NZ Warriors Round 3 Review: Hard to watch as Warriors win ugly

After Round two's defeat to the Titans, the Warriors made their way to Campbell Sports Stadium to face the Tigers. Both sides came into this round winless, and with the mounting pressure on the Tigers and Madge Maguire, I was nervous; those nerves stayed with me throughout the match as the Warriors held on for their first win in 2022, scraping through with a 16-12 win.

You could feel the pressure on both sides as they ran onto the pitch, desperate to secure their first win of the season. The Warriors had the first scoring opportunity when Chanel Harris-Tavita kicked early and forced a repeat set; however, Matt Lodge lost the ball on the first tackle after the reset and let the Tigers off the hook. Wests powered up the field on the back of some strong runs from their pack and, after a penalty, found themselves deep in Warriors territory and then on the scoreboard when James Tamou barged his way over the try-line. The New Zealand side fought their way back into the contest and were next to score after Euan Aitken scooped up a Marcelo Montoya tap back to level the score. The clubs started to trade sets but let themselves down with discipline and handling errors, the Tigers pushed a kick through and appeared to have scored when Luciano Leilua placed a finger on the ball before it went over the dead-ball line, but the referee made the call that he had no control when grounding in a decision that may be discussed for some time after the final whistle. The Warriors wasted little time getting themselves back into the Tigers RedZone and ahead on the scoreboard when Adam Pompey was able to snatch a kick out of Daine Laurie's hands to stroll over. 

A penalty against the Tigers allowed the Warriors to push their lead out by two. With the first half almost over, the Tigers would not quit and found themselves in a scoring situation again when David Nofoaluma tapped a kick back to Laurie, who then offloaded it to Zane Musgrove for Wests second try of the night. In the final minute of the half, the Tigers sent the ball down the left edge and looked sure to score until a scrambling Walsh managed to save the Warriors in the final moments with a big try saver tackle as the visitors entered the sheds with a 14-12 lead.

Both sides started the second half with intent but struggled with execution, making poor errors almost in every set. Harris-Tavita looked to have milked a high tackle which the officials correctly ignored; the young standoff was sent from the field for an HIA as a punishment for his poor acting skills. The comedy of errors continued with both sides trading mistakes in repeat sets. The home side gave back-to-back penalties, and the Warriors elected to push their lead out by another two with a Walsh penalty kick. This woke the Tigers up, and they started to run with enthusiasm and looked to be over for another try when Luke Brooks pushed through a grubber for Laurie, but the fullback could not keep his hands on the ball. The New Zealand side started to fight back and made easy work of the Tigers as the home side's players began to look like the walking wounded; however, a wayward kick went straight into the Tiger's arms. Wests darted up the field and put the pressure on with a bomb but had to turn around and chase Walsh, who snatched the ball, running 60 metres up the field before being slowed down by cramp. It was Deja Vu; however, as the Warriors dropped the ball once again, they were able to keep the pressure on with some strong defence and look ready to score before a wayward pass found its way to Jock Madden. He ran 70 metres down the field before being dragged down by Marcelo Montoya. The Warriors winger held Madden down for too long and was sent to the bin for his efforts. Wests had a one-man advantage and excellent field position but continued to make coach killer errors, throwing away several chances to regain the lead. Warriors coach Nathan Brown was pacing in the coaches' box as he watched his team throwing wayward offloads in the dying minutes of the game, but despite doing everything they could to lose the match, they managed to hold on for their first win in what may have been the ugliest game of 2022.

Ugly is the word of the weekend; I don't think I've ever felt this deflated after a Warriors win, and this was their worst performance of 2022. It looked like both sides were doing everything they could to lose this match. Coach killing errors and lacklustre attack is becoming a common trend with the Warriors right now, and my preseason optimism is starting to drain; I won't write them off just yet as I still think this team will show improvement once they manage to get their preferred spine on the field together. I'm not making excuses for them; I expected to see an improvement from the first two rounds, especially when facing a team like the Tigers who have been struggling instead of a decline like we witnessed. Fix the error rate, get Shaun Johnson and Walsh together, and the performances will improve (I'm not sure it can get worse).

There wasn't much, but there were some things I liked in this match, which leads me to my positives from the match. 

Match Positives

They got the win, it was horrible to watch, but they needed those points. 

Getting that first win under their belt should give the side a confidence boost, although the way they played may negate that. This season looks to be a lot closer than 2021, so every point is going to count, regardless of how you get them; just for our sake, please don't get them in efforts like this every week.

I thought Egan had a solid outing, still a few poor defensive reads and a couple of poor options with the ball in hand. However, he continues to grow into his role and is proving to be a capable hooker who can do the job. As long as a player is showing growth, I'm all for giving them a shot, so Egan kept growing and ironing out the kinks, and I'm sure you will have a future in first grade.

Lastly, we are a week closer to the returns of Shaun Johnson and Tohu Harris, this side needs them desperately, and I expect a massive improvement once we see them out on the pitch. These players' returns will address issues I mention in my negatives below, so fingers crossed they are doing well in their recovery.

