NZ Warriors 2022 Round 23 Review: Warriors attitude in question after crumbling against Cowboys

After their big win over the Bulldogs, the Warriors made their way to North Queensland to face the Cowboys. In almost a replay of their effort in Round 21, the Warriors failed to fire a shot as the Cowboys never looked in doubt as they cruised to a 48-4 victory.

What Went Down

A moment's silence for former Cowboys coach Paul Green got the evening underway. North Queensland started the match strong, scoring two tries in the first ten minutes, with Coen Hess crashing over Reece Walsh in the middle and Murray Taulagi also electing to run over Walsh this time in the left corner.
The Warriors received a penalty for a cannonball tackle which saw Jeremiah Nanai placed on report; however, the New Zealand side could not find a way through the tough Cowboys defence. A penalty against Jack Murchie for exiting the scrum early saw the home side extend their lead to twelve when Valentine Holmes kicked a penalty.
After some back and forth, the Warrior's attack started to make some dents with Marcelo Montoya latching onto a Shaun Johnson bomb on the last tackle, getting over the line, but the Cowboys scrambled and held him up, North Queensland then screamed up the field and looked to have scored their third try, but the bunker deemed that the ball was tapped forward, so the score stayed 12-0.
On the back of a six again drive, the Warriors finally got themselves on the scoreboard in the 35th minute when Ed Kosi tapped back a Daejarn Asi kick that Scott Drinkwater knocked on before Montoya dived on it; the bunker reviewed the try as it looked that Montoya was in front of the kicker but ruled that it was ok.
The Cowboys were not done scoring yet in the first half, taking advantage of a Walsh knock-on and sending Nanai over for his 17th try of the Season before running the length of the field on the next play to see Peta Hiku score against his former club, to see the home side go into the sheds leading 24-4.
The Cowboys started the second half in the same manner they ended the first, scoring in the first minute when Tom Dearden spied a hole in the Warrior's defensive line after Walsh dropped another kick. North Queensland kept the pressure on, crossing for their sixth try moments later when Luciano Leilua made a mockery of the Warrior's goal-line defence as he barged his way over.
After a lengthy stalemate, the Cowboys were over again after spotting Walsh out of position and pushing a kick through; it looked like the Warriors had saved it, but Dallin Watene-Zeleaniak decided to leave the ball to roll over the dead-ball line, but Dearden snuck in and dived on it for his second try of the night and his first career double. A few sets later, Walsh was out of position again, and Chad Townsend pounced, putting a grubber through before scooping it up and scoring. The Cowboys looked set to score on the next set after Hess broke the line and put a kick in for Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, but the lightning-fast back took too long to place the ball down and was dragged over the sideline by Walsh.
The Warriors showed a slight glimpse of being dangerous with the ball in hand after Bunty Afoa broke the line; the Cowboys gave away a penalty but refused to let the Warriors get over the line with Hiku forcing an error from Kosi as he tried to crash over in the corner. The visitors got more sets in good field position after a Cowboys error and several six again calls, and Euan Aitken looked to have scored his 50th try; however, for the second week in a row, the bunker took it away after he was ruled to have made a double movement in was the last critical moment in the match as the Cowboys get their biggest win of the Season with the Warriors conceding 48 points for the second time in three weeks.

My Thoughts

Well, the Warrior's rollercoaster continues, I came into this match thinking that the Cowboys would win, but I was hopeful that the Warriors would show some fighting spirit and make a game of it, but that just didn't happen. Stacey Jones came out after the match and said that eight or nine of his players just clearly didn't have the right attitude, and I would agree, but more on that later.

The Cowboys started quick, and while the Warriors did stem the flow and get back into the contest at 12-4, their errors and defensive lapses let the Cowboys just run away with it.

I am lost for words, the Warriors weren't the only team that got demolished this round, but as a fan, it hurts to see the team just give up when the Season is winding to a close; this Season has been horrible for me so I can only imagine how tough it has been on the playing group, but it's no excuse to just throw in the towel.

The optimism that was creeping back for me last week is sliding away again, and I am not looking forward to this week's matchup against the Panthers because if the team cannot sort this attitude issue out, they will be in for another heavy defeat.

There wasnt much, but I found a few things to smile about, which leads me to my positives from the match.

