NZ Warriors 2021 Round 21 review: Warriors make it two on the trot despite Evans implosion

After round 20's come from behind victory against the Tigers, the Warriors made their way to Cbus Super Stadium to face the Sharks. I was confident that the Warriors would get the job done with the return of their large front-rowers. However, they made it tough on themselves with a few poor decisions from Kane Evans and, for the second week in a row, had to come from behind to walk away with an 18-16 victory.  

Two wins in a row, now that is more like it, but man, don't the Warriors just love keeping us on the edge of our seats. They started the match well, surging up the field before Chanel Harris-Tavita forced a dropout; moments later, Sean O'Sullivan threw a massive cutout pass out to Dallin Watene-Zelezniak for the first try of the afternoon. The Warriors kept the pressure on and were close to scoring two more tries. The first to youngster Viliame Vailea which was cruelly denied by the bunker due to a tackle-in-the-air call. Then a Reece Walsh grubber was just one unfortunate bounce away Watene-Zeleaniak's second. Then the game settled for a spell with both sides trading sets and the Sharks also having a try via Sioisifa Talakai denied for an obstruction call that could have gone either way. The Warriors lost some impact with Kodi Nikorima and Euan Aitken leaving the field with HIA's. We saw the Sharks slowly start to make inroads in the Warriors defence, and Will Kennedy got them on the board after sniping out of dummy-half before sending Connor Tracey over for a long-distance try. Then the game took a turn, and my heart sank as Kane Evans lost the ball in a tackle and lash out at Will Chambers with two horrible wayward punches that saw him given his marching orders. With a man down, the Warriors were ripe for the picking as Briton Nikora and Kennedy scored two easy tries in quick succession to see the Sharks take a 16-6 lead into the sheds. The second half started with the Warriors scrambling and defending all attempts from the Sharks, and once they had 13 men back on the pitch, they started to look the stronger side again with some strong runs causing plenty of headaches for Cronulla. With the mounting pressure, the Sharks could not hold on for much longer, and Walsh was over after a nice offload from Josh Curran. Five minutes later, the Warriors were over again when Aitken found himself with the ball on the last and shrugged off some woeful defence from Chambers to score; unfortunately, Walsh hit the posts on the conversion, which saw the game level at 16 all. Drama struck again with Evans sent to the bin for the second time for a head-slam tackle (which, in my opinion, looked very similar to the tackle he was hit with in the first half). However, the Warriors dug deep and did not allow the Sharks to open the floodgates and actually looked more dangerous on attack with some strong runs from Curran and Walsh, almost leading to another try. Still, instead, the Warriors were given a penalty for a crusher tackle which Walsh slotted to hand them the lead with 13 minutes left on the clock. The Warriors threw everything they had at the Sharks. Still, the game looked certain to be heading for Golden Point when the Sharks were gifted a penalty on the Warriors try line for a late hit on the kicker. However, instead of taking the easy two points the Sharks decided to go for the win and then inexplicably grubbered early, which Eliesa Katoa managed to dive on to let the Warriors off the hook. The Warriors then moved into one out low-risk football to wind down the clock. As the final whistle blew were reduced to 12 men again when Harris-Tavita was sent to the bin for deliberately lying on the ball carrier to waste time. The Sharks had one shot after the penalty but were too deep to do anything, so they attempted a two-point field goal, but it did not make the distance.

Another tough to watch win, but the Warriors got the job done. They weren't helped by the sin-binning, but they kept a side scoreless in the second half for the second week in a row. This unbelievably keeps their slim playoffs alive, and while I don't think they will make the eight, I am happy to see some more positive football out of the team, now we just need to see them keep it up and stay in the hunt.

It wasn't perfect, but this game had things that left a smile on my face, which leads to my positives from the match.

Match Positives

Addin Fonua-Blake and Matt Lodge make a difference to this side; they started the sets strong and led the front rowers in running metres (AFB for 222 metres and Lodge for 139 metres). This saw the Warriors to deliver quick ball to the backs and really do some damage. They make earning metres look easy, and I cant wait to see Walsh running off their shoulders, ready for a nice offload. If that starts to happen, then watch the points start to flow. It looks like Lodge may be out again this week with a suspension, unfortunately, but AFB should be able to carry the load, especially if the rest of the pack come to the party.

I think the rest of the pack did well with Aitken and Curran leading from the front with strong runs (Aitken with 133 metres and Curran with 156 metres) now; in contrast, the rest of the pack didn't clock up as many metres; they were defending well (for the most part) and getting the Warriors out of trouble and into attacking positions. A great sight to see after so many weeks of lacklustre efforts.

