NZ Warriors 2023 Magic Round Review: No Houdini Act as Warriors rue Missed Opportunities

 

After their Round 9 loss to the Roosters, the Warriors made their way to Suncorp Stadium for Magic Round, where they hosted the reigning premier Penrith Panthers.

In a tight tussle, the Panthers did just enough to overcome a Warriors side that again faced plenty of adversity, winning 18-6. Meaning I actually got my prediction right this time with a 12-point Panthers win.

What Went Down

With the majority of the crowd backing the Warriors, Addin Fonua Blake led the line for the New Zealand Warriors in the early exchanges and was rewarded early with a try under the sticks after some uncharacteristically weak defence from Penrith.

Penrith – riled up – soon replied with Dylan Edwards squaring the ledger off the back of a try-saving tackle to bustle over and level the scores after a Nathan Cleary conversion.

Penrith produced stout defence and worked into the Warrior's half, eventually working a goal-line drop-out from a fatigued Warriors defence.

The boys in pink worked the ball down into the Warriors’ danger zone and converted on the edge with excellent shape for Brian To’o to go in at the right-hand corner.

The Warriors battled back with just under 15 minutes to play and nearly levelled the scores but were held close to the line; the two sides – after trading sets – went into the sheds with Penrith up 12-6.

The New Zealand Warriors fell foul of the new hip-drop directive, and Jackson Ford was sent to the bin. Soon after, Cleary imposed his mark on the game and forced a goal-line drop-out with just over six minutes gone in the half. Penrith pressed the Warriors’ line but to no avail, with Mitch Kenny knocking on in attacking shape.

Penrith regained possession and ascendency soon after with strong middle carries that culminated in a hip drop penalty. From which Cleary landed a fairly straightforward chip off the right-hand upright to put his side eight in the lead.

The Warriors – seemingly buoyed by holding the defending champions to two points – made a considerable effort to control the middle and did so for 20 minutes until Cleary led from the front and nailed Josh Curran to force the ball and gift his side excellent field position to attack the line.

Following the tackle, a fracas ensued, and Demitric Sifakula was sent to the bin for his involvement – albeit terribly soft – by the referee.

The two-time defending champions eventually made use of the extra man – with Spencer Leniu crossing to stretch the lead to 12 points with six minutes to play. That was enough for the Panthers.

My Thoughts

Well, this was a mixed bag of emotions for me; on the one hand, I was highly frustrated with the Warriors losing their third match in a row, but on the other hand, I was proud once again of their ability to face adversity and not just give up. The Panthers have been patchy, it's fair to admit, but they played smart football here, forcing the Warriors to battle from deep within their own half and defended well to stop most of what the Warriors threw at them.

The Warriors had their fair share of issues here with injuries and sin binning's, but they looked the better side in the early stages at around the 20-minute mark; they started to lack punch and struggled to make inroads. They almost showed signs of panic when they had some close calls, which isn't something we tend to relate to the 2023 squad. None of what we saw is anything to start panicking about; the issues we saw are all fixable, and with some injured players returning soon, I am sure the Warriors will get back on track, this three-game stretch was always going to be the most challenging part of the Warriors season, and now it is over, and I think the Warriors didn't embarrass themselves.

Before moving on, I know there were plenty of discussions about the officiating, with ONE NZ Ceo Jason Paris getting plenty of airtime for his Twitter thoughts about the officials. I have no issues with his thoughts and think the Warriors have plenty of examples from the past three matches to request a please explain from the NRL. However, despite some poor calls, the Warriors have more than enough opportunities to win these matches. It will be an interesting few days to see if the NRL do anything about what has been said, but I personally think it will be swept under the rug.

 

There were aspects of the game to smile about, leading to my positives from the match.

Match Positives

In the early stages, Tohu Harris's short passing game asked plenty of questions of the Panthers, which made the Warriors attacking shape so much better. With him out there, Shaun Johnson could stand back a bit and direct play better. Still, a lot of work to do to ensure that it becomes an 80-minute effort instead of just 10-20 minute bursts.

