NZ Warriors 2023 Round 23 Review: Johnson the difference as Warriors win ugly over determined Titans

After Round 22's bye, the Warriors made the trip to the Gold Coast to face the Titans with a win solidifying their position in the top four.

In a physical outing that saw both a sendoff and a sin-bin, the Warriors looked rusty but showed cohesion as the match developed before taking control in the final ten minutes to walk away with a 28-18 victory.

What Went Down

It was a battle of the defences for most of the first half. Neither the Warriors nor the Titans could score any points, despite often making great metres, coming close. However, the line defence for both teams was impressive, keeping the scoreboard at nil all.
Gold Coast forward Moeaki Fotuaika was sent off after a high shot on Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, who was unable to return to the game. Which meant that the Titans were left with a man down for the remainder of the evening.

It was an ill-disciplined first half for both the Warriors and the Titans. There were a handful of scuffles, one of which resulted in Marata Niukore being sent to the sin bin for slapping David Fifita. The Warriors and Titans were now 12 on 12. 

Finally, the first points were scored by the Titans via a Fifita barge over.
The Titans looked set to add more points, but despite their valiant effort, a try was called back at the opposite end of the field due to a knock-on. The Warriors capitalized on this field possession and scored their first points of the game, with Shaun Johnson being the man who crossed the line. Johnson was over again a few sets later, getting the Warriors in front for the first time in the match.
Right on the stroke of halftime, the Warriors scored again via Dalline Watene-Zelezniak, which was taken away from them due to an obstruction. They went into the break with one player advantage and a six-point lead.

The Warriors scored again in the second half, with Jackson Ford finding the back of the net just two minutes after the restart.
The Titans and the Warriors continued to show strength in their defence through the second half. Both sides were also able to put their strength in attack on display, which made for a more interesting second half of the league.
Within a ten-minute period, the Titans were able to catch up to the Warriors. Joe Stimson and Jayden Campbell scored a try each, which levelled the score.
With just fifteen minutes remaining in the game, both sides were desperate for a victory.
The Warriors dominated the final few minutes, scoring two additional tries to ensure their victory against the Titans. Tohu Harris and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak were the try scorers.

My Thoughts

Well, while I did come into this match confident, it was one of the two remaining regular season matches for the Warriors that concerned me (the other being the Round 25 match against the Sea Eagles), and when Fifita crashed over for the first try my concerns grew a little. 

However, when Shaun Johnson crossed for his double before halftime, I was more relaxed, and despite the Titans continuing to fight in the second half, I felt like the Warriors would always walk away with the win.

This was a strange match; the Titans being reduced to 12 men should have made life easier, but to their credit, they dragged the Warriors down to play at their level and made them work for the victory. It was a niggly affair, but the Warriors made the most of their moments and got the job done. It wasnt a win that will be long remembered, but it was another valuable match to learn from as the Warriors prepare for their return to finals football. Andrew Webster wasnt happy with the performance, and he said the players weren't either, which on a positive note, I think is great to hear; the Warriors are a good team now, and they know what they should be delivering, and in the past, they would have just been happy to walk away with a win regardless of how they got it, so you know that they are going to come back stronger this week and start to build some strong performances to finish the regular season on a strong note.

Before moving on, I just want to talk about the Warrior's habit of struggling when returning from a bye; despite only losing one match after a bye this year, it is fair to say that all three games this season saw the Warriors start very slow and rusty. I'm still determining how Andrew Webster fixes this, and I only bring it up because the Warriors potentially could find themselves earning a week off in the finals, and they can't afford to have another slow return from a week away from the pitch. I know that is just the pessimist in me, but it remains something that sits in the back of my mind. However, it's better than what I usually do at this time of year which is looking ahead to the next season.

There was plenty to smile about, which leads to my positive from the match.

Match Positives

As mentioned above, the Warriors started rusty, but as the match progressed, they took control; now while that control didn't result in a landslide score with tries scored at will. The Warriors succeeded at building pressure and being patient, which will be critical in the finals. I know the Warriors have surprised all of us this season, but I think the most impressive aspect of their improvement is their ability to play for an entire match; I know that sounds silly, but for so many years, the Warriors have struggled to compete in the final 20 minutes so to know that they are always a chance of winning if they are close on the scoreboard at the 60-minute mark makes me more confident in their playoff aspirations.

There were some considerable efforts from the pack in their battle with the big Titans pack, Led by Addin Fonua-Blake, as always, with a team-high 169m; there were 5 forwards that hit my desired triple digits, with Jackson Ford (158m), Mitchell Barnett (153m), Tohu Harris (142m) and Dylan Walker (109m) all joining the superstar front rower. We always expect this level of effort from AFB, but if the rest of the pack can keep this level up, it just makes life easier for Johnson and the rest of the backs, and if they get the ball moving up the pitch regularly, then the points will come.

The unfortunate early exit of Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad could have caused the Warriors issues, but with Taine Tuaupiki sitting there as the 18th man, the Warriors didn't have to make any drastic changes to the lineup, and Tuaupiki had a decent hit-out. He had a few poor passes early on but found his groove looking dangerous with the ball in hand, making 165m and defended reasonably well; there were a few moments where he looked out of position out the back, but the Titans were not able to capitalize on it. Will be out the back again this week and has a great chance to find another gear and make his stamp on the match and is a talent I hope the Warriors can keep on the roster.