I liked what I saw from the Warriors attack. Harris-Tavita had a solid return and didn't try to overplay his hand. He also partnered up nicely with Sean O'Sullivan, who has gone from strength to strength in the past two rounds. Their kicking was on point, and I like what I see from these two and would be more than happy to keep them together in the halves for the rest of the season. Hiku's inclusion on the left edge created more opportunities on that side, and with Walsh inserting himself into the attack when he saw a chance to strike, all lead to some exciting moments throughout the game. Overall, the attack looks a lot better, and I think this side could really be competitive with a few more games together.

Lastly, I like the team's grit. Down 16-6 with a man in the bin, they had all the excuses to just throw in the towel and call it a day, but they dug deep and took it to the Sharks. It's great to see some fighting spirit in the side, and I hope it's a sign of things to come in the future as a Warriors team that refuses to quit is a hard team to face.

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

Match Negatives

The Warriors made ten errors, so they are down from last week but still too high for my liking. There were several poor carries and wayward offloads. I think they were just trying to push things a little too much and just need to take a breath, settle down and play with some more control. 

Discipline was probably the biggest issue from this match; they conceded 9 penalties, had players put on report 6 times and the 3 sin bins. I think they were hard-done-by on a few calls, but they just need to be careful as they don't have the roster depth right now to have players getting suspended (as of writing, the Warriors look to be without Evan, Lodge and Watene-Zelezniak this week). You want to see the Warriors play aggressive footy; they just need to play smart and not give the officials any reasons to ping them.

Missed tackles continue to plague the Warriors; they missed 38 this week. The number is still too high for me, but the Warriors scrambling defence looked better, and their goal-line defence was hard for the Sharks to penetrate, with only one of their tries coming from within the Warriors 20 metres. I know it's hard to judge with two of their three tries coming when the Warriors were reduced to 12 men with the Sharks able to attack the open space from deep in their own half. However, the signs of improvement are there, so we will see if they can get their missed tackles down to the low 20's this week.

My last point is the officiating; in my humble opinion, I thought Matt Cecchin and the bunker had an afternoon to forget. The two tries that both sides had denied in the first half were tough, and I thought they both should have been given. Then you had the Chambers shoe-throwing, which was a penalty last season (Jack Murchie was penalised for this last season), but this year it just winds up on the blooper reel for a laugh after the match. Refs have bad games, too, but I just want to see consistency from them for at least 80 minutes.

Warrior of the Match

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My Warrior of the match goes to Josh Curran. There were plenty of players that stood up, but I love what I saw from the second-rower. He ran hard, led the side with 42 tackles, had 6 tackle breaks and 2 linebreak assists. Not to forget that nice offload to Walsh for his try. He is not a superstar by any means, but he plays with gusto and passion, and that's what I love to see from Warriors players.

Warrior to Improve

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It should come as no surprise, but my Warrior to improve goes to Kane Evans. His sin bins were brain explosions, and while we could argue that his second one was harsh, the first one was just stupid. Chambers sledges, and I don't mind sledging by any means, but since Evans decided to lash out, at least he could have hit him with a good one; I mean, everyone wants to see Chambers get one on the chin. However, besides that, I thought Evans was quite poor; he didn't dent the defensive line with his runs and struggled to keep hold of the ball. He appeared to do everything he could to make the Warriors afternoon harder. I was hesitant about his signing when it was announced, and I have seen nothing from him to suggest that it was a good idea. If I was in charge, this would be the last game Evans wears a Warriors jersey in, but I feel like Nathan Brown will continue to use him.

Next rounds thoughts and prediction

Round 22 sees the Warriors face the Bulldogs. It's not a bad time to face the 16th placed team, but that doesn't mean the Warriors can just stroll in and get the win. The Bulldogs have shown plenty of fight this year despite only managing 2 wins. The Warriors appear to be losing Evans, Lodge and Watene-Zelezniak, so I would be moving Bunty Afoa into the starting lineup and Jamayne Taunoa-Brown onto the bench. I would then bring Adam Pompey onto the wing for DWZ. Other than those forced changes, I would keep the rest of the team as is, allowing the team to get used to those combinations. With AFB, Curran and Aitken still in the pack, the Warriors should win the battle up front. They looked stronger in the backs, too, so I am backing them to win three in a row, so I am picking the Warriors to get the win by 12.

So that was an encouraging Round 21, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Would you keep O'Sullivan and CHT in the halves or bring Townsend back?
What would do with Evans?
Who was your player of the day?
What is your score prediction against the Bulldogs?