NZ Warriors Round 20 Review: Streak broken as patchworked Warriors defeat Tigers

After round 19's disappointing performance against the Rabbitohs, the Warriors moved to Suncorp Stadium to face the Wests Tigers. I confidently predicted a win here in last weeks review but had second thoughts after the team was named on Tuesday. With countless stars missing, the Warriors survived a miserable first half coming from behind, ending their seven-game losing streak with an 18-16 victory. 

Well, the rollercoaster continues; staring at the gameday 17, I was struggling to see the Warriors having a team that could get the job done, and it certainly started that way with the Tigers scoring two tries in the first 20 minutes. The Warriors were a makeshift side and were playing like it. There were glimpses of an attacking spark, but it quickly vanished with the Warriors' lack of cohesion. Then Kodi Nikorima came off the bench and provided a boost to the team, and they ended the first half looking better than they started. Then the Warriors kicked into gear at the start of the second half, scoring two tries in the first 10 minutes through Euan Aitken and Bunty Afoa to hand them a two-point lead. The Warriors had swung momentum but couldn't get themselves over the try-line but kept pressuring the Tigers defence, which lead to perhaps the easiest try Aitken will ever score. The Tigers attempted a short dropout which bounced into Aitken's hands as he strolled over untouched to push the Warriors lead out. A few minutes later, a try to Adam Doueihi reduced their lead and made the last 20 minutes very tense for this Warriors fan. The Tigers started to get a roll-on, but the Warriors manage to put out all the fires with some desperate scrambling defence. The Tigers then made the ultimate coach killing play; with momentum on their side, the Tigers were camped on the Warriors try line looking certain to break Warriors hearts once again but inexplicably did not have a dummy half in position of the play the ball which allowed Reece Walsh to dive on the ball and let the Warriors off the hook. After that, the Tigers appeared lost and just tried to level the scores with two-point field goal attempts that didn't even make the distance allowing the Warriors to hold on for a much-needed win after almost two months of defeats.

It wasn't pretty, but it's great to finally have a Warriors win to talk about. This team was a mere shadow of the full strength side the Warriors would like to be playing, but they dug deep and got the job done. With many claiming that they have given up on the season, it was good to see that they still have fight in them. With some key players returning soon, they still have a chance of ending the season on a Highnote. Last week I asked to see some effort, and I'm happy to say that I got it. Now let's see the team take it up another level.

It wasn't the best performance, but it had some things that left a smile on my face, which leads to my positives from the match.

Match Positives

I liked what I saw from the youngsters in this match; Taniela Otukolo was given 33 minutes this week and looks like he belongs in first grade. Has a quick pass out of the ruck and made a few sniping runs without going overboard. It is still early days in his career, but I am expecting big things from the rookie. I also thought Viliami Vailea did well in his debut; he made a few errors but looked good with the ball in hand and didn't let himself down defensively bar his poor defensive read that lead to Moses Mbyes try. I had heard good things about him in reserve grade but had not watched any footage yet but liked what I saw here. He is a potential star in the making, and all these young players are making me hopeful for the Warriors future. 

I thought Kodi Nikorima was a huge boost for the Warriors off the bench; I have stated many times this year that he is best suited as the No. 14, and he proved that with his effort here, the moment he came on the field, the Warriors attack picked up with him providing some spark with some nice runs. I think this is the position he needs to play for the Warriors from now on, and he could build a nice duo with Otukolo. A downside was that he started to throw some wayward passes towards the end of his time on the pitch, but a few more performances like this from Nikorima could help the Warriors string some performances together.

With so many experienced players out of the team, the return of Peta Hiku was well-timed. I had my concerns when I saw that he was named at five-eighth, but I thought he added an experienced level head to the spine and his ability to get his teammates into scoring positions. I saw enough from Hiku here to be happy with him in the halves for the rest of the season.

The Warriors just didn't quit, 10-0 down at the break with a patched-up side, I expected the Warriors to give up, but they showed fight to get themselves back into the contest. Then once the Warriors had the lead, the Tigers started to build momentum and looked certain to see the Warriors lose yet another match in the final ten minutes, but they dug deep and forced the Tigers into making mistakes. I would have liked to see the Warriors have a bigger winning margin, but it wouldn't be a Warriors watching experience if I wasn't on the edge of my seat.

