NZ Warriors 2024 Round 16 Review: Warriors Suffer Historic Humiliation in Heavy Defeat to Titans

 

After their disappointing Round 15 defeat to the Storm, the Warriors made the trip back across the ditch to face the last-placed Titans. While many expected a one-sided Warriors win, the Titans didn't get the memo as they put on a clinic, cruising to a 66-6 victory.

What Went Down

The Warriors attempted to build some pressure and looked sure to score in the corner via Marcelo Montoya in the 7th minute; however, some stern defence from Beau Fermor forced an error. From there, the Warriors continued to make errors, allowing the Titans to build pressure before being rewarded in the 6th minute when Alofiana Khan-Pereira easily crossed. The sides traded sets for a while, with the Warriors still struggling to complete their sets before a perfect pass from Kieran Foran sent Fermor across the line in the 20th minute. The Titans kept the pressure on, and after an Issac Liu line break split the Warrior's defence apart, the home side kept the tempo up as Chris Randall got his side's third try in the 25th minute. With the visitors on the ropes, the Titans would not be stopped as Jayden Campbell evaded several defenders before offloading the ball to Keenan Palasia for yet another try in the 31st minute. With time running out, the Titans struck once more when Keano Kini cut through the defence before sending Sam Verrills over to see Gold Coast leave the pitch leading 30-0 at the break.

The Warriors started the second half with more focus and looked willing to fight their way back into the contest until a wayward pass from Shaun Johnson in the 46th minute went straight to Khan-Pereira, who ran the length of the field for his second try of the afternoon. A dubious call against Roger Tuivasa-Sheck for a dangerous tackle saw the centre marched for ten, and the Titans capitalized with Kini cutting through the line once more in the 53rd minute to extend his side out to 40-0. Moments later, Foran continued to twist the knife when he put a kick up, which bounced the right way for Campbell to pounce on in the 56th minute for his side's 8th try. In the 58th minute, the Warriors finally got themselves on the scoreboard after Tohu Harris got close to the line before offloading to Te Maire Martin, who crossed untouched.

The game was already out of reach, but any hopes for a miraculous comeback were dashed in the 62nd minute when Campbell put a low kick through that was grabbed by Khan-Pereira for his first NRL hat-trick. The home side was not done yet as they added two more tries, one in the 67th minute when Kini took a Foran inside ball for his second try and then a 4th try by Khan-Pereira after he was put away by a quick pass from Brian Kelly to see the Titans cement their biggest winning margin in a 66-6 victory that will be remembered by the fans of both sides for many years to come.

My Thoughts

Well, what the hell was that? After this match, I spent a lot of time debating if I should even write a review this week, but I am a glutton for punishment, so here we are.

I came into this match confident, albeit a tad bit nervy with the Titan's recent form against the Warriors, but I never expected a scoreline of this nature. The Warriors never got into this contest and were well and truly beaten. The Titans deserved their applause as they played well and refused to allow the Warriors any chances, but the Warriors were embarrassingly poor here.

I just don't know what happened; the Warriors had that great 3 weeks, then got some wobbles last week against the Storm and then fell off the cliff here; there wasnt anything to praise; they couldn't control the ball, made poor defensive choices and just looked lost on attack, all worrying signs for a side that we all expected to start climbing the ladder. The decision to play Walker on the edge didn't work, and Webster's decision to have Jazz Tevaga and Chanel Harris-Tavita on for a decent chunk in the middle did not help the Warrior's attempts to dig themselves out of the hole they were in. This is a line-in-the-sand moment for this club; despite such a crushing defeat, they are still within reach of the top 8, and if they string some wins together, they still have a shot; however, Webster and the players need to have a decent honesty session and air out any issues that are festering and get back to work before it's too late.

There wasn't much to smile about, which brings me to my positives.

Match Positives

Full credit to the fans who showed up. The Warriors always enjoy plenty of support on the Gold Coast, and this match was no different, sounding like a home game. Unfortunately, the team didn't respond in the way that we all expected, which saw the crowd become very quiet. 

Hopefully, this embarrassing showing is precisely what the doctor ordered to kick the side in the pants so we can start seeing some results. This may be the optimist in me, but I want to see this team succeed, and the only way is up from here.

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

Match Negatives

The side's attack looked disjointed, and in fact, everything did. There was a lack of heart and desire, and that team just looked out of sync. I'm curious if the team took the Titans lightly or thought too highly of themselves where they expected that they didn't have to try hard, and by the time they knew they were in their fight, it was already too late. It feels like something is going on behind the scenes that we are not privy to and it is causing friction on the field, something has spoiled the broth and it is up to Webster to figure it out and fix it.

The Warriors did not help themselves with the errors, making 13 in this match, I have said it multiple times this season, but against any side in the NRL, you cannot afford to hand over possession and the extra 13 times without paying the price. Most of these errors were simple schoolboy ones that showed a lack of concentration. They must show the ball more respect if they wish to return to the winner's circle.

The defence was atrocious. They missed 45 tackles and generally just could not keep their line intact. It was soft and displayed a massive mental deficiency. A pivotal moment for me was Jazz Tevaga's missed tackle on Chris Randall when he had just joined the game. He was fresh, and Jazz should have secured him, but he got run over. Defence is, for the most part, attitude-based, and this side could have been much better in that department.

Warrior of the Match

I have no Warrior of the Match this week. None of the players did enough to leave the pitch with their heads held high. It's only the second time I haven't picked a player since the Warriors lost 70-10 to the Storm in 2022, and hopefully, it's the last. 

Warrior to Improve

My Warrior to improve goes to the whole team.

I have only watched the game twice, and I struggled to pinpoint any player who played the worst as they were all poor. The forwards barely made a dent up front; the halves were constantly on the back foot, which led to the outside backs having no space to work in. Add to that the constant errors, subpar defence and the inability to work together. It was a throwback to how this team was prior to Andrew Webster taking over; I hate seeing the team perform like this, and if there is ever a time for a bounce-back performance, now is the time.

Next Round Thoughts and Prediction

The Warriors return home to host the Broncos, who enjoyed a bye during Round 16.

Regarding the team I would pick, there was talk that Johnson may be out of this match with a hamstring injury. If that's the case, I would return to TMM and CHT in the halves and bring the suspended Dallin Watene-Zelezniak back to the wings. I would bring back Mitch Barnett and Kurt Capewell and would like to see Graham Moala Taufa brought back into the centres with RTS moved to the wing.

The Broncos have been struggling lately, with Adam Reynolds and Reece Walsh missing for a decent portion of their campaign. This has impacted their direction in attack; they may also be missing some, if not all, of their Origin stars, which may help the Warriors get a much-needed win. However the Warriors did lose to the baby Broncos last year. The Warriors need to regain their mojo, and a strong effort upfront by the pack needs to happen early to set a platform. Then, the halves must exploit any holes the pack has created and get those back into space. They also need to communicate and get their defence back on track because if they give the Broncos an inch, they will take a mile. I think the Warriors can get the job done if they get the basics right, but I cannot pick them here after the Titan's loss, so I am going with a Broncos win by 12. However, I hope the Warriors prove me wrong.

So, that was an embarrassing Round 16, but as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Did you have a player of the match?

Can you pinpoint what is wrong with this side and how they can fix it?

Do you think the Warrior's finals dreams are over?

What is your score prediction against the Broncos?