Lastly, that crowd, it's hard to believe that this was an away match in Australia as from where I was watching it on TV, it did not sound like it. There were plenty of  Warriors chants, and every time the announcer tried to get a Titans chant going, it was drowned out by a chorus of boos. Turning every Warriors match into essentially a home match is going to be a massive equalizer, and it just makes the viewing experience that much better, so big ups to the Warriors fans in Australia for bringing the noise and helping the Warriors out, as I'm sure they appreciate it.

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

Match Negatives

A regular in this section in 2023, but I wasnt happy with the errors again, with the Warriors ending the match with 12. I have faith in the Warrior's defensive capabilities to defend their way out of these errors. However, making double-digit errors will not fly in the finals, as teams like the Panthers, Broncos, and the Storm can pile on points if the Warriors give away these free sets. Show the ball more respect and don't force 50/50 passes, and those errors will come down. I want to see single a single-digit error rate this week.

Webster discussed it in his post-match interview, but the Warriors were trying to go around the Titans in the early stages before they earnt the right to do so. They did rectify that as the game developed, but spreading it wide before controlling the middle can sometimes work, but more often than not, it leads to errors or a collapse of the attacking structure. The fact that Webster has already addressed it leads me to expect this to be fixed this week, but seeing the Warriors deviate from the game plan they have had all year was a concern.

Lastly, the discipline let the Warriors down at times, the Titans came into this match fully intending to poke the bear, and the Warriors took the bait, which led to that farcical sin-binning which I believe was done not due to the action but in an attempt by Ben Cummins to regain control of the match. The Warriors do not want to be bullied by the opposition, of course. Still, if they show that they can be distracted by some grubbiness, you can expect teams to attempt to get under their skin in the finals to gain an advantage, so Warriors stand your ground but don't let it divert you from the task at hand. 

Warrior of the Match

My Warrior of the Match goes to Shaun Johnson.

Hard to pick anyone else as I believe that if SJ wasnt on the pitch, the Warriors walk away with the loss. 

He scored two tries, including that one from DWZ's freakish offload, which itself was already set up by Johnson; he set up Jackson Ford's try with a nice pass before setting up DWZ for a try of a kick (albeit with a fortunate bounce). He ran for 93 metres and also made 24 tackles. 

The team was struggling, and he stepped up and got them on track; he is already the frontrunner for the Dally M in my eyes, but this performance has solidified that for me, which is simply a fantastic story for the veteran many had written off before the season started.

Warrior to Improve

My Warrior to improve is Marata Niukore.

It was hard to pick a player here as while many did not have the best game, no one stood out for the wrong reasons, so I settled on Niukore. I thought he was extremely hard-done-by in his sin-binning, so that's not why I selected him here; I just thought he didn't deliver the impact I have come to expect from him; he ran for 73 metres and made 19 tackles but simply lacked the punch he usually brings the Warriors right edge, I do think if he wasnt sent to the bin, then his stats would have been more to my liking. Nothing to be concerned about, however, as I expect a big bounce back against the Wests Tigers this week.

Next Round Thoughts and Prediction

Round 24 sees the Warriors head back to New Zealand, this time for an away clash against the West Tigers in Hamilton. In Round 23, the Tigers were narrowly defeated 22-18 by the Raiders.

Regarding the team I would pick, I would keep it the same, Taine Tuaupiki will remain at Fullback due to CNK requiring an 11-day stand-down, and everyone else that played in this match keeps their spot. I know some eyebrows were raised when Jazz Tevaga replaced Bunty Afoa on the bench, but Tevaga offers the same or more than what the Warriors have been getting from Afoa, so I don't see a reason to change it back. 

Before going into my thoughts on the match, I just want to express my gratitude to the Tigers for being the only team to bring a home game to New Zealand as a thank you to the Warriors for the COVID seasons; I know Tim Sheens has come out and said it wasnt his decision and he would have preferred to have kept the game on Australian Soil. Times have been tough for them, and making this decision earnt them some brownie points with me.

It's an interesting matchup; the Warriors are in the driver's seat for a top 4 finish and should quickly dispose of the bottom-placed Tigers especially getting to play them in an away match in New Zealand. However, as shown a few times this year, you cannot afford to take the Tigers lightly; they have essentially secured the Wooden Spoon unless they score some big upsets in the final few rounds, so they will be looking to spoil the Warrior's party. 

If the Warriors stick to the gameplan that has worked so often this year with Addin Fonua-Blake and Tohu Harris controlling the middle of the park to open up space out wide for Johnson to bring Watene-Zelezniak into the match to do what he does best. 

I'm confident that the Warriors will win their fifth win in a row, but I expect a bit of a fight from the Tigers, so I will say the Warriors will get the win by 18.

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

Do you think Shaun Johnson is the frontrunner for the Dally M Medal?

Who would you remove from the 17 to bring Jazz Tevaga in?

How confident are you in the Warriors going deep in the finals?

What is your score prediction against the Tigers?