Match Positives

To be honest, it was tough to find any positives from this performance, but I want to highlight Tom Ale, he got more minutes this week, and I like what I see from the young forward. 

He ran the ball hard and only missed two tackles. I like everyone else, am disappointed with Eliesa Katoa leaving the club, but I want to see the club keep hold of Ale and actually use him; he has plenty of potential and was one of a handful of players that appear to honestly care in this match.

Lastly, the Season is almost over, there are only two games left, and the last one against the Titans is winnable and will be played at Mount Smart, so there is a chance to end the year on a positive note with a win. 

It's just been a brutal year, and I can't wait for it to be over so we can get into the new Season next year with a squad of players that want to play for the club and have all our home games really at home.

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

Match Negatives

Once again, errors were too high for me, making 12 before the final whistle. Believe it or not, the Cowboys actually made more errors in this match, but the critical difference was the Cowboy's defence backed up the mistakes they made where the Warriors couldn't. Most of the errors were just silly schoolboy stuff, dropped kicks, incorrect play the balls, and general coach-killing decisions. Getting the basics right will fix this, but I have been saying that all year so I doubt we will see it fixed this Season.

The player's attitude has been called out several times this year, not just by me and other fans but the coaching staff. A poor attitude flows into all facets of the game; this is why you see increases in errors and defensive misreads. How do you fix this? I honestly don't know, Stacey Jones said that he felt that only a handful of his players actually want to play for the jersey, so I would assume that you just select the players that show that they are here to play and the ones with the poor attitudes sit the rest of the Season out. 

It may be harder to sort than that, and I'm not a coach, but I would rather see a player with less talent who gives 100% over a superstar just going through the motions.

The defence, or lack thereof, was painful to watch, the Cowboys made easy work of the Warriors line, and there were several moments where the Warriors were just not in position, allowing the Cowboys to go the length of the field multiple times. The goal-line defence was not great either, with North Queensland barely breaking a sweat whenever they decided to just crash it over. This goes directly back to the poor attitude; until that is fixed, the defence will continue to disappoint. 

Warrior of the Match

My Warrior of the match goes to Addin Fonua-Blake.

It was really hard to pick a player to celebrate here, but I have gone with AFB; he ran for 113 metres, had a team-high 56 post-contact metres and made 35 tackles with no misses.

It wasnt a fantastic performance by AFB, but he looked to be giving it a go which is the bar I have set right now.

With two games left in the Season, I want to see him go back to the level we know he can deliver and hopefully, he drags the rest of the team back up with him.

Warrior to Improve

My Warrior to improve is Reece Walsh.

It is still early days for Walsh, but this was his worst outing in first grade by far.

He was a liability on defence, getting run over for the first two Cowboys tries and constantly being out of position, which led to several more tries. His errors didn't help matters as he struggled under the high ball and just could never get into the flow of the game.

Don't get me wrong, I think he is an amazing talent, but it looks like he has checked out and is over being a Warrior. I have mentioned it on my show, The Stand-Off, but I think the Warriors may have come out winners in the decision to let him go back to the Broncos as I believe they will get more value out of Te Maire Martin and CNK.

Next round thoughts and prediction

Round 24 sees the Warriors remain on Australian soil to face the top of the table Penrith Panthers at Bluebet Stadium. In Round 23, the Panthers secured the 2022 Minor Premiership after defeating the Rabbitohs 26-22.

Regarding the team I would pick, in the backs, I would drop Walsh and bring Chanel Harris-Tavita back in.

In the forwards, I would keep the same but swap Bunty Afoa and Josh Curran around as I still think Curran starting would be better.

This will be a tough match; the Panthers, without their star halves, have kept plugging away and will be looking at putting on a show before they are handed the Minor Premiership at full-time. 

The Warriors could be on another hiding to nothing unless they all show up for each other, fix that attitude and take the Panthers to the limit and I will come away happy; I will try and stick with that optimism and say that the Warriors will show improvements this week but not enough to get the job done so I am picking the Panthers to win by 24.

So that was a horrible Round 23, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

How would you address the Warrior's attitude issues?

What changes would you make to the lineup?

How do you feel about the Warrior's chances in 2023?

What is your score prediction against the Panthers?