NZ Warriors 2021 Round 15 Review: Season takes a hit after Warriors defeated in downpour

After round 14's loss to the Storm, the Warriors travelled to Newcastle to face the Knights. It was a must-win for both sides, and I was quietly confident that the Warriors would be able to get the job done. But, unfortunately, I got it wrong once again, with the Warriors losing 10-6 in terrible conditions.

Yet another game that the Warriors have let slip this season; it was a low scoring affair with the rain not helping either side. Both sides were poor in this match, making errors and struggling to get their attack into gear. The Warriors looked certain to score when Reece Walsh snatched a kick and ran 80 metres before being stopped just before the try-line. However, a Knights knock-on saw the Warriors score the first points on the match when Euan Aitken scooped the ball up, running 70 metres to the try-line. The Knights bounced back with a try to Lachlan Fitzgibbon; however, Fitzgibbon was sent to the bin on the next set, but even with a one-man advantage, the Warriors could not add to it their score and went into the sheds leading 6-4. The second half was just as frustrating to watch with the Warriors struggling to string anything together in the rain. The Knights levelled the scores with a penalty goal in the 51st minute, and then the game settled into a wrestle in the middle of the park. In trying conditions, all eyes were on the battle of the packs, and the Knights won the tussle. In the final five minutes, the Warriors attempted to field goals through Walsh, but the first was charged down, and the second missed to the left. Newcastle then surged down the field and scored in the corner after a repeat set when Brodie Jones crossed. The Warriors still had a chance to steal the win, but the sin-binning of Ben Murdoch-Masila in the dying stages didn't help matters, and the Knights ended the match with some slow one out football to suck up the final minutes.

It was a hard game to watch; the Warriors attack was horrible, with the only times they looked like scoring were in counterattacks. I'm not sure where they go from here; if they keep letting winnable games slip, then they will find themselves out of playoff contention sooner rather than later.

There was not much for me to smile about, but it wasn't all doom and gloom, which leads to my positives from the match.

Match Positives

I thought Taniela Otukolo had a decent debut; he played 32 minutes and was got the ball out of the ruck quick. He is known for his running game, but we didn't get to see any of that this match. He also looked alright on defence, making 27 tackles with only 1 miss. I think he did more than enough to earn a spot in the 17 for the rest of the season, either as starting hooker or the No. 14. 

My last positive was the effort from Reece Walsh. He was under plenty of pressure out the back with the Knights putting up some monster bombs.  He made that great kick return in the first half and almost got a try in the second half when jumping above everyone to snatch a kick on the goal line. He also kicked a handy conversion from the sideline. He also made his fair share of errors, ending the match with 4, but he was given his all for the entire match to his credit. He is a tough kid too, the Knights were hitting him with everything they had, and you could see that he was hurting, but he kept getting up. He has heaps of heart. I hope the rest of the side can bring the effort he does for the rest of the season.

There were plenty of things that troubled me, which leads to my negatives from the match.

Match Negatives

The rubbish weather handed itself to being a forward battle, but the Warriors pack left plenty to be desired once again. Only two Warriors forwards ran for over 100 metres, Addin Fonua-Blake (111) and Tohu Harris (117), with a few not far behind them with Ben Murdoch-Masila (82), Eliesa Katoa (80) and Kane Evans (84).  Leeson Ah Mau (60) was ok due to his limited minutes, but Bayley Sironen (27) and Josh Curran (38) barely made a dent with the ball in hand. The pack isn't being helped with Nathan Brown's rotation, but they simply need to make more of an impact if the Warriors want to string some wins together.

The Warriors attack took a backwards step in this match. They just had no direction and barely threatened the Knights try line when they were in the RedZone. Both halves struggled with their last tackle options, and their kicking was wayward at best. The Warriors need to make some changes, and I will go into that further below, but if they stay the course with what they have right now, then they can kiss the season goodbye. 

The Warriors just made too many errors again. They ended the match with 13; sure, the weather did not help, but letting the Knights off the hook 13 times was just a coach killer. While they were not doing much with the ball anyway, they just need to show the ball more respect. If they can do that, then there may be some hope yet. 

 
And the last thing is my frequent bugbear, missed tackles. The Warriors missed 43 tackles, and I just don't know what they can do to improve. Missing that many tackles against a Knights team also struggling on attack was a massive red flag. Sign a new defensive coach asap!

Warrior of Match

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For the second week in a row, my Warrior of the match goes to Tohu Harris. There were some highlights from Walsh, but Harris is just Mr Consistant. 117 running metres, a linebreak assist, 2 offloads and 55 tackles. You know what you get with Harris, and I just want to see the rest of the side adopt his attitude.

Warrior to Improve 

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My Warrior to improve goes to Sean O'Sullivan. I liked what I saw from him earlier in the season, but he had a howler in this match. He made poor decision after poor decision with the ball in hand, his kicks were off target, and he just looked a step or two behind everyone else. I don't know why he didn't try to put some bombs up in the wet weather to try and force some errors, but he has a lot of work to do if he remains in the halves for the side. I have just lost confidence that he can fill in for Chanel Harris-Tavita.

Next rounds thoughts and prediction

The NRL is taking a break this week with State of Origin game two playing on Sunday. I think it is a missed opportunity to have some other games played this round. A Kiwis vs Tonga would have slotted in nicely this week, but it is what it is. Hopefully, we see something like that next year. However, that means we have no Warriors game this week. I'm not sure what I will post next Monday, but I will figure something out; if you have anything you would like me to tackle, let me know, and I will give it a go.

After the week off, Round 16 sees the Warriors return to the Central Coast to face the Dragons in some Friday night football. There is no sugarcoating it; the Warriors need to win this match. The Dragons have been up and down this season, but they returned to the winner's circle in round 15 with a win over the Raiders. It's a hard game to pick, but I will say the Warriors will win this match by 8.

Nathan Brown needs to make some changes if the Warriors are to remain in the hunt for playoffs. He needs to move Walsh into the halves and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to fullback. I know they want Walsh to be the fullback next season, but if the Warriors are to play finals football this season, that switch makes the Warriors better. I would also move Adam Pompey to the wing (Unless Dallin Watene-Zelezniak has joined the club before then) and bring Rocco Berry back into the centres. In the forwards, I would drop Sironen and bring Jack Murchie back into the lineup as I just feel that Sironen is adding enough to the pack's effort. We have some time to see what Brown decides moving forward, but unfortunately, I think we will see the same lineup from this round ran out again.

So that was a poor Round 15, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Are the Warriors still a chance for finals?
Who was your player of the day?
Would you make any changes to the game day 17?
What is your score prediction against the Dragons?