NZ Warriors 2021 Round 25 Review: Saving the worst till last as Warriors embarrassed in Titans blowout

After round 24's defeat to the Raiders, the Warriors made their way to Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast to face the Titans. The Titans were playing for a spot in the finals and needed a win by 11 or more to make the cut, but they blew that out of the park with a dominant 44-0 victory over a Warriors team that failed to deliver in their last outing of the year.

In the early stages, the Warriors started the match strong, almost scoring tries through Euan Aitken and Matt Lodge, but both lost the ball on the line. Then the Titans struck and never looked back, scoring three tries via Jayden Campbell, Mitch Rein and David Fifita to end the first half with a 16-0 lead, with the Warriors needing a massive effort to dig themselves out of the hole they found themselves in.

That wasnt to be with Fifita scoring his second try of the afternoon in the first minute of the second half. The Warriors offered little resistance, struggling to hold onto the ball and complete their sets, only going across for one try but was denied after the pass was deemed forward. Brian Kelly crossed for the Titans fifth try, and that seemed to be the straw that broke the camels back as the Warriors imploded. They lost Jazz Tevaga to the sin-bin after he ran in and pushed Phillip Sami after a pull-apart on the sidelines. One minute later, the Warriors had two more players sent to the bin when Matt Lodge was given his marching orders for a late hit on Tyrone Peachey, and Kane Evans was marched for striking. The Titans also lost Jarrod Wallace to the bin for his part in the fight. With only 10 men on the park, the Warriors already woeful defence just fell apart, with the Titans running through three more tries through Patrick Herbert, Campbell and Moeaki Fotuaika to twist the knife further, ending the Warriors season on a sour note with the 44-0 defeat.

What a horrible way to end the season, the Warriors had nothing but pride to play for, but they left their hearts at the door. They lacked direction, discipline and respect for the ball. I had picked the Titans to win this match, but I did not see this margin happening. It was brutal to watch and even harder to write about. I'm not sure I have much else to say here, so I will just get into my positives and negatives.

First, my positives.

Match Positives

I have watched the game over several times now, and I still can't find any positives out of the match, so my only positive is that this season is over. It has been a strange season, with a few ups and many downs and Im just looking forward to taking a break from the team for a little bit. Hopefully, the players, coaching staff and club have learnt some lessons this year and can address them in the offseason to hit the ground running in 2022.

There were plenty of concerns for me, which brings me to my negatives from the match.

Match Negatives

There were so many negatives for me in this performance, but I have decided to reduce it down to my four biggest, so let's just get into it.

Errors hurt the Warriors again; last week, I wrote that I wanted to see them reduce their errors to single digits but went the other way and ended the match with 13. They were all schoolboy errors and made the Warriors look very amateur. It just seemed like one of those days where the passes didn't stick, and the further behind they fell, the worse things got. We have seen them play low error football at times throughout the season; they just need to make that the new normal in 2022 as if they make this many errors every week next season, it will be another long year.

Missed tackles were troubling once again, They have been my biggest concern all season, and they missed 33 in this match. The Warriors had gaping holes all across their line and really took a step backwards. I was hoping that with the same team playing for the last few weeks, we would see come cohesion defensively, but it just hasn't come. I still feel that the Warriors need to part ways with Justin Morgan and bring in a new defensive coach because, as they say, defence wins championships. The Warriors can kiss their finals chances goodbye in the future if they cant get their defensive structures in order.

Discipline was an issue; the Warriors conceded 8 penalties, 4 six agains and the 3 sin bins. I felt that they were hard done by with some of the calls, but you could see that the team just fell apart and frustration set in. I love watching the Warriors play aggressive football, but they need to toe the line and not give the officials any reason to ping them (as hard as that is with some of the poor officiating we have seen). Starting fights when they were frustrated shows that the team lacks some leadership out there, but I'm positive that this will improve once Tohu Harris and Shaun Johnson are back in the mix.

Lastly is this lack of heart and desire. This was the final match of the year, and the Warriors had a chance to end their disappointing season on a better note, but they barely fired a shot, and once the Titans held a 16-0 lead, it looked like the Warriors just gave up. I know it has been a tough season; the team have had to relocate and deal with getting kids in and out of schools, had many injuries and struggled to have the same team named each week. However, I wanted the team to show some resilience like some of the other teams that face adversities this year (the Roosters spring to mind) and build like we saw them do last season. This game hurt to watch, and it is tarnishing my view on the year to date and will be the lasting memory I take into the offseason, but I know my optimism will return when I write my season preview early next year.

Warrior of the Match

For the first time in quite a while, I could not pick a Warriors of the match, some players played better than others, but no one stood out enough for me to give them the nod. I hope I don't find myself in this position next season.

Warrior to Improve

Copyright Photo: New Zealand Herald

My Warrior to improve goes to Kane Evans. Every week I question why Nathan Brown picks Evans, and every week Evans shows why he shouldn't be in the side. He played just over 20 minutes and was put on report for leading with his elbow and then binned for punching for the second time this season. He just doesn't offer any positives to outweigh his negatives and is slowly climbing up my ranks as the worst signing in club history (I haven't compiled a list, but #1 for me is Jesse Royal, FYI). It looks like he will miss at least the first 5 weeks of next season due to suspension, and I hope that cooler heads prevail and he does not return to the gameday 17.

Seasons done; what's next for me?

So that is the last game for the Warriors this season, and it wasnt the way any of us would have liked the season to end. 2022 looks to be another year with no (or just a handful) of games on home soil for the side, which will be tough for the club, players, and fans alike. However, before the 2022 season begins, I will be back with my season review; I normally wait to release it just before the Grand Final, so look out for it in a few weeks. In the past, I have disappeared in the offseason. Still, I would like to do some articles throughout the months before everything kicks off again, so if you have anything you would like to see my opinions on, let me know, and I will see what I can put together.

So that was an embarrassing Round 25, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Did you have a Warrior of the match?

What would you do with Evans?
How would you grade the 2021 season overall?

Are you going into the 2022 season confident or worried?