NZ Warriors 2024 Round 21 Review: Imperfect Yet Victorious as Warriors End Losing Streak against Wests Tigers

After their disappointing Round 20 defeat to the Raiders, the Warriors returned home to host the Wests Tigers. With yet another reshuffled team, the Warriors were less than stellar but put together a strong enough performance to end their two-game losing streak, handing the Tigers their fifth loss in a row with a 28-16 victory.

What Went Down

The Warriors wasted no time asserting their dominance, with the forwards rolling up the middle. This momentum was rewarded in the 10th minute when the Warriors elected to run on the last, spreading the ball out to the right to Kurt Capewell. He made the most of some shotty Tigers' defence, crossing untouched. Chanel Harris-Tavita was unable to convert, continuing his much-discussed lousy luck at the kicking tee. The Warriors continued to control the match and looked to have crossed again in the 15th minute with Dallin Watene-Zelezniak crossing in the corner, but he was unable to ground the ball in time as the Tigers pushed him over the sideline. The home side dominated the possession stats but struggled to capitalize on their chances, unable to add any more points until the 33rd minute when they targeted the left edge again, quickly shifting before a great tap-on pass from Ali Leiataua gave Edward Kosi enough space to sprint to the corner for the second try of the night, Harris-Tavita's poor luck continued with another missed conversion. 

The Tigers tried to get themselves into the contest, but an error from Charlie Staines, who pushed a pass to Jahream Bula deep inside their own half, handing the ball to the Warriors in excellent field position, and they wasted little time with Leiataua latching onto a Te Maire Martin short ball to cross for the third try of the match in the 37th minute, all eyes were on Harris-Tavita as he lined up for the conversion, which he nailed as the crowd erupted in support for the half who was all smiles in what was the final scoring play of the half, seeing the Warriors head into the sheds with a 14-0 lead.

The second half started with the Tigers being awarded a penalty early on, only for them to make an error via Luke Laulilii almost immediately. Despite that, they managed to keep the Warriors contained and started to attack with more intent; the Warriors did give them a fright when Capewell had an impressive run galloping into open space, but he let them off the hook by throwing an offload to no one. The visitors scooped up the loose ball and started to look dangerous, with several big runs getting them closer to the Warrior's line, and after a six again call, the Tigers finally found themselves on the scoreboard when Isaiah Papali'i burrowed his way over the line in the 51st minute, Api Koroisau converted to make the scores 14-6. On the next set, the Tigers surged up the field and, on the last tackle, put a grubber through that bounced off Capewell and was quickly grabbed by Bula, who flicked it to Staines for an impressive dive in the corner in the 55th minute to reduce the Warriors lead to four, and it would stay that way after Koroisau missed the sideline conversion. The game was up for grabs now after the Tigers fought back. Both sides traded sets for a period, with neither gaining the upper hand until the visitor's discipline let them down when Alex Seyfarth hit Te Maire Martin late in the 61st minute; the Warriors elected to take the penalty goal which Harris-Tavita slotted to push their lead back out to 6. With the wind back in their sails, the Warriors only took a few more minutes to increase their lead when Addin Fonua-Blake powered over in the 69th minute; Harris-tavita's successful conversion saw the lead extend to 12. The Tigers refused to back down and found themselves camped on the Warrior's line once again and put in another grubber, but this time, it was scooped up by Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, who sprinted down the field and evaded defenders for 50 meters; the Warriors pounced on the opportunity shifted the ball quickly to the right where Dallin Watene-Zelezniak saw a mismatch and hit open space before passing to Moala Graham-Taufa who continue the play down the sideline before passing it back inside to DWZ who crossed and scored under the posts in the 74th minute, another conversion nailed by CHT saw the Warriors go out to a 28-10 lead. With the game all but over, the Tigers decided to have the last laugh after a successful Captains Challenge gave them one final set, and after regathering a wayward offload, Latu Fainu broke the line before feeding Koroisau the ball to score the final try of the night in the 79th minute, he converted his try as the final siren sounded with the Warriors coming away with a 28-16 victory that keeps their slim top-eight hopes alive.

My Thoughts

Well, this was an interesting game to watch and review. Sitting there in the same seat I have had in the stadium since 2005, I was not feeling great as the game progressed; it felt like the Warriors were playing well below what I expected to see; there were contributing factors, of course, three of the back five are regular NSW Cup players, the team as a whole is down on confidence after those past two defeats so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that the team was a bit clunky. 

The puzzle pieces were there; the forwards ensured that the team spent a lot of time in the Tigers' half; however, the halves had issues taking advantage of the possession and territory. The team started to get into the groove as the game went on and began to show a bit more in regards to their attack but took their eye off the ball on the defensive side, leaving the door open for the Tigers to get a sniff. They righted the ship and got the much-needed win, which hopefully gets some confidence back into the camp as they look to keep their finals hopes alive. Still, the only way they can do that is to keep the wins coming, and the returns of some big names from the casualty ward in the next few weeks should help that happen, but they still need to improve their overall 80-minute performance.

There were a few things to smile about, which brings me to my positives.

