NZ Warriors 2021 Round 18 Review: Heroic effort not enough as losing streak extends to six

After round 17's disappointing loss to the Sharks, the Warriors travelled to Suncorp Stadium to face the Penrith Panthers. Facing the Panthers was always going to be difficult but injuries added to the forced the Warriors to play with no bench for 50 minutes. Despite the challenge, the Warriors had one of their better performances of 2021 going down 30-16 in their sixth loss in a row.

It's been hard to watch the Warriors for the past month, but I came away from this match happier than I have been for a while. Yes, the Warriors lost, but they went down swinging and gave the Panthers everything they had, and I cannot fault them for that. The match didn't start great with Viliame Kikau charging down a Chad Townsend kick to score the afternoon's first try in the first minute. My head dropped at this moment, but the Warriors went back to business and made headway with some solid runs from the pack and Marcelo Montoya before Wayde Egan put Matt Lodge into space before the big prop passed the ball back to Egan for the Warriors first try. Then in a trifecta of heartbreaks, Tohu Harris left the field after injuring his knee. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck followed after being knocked into next week by a wayward Matt Burton knee before Egan joined them with a shoulder injury. However, despite the setbacks, the Warriors were next to score, with Reece Walsh running on the last before firing a cut-out pass to Rocco Berry to cross in the corner. A few sets later, it looked like the Warriors were over again when Josh Curran crosses after a short ball from Townsend, but it was ruled forward. With the ball back in their hands, the Panthers took over and scored tries through Brian To'o and Kikau to go into the sheds leading 16-10. We started the second half with news that Berry had injured his hamstring and would not be returning, meaning that the Warriors would have to play the rest of the match with no interchanges. I thought we were about to witness a blowout, but the Panthers made several uncharacteristic errors, and the Warriors showed plenty of heart with some great try-saving scrambling defence. Still, Penrith could not be denied scoring three tries via a Charlie Staines double (call me onesided, but if Curran's try was from a forward pass, then I think Staines had at least one if not both come from forward passes too) and a Liam Martin solo effort. The Warriors refused to be counted out, and even though the victory was beyond reach, they dominated the final stages of the match and come close to scoring on several occasions but only managed one more try when Walsh hit Curran with a short ball before flicking the ball back to the youngster in what was the last scoring play of the match. 

I finally got my prediction right this week with the Panthers winning by 14, but this was a great effort by the underdogs here, and I think if they had not suffered those injuries, then an upset may have been on the cards. Unfortunately, that wasn't to be, but if the Warriors can keep this level of effort for the remainder of the season, they have the potential to end it on a high note.

Despite the result, there were things that left a smile on my face, which leads to my positives from the match.

Match Positives

First of that display of heart. I have criticized the Warriors for their mental lapses this season, but in this match, with the chips down and their backs against the wall, they did not disappear. They still made mistakes and poor decisions in both attack and defence, but they played their guts out and made the Panthers fight for the win. Replicating that type of performance for the rest of the season is a must.

I thought the Warriors attack looked better; they ended the match with 20 offloads, 6 linebreaks and 43 tackle breaks. There were still missteps, and I think Townsends kicking wasn't the best, but his experience definitely helped the Warriors stay competitive. Walsh continued to impress, and Egan looked great in the limited time he had out there. Nikorima moved into hooker and played one of his better games this season, except for his poor defensive effort that led to Martins' try. The bones are there; I just want to see more attacking football like that this week.

The attack improved thanks largely to the forwards' effort, namely the superstar combination of Addin Fonua-Blake and Matt Lodge. They just making earning metres look so easy; the rest of the pack did well, too, except for Bayley Sironen, who was moved into the halves, which hampered his running. Still, I think the prop rotation did well, considering the number of minutes they had to play. Eliesa Katoa was a monster on the edge again, and Jazz Tevaga just oozing heart; he was battered and bruised but refused to quit. Really great to see the pack refuse to hang their heads even though they were running on fumes.

I still had a few issues, however, which leads to my negatives from the match.

Match Negatives

Injuries were my biggest negative from this match. Unfortunately, they are something that just happens in football, but to lose two of your spine and your forward leader is a cruel blow. The knife was twisted further when Nathan Brown confirmed in the post-match interview that Harris and Egan would be out for the season. That is a massive loss for the Warriors on the final stretch of the season, but hopefully, the players that step into their spots give it 100%

The Warriors made too many errors again for my likely; they ended the match with 11. They were trying to play expansive football, and fatigue was setting in so you can give them a pass for a few wayward passes or dropped balls. I just want to see them end this week's match with a single-digit error count.

My last negative is tainted by the fatigue as well, but it was missed tackles. They ended with 37 missed tackles, but in context, the Panthers ended the match with 43. They pulled off some great defence at times when you could see they were gassed, but they also continued to have issues with the wingers rushing in and leaving opportunities for their opposition to sneak down the edges. The wingers need to have faith and confidence in their centres doing their job; otherwise, the Warriors will remain in danger of leaking points in the corners.

Warrior of the Match

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For the second week in a row, I am picking Matt Lodge as my Warrior of the match. He was a monster out there. He played the entire match and did not drop his performance throughout. He ran for 144 metres, threw 8 offloads, had a linebreak and a try assist. He also made 27 tackles. At times he looked like the NRL's biggest halfback with the way he was jumping in as first receiver and showing his playmaking abilities. I know he has many detractors due to his past, but I was happy with his signing, and he continues to prove it was a great signing by the club. The Warriors now have potentially one of the best pair of props in the game, and with Lodges ability to play second-phase football, I can see guys like Walsh and Dallin Watene-Zeleaniak having a field day running of his shoulder.

Warrior to Improve

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A few players could have been picked here this week, mainly Euan Aitken and Bayley Sironen, but I have decided to have no Warrior to improve this round. So instead, I want to give a shoutout to Addin Fonua-Blake. Just like last week, he just missed out on my Warrior of the game, but he put in another stellar effort. He managed to spend a handful of minutes of the sideline for a rest but was a warhorse out there. He lead the side in running metres with 262 metres, had 5 tackle breaks, 1 offload and made 32 tackles. With RTS and Harris off the pitch, AFB took over as Captain and lead the side well, questioning the referee after some poor calls but not in the disrespectful way he did last year. He is a hell of a talent, and I think the best is yet to come.

Next round thoughts and prediction

Round 19 sees the Warriors travel to Sunshine Coast Stadium to face the Rabbitohs in what will be another tough encounter. This Rabbitohs side can beat any team on their day, but they also can be beaten. If the Warriors can pressure them, South Sydney can make silly errors. We are still waiting to see if RTS and Berry will be available for the match, but I expect Nikorima and Adam Pompey to return to the starting lineup if they are not ready. For the pack, Jazz will stay in lock and Ben Murdoch-Masila should return to the second row. If Nikorima stays in the halves, then Otukolo should come back into hooker. I hope that the Warriors come to the party and score an upset, but I think Souths will be too strong, so I'm picking the Rabbitohs to win by 10.

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

What would you gameday 17 this week?
Who was your player of the day?

Did you have a Warrior to improve?
What is your score prediction against the Rabbitohs?