I had plenty of concerns, however, which brings me to my negatives from the game,

Match Negatives

In an ongoing trend, the Warriors were shocking with errors, and for the third week straight, they made 12 errors. They just can't continue making errors in the double digits; they were lucky that the Tigers were making just as many errors; otherwise, this would have been another loss. Show respect for the ball, and the rewards will come, continue to throw it away, and we are in for a long season.

Another trend that's been going on almost as long as I have been writing is the missed tackles; they missed 30 in this match. 

I don't know what is wrong with their defensive reads if it's an attitude issue, a lack of confidence or a general lack of trust in the man on either side of them in the line, but it needs to be addressed and fixed. I know there are some young guys out there that are learning, but the coaches need to sort this out pronto.

After praising the forward pack in the first two rounds, I need to address them this week. They were dominated in this match; only three players ran for over 100 metres (Addin Fonua-Blake - 150m, Matt Lodge - 148m, Josh Curran - 141m). However, besides looking at the stats, most of the pack failed to bend the line, and it looked like they were just hitting a brick wall. If they can't gain the upper hand in the middle, they cannot expect the halves to get this side into scoring positions. I have praised this forward unit as one of the better packs in the comp, but they sure didn't look like it here.

Kind of flowing on from the forward comment, the Warrior attack was dreadful; they scored two tries via lucky kicks and kudos for taking the chance when it was there, but other than that, they just looked clueless with the ball in hand. The Tigers' defence was shutting them down, and they appeared shellshocked, resulting in going through set plays that weren't working. They needed to add some dimension and have a half step up and take control, but neither did. It was essentially just one out football with 50/50 offload attempts thrown in the mix. That is not a recipe for success, so just bin it.

Lastly, the use of the interchange or, more specifically, the prop rotation.

I wouldn't say I'm a Nathan Brown defender, I just don't see the point in sacking a coach if there isn't another coach that can do better out there willing to do the job, but he makes it hard to defend him when he continues to make poor use of his bench. I know Eliesa Katoa's injury and CHT having to go off for an HIA did not help matters, but the fact that Aaron Pene was not used until the second half and only for 12 minutes is ridiculous; I think he has been strong in so far in his Warriors career and he should have been brought in sooner. AB and Lodge are crucial to this team, but they played for too long in their first stint and started to make silly mistakes. Pene and Bunty Afoa have shown they can do their part, so bring them on sooner.

If they sort out the prop rotation to keep all four of them fresh, then the Warriors are in a better position to get the W each week.

Warrior of the Match

My Warriors of the match goes to Reece Walsh.

It was hard this week as I felt not many Warriors did enough to warrant praise this week, but I went with Walsh in the end. He ran for the most metres (157m) and made that big break hampered by a cramp. His defence also improved, still miles off where it needs to be, but I loved his massive tackle at the end of the first half to stop the Tigers from scoring. He also had 100% at the kicking tee kicking two conversions and two penalties which allowed the Warriors to get the win.

I will keep saying it until I am blue in the face, but I can't wait to see what he can do when SJ is out there with him.

Warrior to Improve

My Warrior to improve goes to Matt Lodge.

Plenty of players could have got the nod here, but I have gone with Lodge; he did well with the running metres, but I have picked him here because of his errors and lack of decision making. He made three errors as the match was winding down, and all the Warriors needed to do was hold onto the ball and soak up some time to get back to 13 men on the field; he kept trying to throw 50/50 offloads. I love my second phase football, but on a night where passes are not sticking, you need your experienced players like Lodge to set an example and tuck that ball. He needs a bounceback against his former club this week; otherwise, he may find himself riding the pine.

Next round thoughts and prediction

Round 4 sees the Warriors return to their home away from home in Redcliffe to face the Broncos. Brisbane started the season strong with back-to-back wins but was well and truly beaten 38-12 in Round 3 when they faced the Cowboys. This makes them more dangerous in my eyes; they will be looking to make an example out of the Warriors as they aim to get back in the winner's circle.

The Warriors will most likely field the same 17, Shaun Johnson may be fit and ready to play, and if that is the case, he would be my only change, swapping him and Kodi Nikorima, Nikorima can either drop out of the 17 or take a spot on the bench. If he takes a bench spot, I would drop Bayley Sironen (he did improve this week), Jazz Tevaga can fill Sironen's role, and Nikorima can be the No. 14. 

The Warriors will need their forwards to get back to their form from Rounds 1 and 2 and dominate the middle; if they do that and the halves add direction, and most importantly, the team reduces the errors, they have a chance. Unfortunately, I do not see it being enough to beat Brisbane, so I am picking the Broncos to get the win here by 12.

So that was a brutal Round 3, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Do you think the Warriors will improve, or are we in for a long season?

Did you have a Warrior of the match?

Would you make any changes to the 17?
What is your score prediction against the Broncos?