NZ Warriors Round 5 Review: Warrior's make it three in a row after Johnson proves clutch in Golden Point

After Round four's win over the Broncos, the Warriors got to stay at their makeshift home of Moreton Daily Stadium, playing host to the Cowboys. The last match between these sides was a nailbiter, with the Cowboys winning by one point, and this match was just as close, with the Warriors getting a 25-24 win in Golden Point with a Shaun Johnson field goal sealing the deal.

For a breakdown of how the match went, check out my match report at the link below.

Ingers League Wrap-up Round 5 Match Report

Well, I was way off on my prediction last week, picking a 16 point win for the Warriors and looking back at recent history; a one-point win shouldn't have been much of a surprise. 

My confidence in a Warriors win took a hit early on when the Cowboys got out to an 18-6 lead, but the Warriors clawed their way back into the match and made a game of it. There has been a lot of talk about the Cowboys throwing the game away by letting the Warriors score two easy tries each side of halftime, but I think it was even as Tom Dearden scored a soft try after a defensive misread from Josh Curran and then Scott Drinkwater was gifted a try when Addin Fonua-Blake was way too relaxed trying to grab a ball in the in-goal area. Both sides had calls go against them and left a few chances begging, but when push came to shove, the Warriors dug deep and got the job down in their first Golden Point victory since 2016, with SJ doing what he does best and making the clutch play when the Warriors needed him too.

I think this team is starting to come together; there is still plenty to work on, but the bones are there, and the more they can keep the same key players together on the pitch, the better they will get. It just feels nice to have a sense of optimism in a Warriors season again, and hopefully, the remains for the rest of this campaign.

This game gave me all the feelings I have come to expect as a Warriors fan; we had the highs and lows and a nerve-racking ending, ah, the joys of being a Warriors fan. It's great to see them win in the end, and hopefully, we don't have too many down to the wire matches in the future as I'm not sure my heart could take it.

There was quite a bit to smile about this week, which leads me to my positives from the match.

Match Positives

There was a better effort from the pack this week, AFB was still the top dog (167m), but he wasnt left to do all the heavy lifting. Only two other forwards ran for over 100m, those being Euan Aitken (129m) and BuntyAfoa (124m). However, the rest of the pack still put in the work, except for my player to improve. As much as I would like all the forwards to hit triple digits, that isn't going to happen, but if they can all keep the work rate up, bend the defensive line and generally ask questions of the defence, then the backline should have plenty of chances to get on the scoreboard.

The fightback the Warriors showed after being 18-6 down was encouraging. It isn't the first time the Warriors have had to come back from a two-try deficit this season, but it shows they at least have what it takes to get points on the board when they need them. Although stopping teams from running away with the match is a more ideal way to go. It is just a case of being present for the entire match instead of bits and pieces, it's fixable, and we will get a better gauge of what this team can do in the next month as they hit tougher competition.

Lastly is errors; for the first time in 2022, the Warrior's errors were in the single digits (8); a lot of room for improvement in this area of their game but at least the error rate is coming down. I think it is a combination of the simpler game plan and the individual player's confidence building that is helping the overall performance so I expect to see them show more and more respect for the ball as the season goes. On a side note, however, someone needs to work with Jack Murchie, as watching him bobble every ball thrown his way was doing my head in. 

I did have some concerns, however, which brings me to my negatives from the game.

Match Negatives

Defence was still a significant concern, the Warriors only missed 25 tackles in this match, but the Cowboy's offloading style was causing plenty of headaches. If a team is nailing those offloads, they can be hard to stop, but this is a big red flag, and I'm sure it will become something opposition sides will try and do more often because it works. The Warriors, to their credit, were able to shut down many of the breaks caused by this second phase football, but they need to get their defensive line up quicker and wrap the ball carrier up, restrict that second phase football, and you are one set closer to victory.

The attack is still lacking, it was better in patches than last week with both SJ and CHT putting players into scoring opportunities, but the Warriors started to get too predictable. Johnson trying to throw the same cutout pass to the right just wasnt working, and the Cowboys were ready to pounce. Once you see that the opposition has figured out what you are trying to do, switch it up; instead of that cutout pass, throw a short ball to hit the hole left by the defender shooting out to try and intercept the long pass. I am still confident that this attack will continue to improve the more this spine gets to work together, so I don't see this saying in my negatives for much longer.

My last negative is discipline, the Warriors were on the back of a 7-1 six again count, and you can't put yourself under that much pressure. I think they were a bit hard done by on some of those calls, but you need to play to the ref you have and adjust to how they call the match. It did kind of even out a bit with the Cowboys getting penalised 6 times.  

Discipline still needs to be worked on; a 7-1 six again count is not pretty; I thought they were a bit hard done by in some cases; Marcelo Montoya's tackle on Peta Hiku was not a penalty, for example, but it did even out with the cowboys getting penalised 6 times. You just need to play to the ref that is out there and adjust to how they call the match; you never going to get every call going your way, but if you eliminate as much grey area as you can, then the ref has no excuse to make bad calls.

Warrior of the Match

My Warrior of the match was Chanel Harris-Tavita. 

Man, he just gave it 100% in this match, and I loved to see it; he was solid in the defensive line, hitting Chad Townsend with a bone rattler that forced an error. He also scrambled well when the Cowboys made breaks off the back of their offload game. Despite involving himself heavily defensively, he also had some great touches with the ball in hand. His 40/20 (his second one this season) got the Warriors back into the competition at the end of the first half. He also delivered a nice short ball to send Euan Aitken over for his try. Not to mention his commitment in the dying stages to throw himself on a loose ball to stop the Cowboys from stealing a win in the final seconds. His combination with Johnson is building nicely, and I think they could do something special together; perhaps it's time for other Warriors to sweeten their contract offer to him, as I think it would be foolish to let him walk out the door.

Warrior to Improve

My Warrior to improve goes to Matt Lodge.

After a strong showing last week, I expected more out of Lodge this week, but he just didn't deliver. Lodge was not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but he was unusually quiet, running for only 76 metres. He needs a bounceback this week against the Roosters; the Warriors will need him to get back into triple digits if they are to have a chance against a genuine top-four side.

Next round thoughts and prediction

Round 6 sees the Warriors travel to the Sydney Cricket Ground on Easter Sunday to face the Sydney Roosters in what will be their most formidable challenge of the season to date. The Roosters have been inconsistent this season and cut it closer than expected in Round 5 when they snuck home with a 24-20 win over the Broncos. With the news about Marcelo Montoya potentially missing some time for a contrary conduct charge, the backline will have to make changes once again; I would move Adam Pompey back to the wing and bring back Rocco Berry. I want to see Junior Ratuva have a shot, but I think he still needs time to develop in reserve grade before bringing him up. I would be happy to see the same players in the pack except for bringing Eliesa Katoa back into the 17, replacing either Bayley Sironen or Jack Murchie.

The Roosters at the SCG are always challenging, and the Warriors will need their best performance to get the job done here; it will be a good indication of where this side is actually at; the same simple gameplan needs to come into play here. Forwards do the hard work up the middle, gifting SJ and CHT time to get the backline into action. Unfortunately, I think the Roosters will be too strong here, and I'm picking them to break the Warrior's winning streak, so I am picking the Roosters to win here by 14.

So that was a heart in mouth Round 5, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Would you make any changes to the 17?
Who was your player of the match and your player to improve?
With a tough fortnight coming up, how confident are you in the Warriors adding to their win tally?
What is your score prediction against the Roosters?