Warriors defensive line. Still, the New Zealand side held firm and got the much-needed win.

I thought this was a great effort by the side, they have been awful the past few weeks offering very little of attack and struggling on defence, but they improved tenfold this match. The key now is that the Warriors build on the platform they set in this match and don't fall back into old habits. They have a tough match this week, but the next few rounds after that are definitely winnable matches.

Unlike last week, there was plenty of things that left a smile on my face, which leads to my positives from the game.

Match Positives

Just like in last years match against the Dragons, the Warriors accuracy was excellent. They broke their own record with a 98% completion rate, completing 40 out of 41 sets (it was reported as 100% until the stats were updated today). This type of accuracy is not generally associated with the Warriors, but it was good to see that they were able to keep the silly errors that plagued them in earlier rounds out of this match. If they can keep this up while also increasing their attacking opportunities, then they stand a chance to win a lot more matches. 

Speaking of attack, their attack was a lot better this week. The forwards had no issue getting the ball up the field, with the return of Bunty Afoa and Jamayne Taunoa-Brown making an immediate impact. I also loved getting to see Ben Murdoch-Masila get his first start for the Warriors; he started the match strongly and was causing plenty of headaches for the Dragons. My only concern was that Nathan Brown waited a bit too long to bring him back on for my liking, but I have made no secret of my man-crush on BMM. Fingers crossed, we see the big starting again this week. With forwards doing the job upfront, the halves started to show promise, getting themselves involved more and, more importantly, getting Roger Tuivasa-Sheck into prime positions to attack. This is a great sign, and hopefully, it continues for the rest of the season.

The Warriors defence also improved, with them ending the match with 91.2% tackle efficiency. They kept their defensive line reasonably solid. Joshua Curran helped in the aspect, making a team-high 50 tackles. I think that may have been why he got the call up this week, he is always solid on the defensive side of the game, and I'm sure he will be in the gameday 17 for some time. It could also be down to the team starting to trust each other. Whatever the reason behind this is, please show me more. While the defence was better this week, the Warriors still missed 26 tackles, so they would need to bring that number down.

There weren't many concerns for me this week, but I did have one, which leads me to my negative from the match.

Match Negatives

The only negative I have from this match is injuries. With Addin Fonua-Blake, Euan Aitken, Chanel Harris-Tavita, and David Fusitu'a already out, the Warriors had five players head off for scans today with Peta Hiku Adam Pompey and Paul Turner all expected to spend times on the sideline. This is a massive hit to the club, especially with Pompey and Turner's efforts in this match. Time will tell how long these guys will be out for, and Nathan Brown has said that we may see the likes of Hayze Perham and Reece Walsh come into the side as early as this week. The Warriors are not the only team suffering from injuries, but generally, when you are ravaged by injuries, your season doesn't end well. Fingers crossed that the injuries suffered in this round are not too bad.

Warrior of the Game

Copyright Photo: Getty Images

My Warrior of the match was Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.

In his 100th match for the Warriors, their skipper was at his usual excellent form. He lead the side in running metres with 249 from 26 runs, broke the line twice, had 7 line breaks and 1 offload, not to mention his match-winning try. He always delivers, and seeing him getting involved more on attack means only good things for the club. It's still such a shame that he is leaving at the end of the year, but you can never question his commitment to the 2021 campaign. I just hope that New Zealand fans get a chance to send him off in style with a match or two at Mount Smart.

Warrior to Improve 

I have watched the game several times, and I still couldn't pick a Warrior to improve. I think the improved effort was spread across the 17. The usual suspects in this section, Wayde Egan and Kodi Nikorima had better games, with Egan getting the ball out of the ruck quicker and Nikorima taking charge in the halves. 

Next game's thoughts and prediction

Round 7 sees the Warriors head to AAMI Park to face the Storm in their annual ANZAC clash. This match always fills me with dread as the Storm love to put a cricket score on the Warriors this time every year.

The Storm made easy work of the Roosters this round and have been in excellent form as of late and will be the toughest challenge for the Warriors so far. I feel that unless the Warriors play the game of their lives, they will be on the way to another ANZAC day defeat. So I am picking the Storm to win by 18. With the injuries hitting the side, I'm not too sure what the side will look like, but if Pompey, Hiku and Turner are all out, I would bring Walsh onto a wing and Perham into the centres. It may still be too early to bring Walsh in, especially against a side like Melbourne (I thought he was on a development deal, but with Brown saying he may play this week, I guess he isn't?). Still, the troops are dwindling, and the only other option would be to move a second-rower into the centres and put Perham on the wing, so I say give the young boys a shot.

So that was a much improved Round 6, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Who would you bring in to replace the injured backs?
Who was your player of the day?
Did you have a player to improve?
What is your score prediction for the Storm clash?