I still had concerns, which leads to my negatives from the match.

Match Negatives

That first half was horrible to watch; the Warriors just were not in sync, not that surprising with the jumbled up squad they had. They were disjointed and couldn't get on the same page; it made it hard to watch and made it so much more enjoyable to watch them improve throughout the game's duration. So the key will be to hit the ground running this week.

The forwards definitely missed Lodge and Fonua-Blake in this match and struggling to push through the Tigers defensive line. Only four forwards managed to get over 100 metres, Euan Aitken (153), Jazz Tevaga (121), Bunty Afoa (115) and Bayley Sironen (109). The rest of the pack really struggled to stamp their authority on the match and will need to dig deep and start delivering in the final five rounds.

The errors continued to hurt the Warriors; for the second week in a row, they made 12. There weren't as many silly offload attempts this week which was a bonus, but it just looked like the Warriors were forcing passes that they didn't need to throw. The combinations weren't there, so I get it, but the Warriors need to have more respect for the ball; otherwise, they just make it that much harder for themselves. If they were facing a more competitive side, they would have been in trouble.

Once again, I wasn't happy with the defence; the Warriors missed 36 tackles in this match. Once again, those new combinations don't help, but the players just need to have faith in the players next to them to stick to their assignments. I still think the Warriors need to bring in a new defensive coach for 2022 as I don't think Justin Morgan is cutting the mustard, but I also believe that if the Warriors can keep the same 17 each week, they will be able to start building their defensive backbone.

Lastly, I thought some of the kicking options were a bit off, Hiku doesn't have a great kicking game, and I thought Sean O'Sullivan was a lot better this week, but at times they just made the wrong decisions. Reece Walsh kicking wasn't as bad as last week, but he kicked early in the tackle count a bit more than I would like. With their big props back next week, they should have a bit more time to make these decisions this week, so I'm hopeful that we will see improvement in this area.

Warrior of the Match

Copyright Photo: New Zealand Herald

My Warrior of the match goes to Euan Aitken. I will admit when I saw that he had been moved to the second row, I questioned the decision; however, my doubts were unfounded, and I think he may have found himself a new position. He lead the pack in running metres with 153 metres, made 41 tackles and scored two tries, including that mindboggling one from the short dropout attempt. He added some speed to the pack and helped improve the edge defence. I would be keeping him in that spot for the rest of the season, if not permanently. His best performance in a Warriors jersey and fingers crossed the sign of things to come.

Warrior to Improve

Copyright Photo: Getty Images

My Warrior to improve goes to Ben Murdoch-Masila. This hurts me as a fully-fledged member of the BMM Fanclub. He is one of my personal favourites in the Warriors current roster, but he has really gone off the boil after starting the season so well. He showed improvement as the game progressed but started poorly, making some poor decisions with the ball in hand and giving away silly penalties. I have complete faith in the big man turning his fortunes around; I just hope it starts to turn sooner rather than later.

Next rounds thoughts and prediction

Round 21 sees the Warriors stay at Suncorp Stadium to face the Sharks. It wasn't long ago that these sides last faced each other, with the Sharks getting a 20-12 win in Round 17. Due to the COVID dramas in Queensland, the Sharks haven't played their match yet, but they will be facing the Warriors without Shaun Johnson steering them around. That makes me more confident as I thought he was the difference in the last encounter. Regarding selecting a team, I would be happy with the backline staying as it is, with maybe the only change being Chanel Harris-Tavita replacing Sean O'Sullivan. In the forwards, Lodge and Fonua-Blake will come back into the starting side in my only changes, and my bench would be Nikorima, Bunty Afoa, Ben Murdoch-Masila and Jazz Tevaga. The Warriors have been hard to predict and have not won in back-to-back matches this season, but I am backing them to achieve that feat this week, so I am picking the Warriors to get the victory here, winning by 10.

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

Would you keep Peta Hiku in the halves for the rest of the season?
Do you think Euan Aitken has found his new spot at the Warriors as a second-rower?
Who was your player of the day and player to improve?
What is your score prediction against the Sharks?