I thought they defended reasonably well; there were a lot of missed tackles, but to hold the Panthers to 18 points is a massive effort; it may sound like a defeatist attitude, but I'm being realistic. With only 12 men for 20 minutes, the Panthers had every chance to run the score up; however, the Warriors scrambled well. There are still some poor defensive reads, but more often than not, I am getting more confident in the Warriors holding their opposition to only 2 or 3 tries a game which is a massive improvement compared to previous seasons.

With injuries and two sin bins, the Warriors had plenty of reasons to throw in the towel and just look ahead to Round 11, but they didn't, they kept grinding right up to the final whistle, and this attitude will reap the rewards in the long run. Get a few injured players back, and it's a whole new ballgame.

However, some things concerned me, bringing me to my negative from the game.

Match Negative

Despite a strong start, the Warrior's attack in the final hour was stilted; I will admit it is hard to make big attacking plays when you are constantly stuck in your own half. However, when they had a few opportunities, they let them slip; the biggest one that sticks out for me was after Curran's linebreak ended with Egan close to scoring, the Warriors shifted right, and Johnson put in a silly kick. I'm no halfback, but I think they could have taken the tackle and set up to try and score up the middle or left edge, or at least go for a repeat set. There were moments when taking a breath may have been the better option over rushing.

I noticed a lack of kick chase whenever Johnson put a big kick downtown; in fact, the best kick chaser on the day was Johnson himself, so he got a pass from me. However, the Warriors needed to play the territory game; if they had forced the Panthers to start sets deep in their own half more, they could have earnt themselves more opportunities. I don't know if the players were gassed or if they just were off by a step, but I expect a better kick-chase against the Bulldogs this week.

Lastly, I didn't like seeing Ed Kosi stuck out there hobbling around, he was clearly injured after his monster tackle of Stephen Crichton and full credit to him for trying to stay out on the pitch, but he was a liability. Thankfully, the Panthers didn't target him too much before he left the field. It sounds like he may have fractured his kneecap, and I could only imagine how tough it would have been to stay out there with that kind of injury, but I expect more from the club when it comes to the player's well-being,

Warrior of the Match

My Warrior of the Match goes to Tohu Harris.

As mentioned already, the Warrior's attack is a lot better when Harris is on the pitch, setting up Addin Fonua-Blake's try, but he also did plenty of the heavy lifting himself. Running for 155m and leading his side with 48 tackles. A strong performance from the skipper, and he got through the game with his knee intact; I just hope Webster can manage his minutes effectively to ensure that he can avoid returning to the casualty ward.

Warrior to Improve

My Warrior to improve was Marata Niukore.

Hard to pick a player again in this category, but I went with Niukore just because I expected a more significant impact from him. He ran for 67 metres and made 31 tackles with 5 misses. He also moved out to the centres when Ed Kosi went off injured, which was the logical choice; however, he struggled to make his mark on the game. Not a poor match but perhaps I was just expecting too much?

Next round thoughts and prediction

Round 11 sees the Warriors stay in Australia, heading to Accor Stadium to face the Bulldogs, who went down 34-30 against the Raiders in Magic Round.

Regarding the team, I would pick; Kosi will most likely be out, so I would move Montoya to the wing and bring Brayden Wiliame back into the centres. If Luke Metcalf is available, I would chuck him straight into the halves, allowing Dylan Walker to return to the interchange where he has excelled.

In the pack, I would keep it the same; however, if Jackson Ford is unavailable, Curran moves into his spot.

With the Interchange, I like the option of Freddy Lussick starting with Wayde Egan coming off the bench so Egan stays on the pine, joined by Tom Ale, Demitric Sifakula and Walker.

The Warriors have already beaten the Bulldogs this season, winning at the death 16-14; however, the Bulldogs are now at home and will be looking for a big bounce back after their Magic Round defeat. There are also rumours that Josh Addo Carr may be named to return; also, it will be a tough match for sure, and the Warriors need to win this match if they wish to remain in the hunt for the Top Eight, if they keep their discipline in check and stick with the gameplan and keep Matt Burton quiet then they should be able to get the job done so I am backing them to get the win by 8 points.

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

What changes would you make to the game day 17?

Would you bring Luke Metcalf straight into the side?

Do you think anything will happen after Jason Paris's comments?

What is your score prediction against the Bulldogs?