Match Positives

The forwards put their best foot forward with another big night and really controlled the middle for large stretches of the contest; only three forwards cracked my triple-digit target, Addin Fonua-Blake (222m), Dylan Walker (163m) and Mitchell Barnett (138m) but several got really close. I still think the pack could do with another bigger forward on the bench to alleviate the drop when Addin Fonua-Blake goes off, as the bench is a tad light, and I'm not sure if Jackson Ford is able to add that much-needed impact from the bench. It will be a frustrating time for them still to see their hard work upfront being wasted by the halves but they just have to keep on trucking.

The young gun centres did not let anyone down. Ali Leiataua and Moala Graham-Taufa didn't set the world on fire by any stretch, but they had some good runs with both running over 100m; they also had the final pass in tries and defended well. They are still learning the ins and outs of first grade, but I'm confident in them giving their all and stepping up for this team when they are called upon. These games will help them improve when they become regular first graders in the future, and I expect them to become mainstays in this side when the time is right.

Lastly, Chanel Harris-Tavita finally overcame the yips and broke his missed conversion streak. He missed the first two, and that same old feeling started to sink in for me, but then he nailed his third. You could see the weight lifted off his shoulders with that big smile and fist pump, and the crowd eruption for him was great; it will do wonders for his mindset moving forward and hopefully will lead to bigger moments from him for the rest of this season.

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

Match Negatives

The Warrior's errors and discipline let them down again; they made 10 errors, gave away 4 penalties, 4 ruck infringements and 4 inside the 10 calls. Some of those calls were dubious, but it essentially handed 22 extra chances to any team, setting the Warriors up for failure. They just need to have respect for the ball and switch up the defensive game plan to match how the official is calling the game. It's easier said than done, but with every remaining game being a must-win, they need to be more composed and then things will fall into place.

The Warriors are still showing a fragile defence structure when under adversity. When the Tigers were able to get those six-again calls or earn a silly penalty, the Warriors' defence opened up and let them just waltz over. If they continue to do that in the upcoming weeks against the Dolphins, Bulldogs, and Sea Eagles, then they could be in for a rough few weeks. It's a big task for Andrew Webster and the crew, but they must sort it out ASAP.

Lastly, the bench rotation, It has been Webster's Achilles Heel since he started this role last season. At halftime, the Warriors had only used one interchange, and then, not long after the second half began, he piled the changes, which just didn't make sense to me. I'm definitely no coach, but I would be looking at adding some impact around the 20-minute mark in the first half because, despite plenty of the pack being able to play extended minutes, it doesn't mean you have to keep them out there for massive spells, plus throwing someone like Leka Halasima on for only 9 minutes gives them no time to actually contribute. It's a feeling-out process, I guess, but some smarter interchange use could be the difference between winning and losing.  

Warrior of the Match

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

AFB was close to being picked last week, but I could not deny him this week after a mammoth effort, running for 222 metres, making 22 tackles for no misses and his 8th try of the season. Made one uncharacteristic error but was the standout forward on the night. It has been a rocky past few months for AFB, with many, including myself, questioning his attitude, but he has turned a corner and continues to prove what a massive addition he is going to be for the Sharks next season and as much as I am looking forward to seeing James Fisher-Harris in a Warriors jersey I am going to miss AFB dreadfully.

Warrior to Improve

My Warrior to improve Te Maire Martin.

For the third week in a row, I've gone for TMM, but to put it bluntly, he is not directing the Warriors' attack like a halfback should; he is taking a back seat, and that is a massive concern and causing plenty of issues with the Warriors' attacking structure. It's just more of the same in regards to what I said last week: If he wants to be the halfback of this team, he needs to step up and be the leader. However, he is just regressing despite the forwards giving him plenty of go-forward, which either meant his good performances a few weeks ago were just an anomaly and he has settled back into what he is capable of now, and we just have to wait until Shaun Johnson returns before the team can hopefully get back into attacking form.

Next Round Thoughts and Prediction

The Warriors remain at home, hosting the Parramatta Eels, who lost 32-14 to the Storm in Round 21.

Regarding the team I would pick, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Taine Tuaupiki may be ready to return, which makes for an interesting selection headache for Andrew Webster. If both are fit, I would drop Edward Kosi and have RTS move back to the wing and CNK come back into fullback, but if they switch those two around, I wouldn't be mad, either. 

Then I would keep the rest of the team at the same bar, maybe switching Jackson Ford for either Bunty Afoa or Tom Ale, and bring back any other injured players who are ready to return. If Shaun Johnson is ready, then he comes in with Chanel Harris-Tavita dropping to Freddy Lussick's bench spot to add more versatility.

The Eels have been terrible this season, winning only 4 matches and struggling to put together an attack without their star halfback Mitch Moses. However, just like last week, this match has the potential to be a Banana Peel match for the Warriors if they don't come into the game with the right attitude; there's no such thing as an easy win in the NRL, so they need to show the ball plenty of respect, improve this kicking game and get their backs into open space to create some scoring opportunities.

If they tick all those boxes, I think they will win comfortably, so for the second week in a row, I am going for a Warriors win by 18.

So, that was a slightly better Round 21, but as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Do you think the Warriors can make the eight still?

Are there any changes you would make to the 17?

Who was your player of the match and your player to improve?

What is your score prediction against the Eels?