New Zealand Warriors NRL 2016 Season Review: Another year to forget comes to an end

Copyright Photo: Getty Images

Now that 2016 has ended the mourning period has officially passed for me, so I have now decided that it's time to comb through the painful memories of the Vodafone Warriors 2016 NRL season and conduct my season review.

2016 wasn't the year Warriors fans hoped for as the Warrior found themselves watching the playoffs instead of competing in them for the fifth year in a row, a tough stat to swallow but more on that below so let's just get into it.

My take on 2016

As is the case with Warriors fans (myself included if you go back and check my 2016 season preview article) confidence in the upcoming season was high.

With the signing of Issac Luke and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, the Warriors were saying all the right things leading into the 2016 season.
The Warriors were projecting a focused and unified front to the fans and media all while denying rumours of Andrew McFadden's head being on the chopping block if the Warriors failed to reach the playoff's again.

After reaching the final of the NRL Nines against the Parramatta Eel's (Where they lost 22-4) it appeared that the Warrior may finally be able to get back into the playoff race.

Looking back at the season preview I wrote, two of the key weaknesses that I said may sink the Warriors season were unforced errors and a substandard defence.

Well, the Warriors apparently didn't read my preview as their defence was a disaster this season, they let in 601 points which was the third worst in the NRL.

On the other hand, the Warriors were, in fact, the sixth best performing team when it came to errors having 227 for the season, this is still too high as that is 9 ½ errors per game.

The main issue with the Warriors errors was the time and field position where the errors were made,

On countless occasions throughout the season, the Warriors would drop the ball early in their set while being in their own half.

This, in turn, put extra pressure on a team that hasn't been good at handling pressure and they crumbled as a result of this.

The Warriors were consistently inconsistent, winning one week and losing the next with the most embarrassing performance of the year a 42-0 lost in Round 8 to the Melbourne Storm.

But then the usual State of Origin Warriors form came into play again and gave the Warriors a slight sniff of playoff football until the Warriors ended on a low note, losing the last four matches in a row.

Throw in a drug scandal (more on that below), disgruntled players and the coaching change rumours and 2016 was a year the Warriors and Warriors fans alike will be glad is now over.

My Positives for 2016

Well, 2016 didn't offer a season full of positives, but there were a handful of things to smile about.

Emergence of Rookies

Bunty Afoa, Jazz Tevaga, Nathaniel Roache, Toafofoa Sipley and Ata Hingano all made their debuts for the club and have so far shown a lot of promise.

In my opinion, Bunty and Jazz can walk into the Warriors game-day 17 and should find themselves very much involved in the 2017 campaign.

Nathaniel, Toafofoa and Ata were also impressive and showed that they were more than capable of replacing the current top side players that are not up to the task of the consistent week to week football demanded of them (More on that in the negatives below).

Simon Mannering

Well, what can you say about Simon that hasn't already been said?

In my opinion, the Warriors at times do not deserve a player of Simon calibre, he is one of the few players the Warriors have on their roster that any other NRL club would sign in an instant.

Averaging near on 48 tackles a game, Simon desperately needs some ( should be all! )  of the other players to match his dedication and commitment to this team week in and week out, and there were times throughout the season where Simon's frustration at his teammates bubbled to the surface.

Standing down from the Warriors captaincy was the best decision Simon has made as his performance benefited from the removal of the extreme stress that comes with being Captain of this side.

It is hard to not expect more of the same from Simon's performances in 2017, I just hope for his sake that the rest of the team don't leave him to do all the heavy lifting on his own again.

And Lastly Thomas Leuluai

If Simon Mannering is the heart and soul of the Warriors, then Thomas Leuluai is surely the backbone.

Thomas is going to be sorely missed at the club, arguably one of the best defending halves in the NRL, Thomas threw himself into tackles with grit and determination and saved the Warriors defensive line on numerous occasions.

With Shaun Johnson having an unreliable 2016 the Warriors needed Thomas to step in and lead the team around the field, it didn't, but that was more due to the substandard performance from the rest of the Warriors side.

Week in week out Thomas could be relied on to give his all for the Warriors, and hopefully, this attitude is something he has passed on to the rest of the side now that he has headed back to Wigan.

Now if or when the NRL accept the Kieran Foran contract, the Warriors may have a suitable replacement for Thomas, but if Foran only stays for one season (or isn't allowed to play at all), then the Warriors have some serious work to do in preparing a standoff for the future.

My Negatives for 2016

In Contrast to the slim pickings I had for season positives, there is an abundance of negatives, but as I only had three positives above, I will narrow the negatives down to three also.

Defense or lack thereof

The defence of the Warriors this season was simply put just woeful.

The Warriors line speed was sluggish, and in the words of Jim Doyle, the Warriors defence lacked energy and attitude.

Attitude is where the Warriors need to focus on improving if they want to have any ch.ance of being taken seriously in the NRL again.

They cannot let Simon Mannering make all the tackles for another season, the whole team needs to pull their weight defensively.

Players need to have confidence in the players beside them in the defensive line to eliminate the edges rushing in, which has been a problem that is consistently targeted by opposing sides.

The Warriors will always be an attacking threat in the NRL, but until they learn to defend as a unit with a week in week out consistency, the Warriors will not succeed.

The Pill Scandal

Now, this was a pretty low point in 2016 for me, not necessarily for what happened but for how some of the players reacted after the news of their indiscretion broke.

As was widely published, six players (Manu Vatuvei, Ben Matulino, Bodene Thompson, Albert Vete, Sam Lisone and Konrad Hurrell) went out after returning to Auckland after the humiliating 42-0 defeat to the Melbourne Storm and took prescription pills with energy drinks to give themselves a high.

After arriving late and in a questionable state, to the game review video session, after being questioned by management it didn't take long for the story to break and the Warriors took action quickly by dropping the six players to reserve grade and sending them to Ruben Wiki for some punishment sessions.

As I said at the start, I was angry or upset at the reaction from two of the players.

Ben, Bodene, Albert and Sam apologised to the team and the fans and quietly went back to training and trying to make their way back into first grade.
But Manu and Konrad went the other way, from Konrad retweeting fans comments about Andrew McFadden losing the locker room to Manu getting into fights with fans on social media.

Reading what these players were saying took me to a point where I wanted them both cut from the Warriors (Konrad eventually got released in a move that I think was good for both parties), Manu had a mental breakdown and eventually got his mind right and came back to the Warriors with more focus.

Now what these six did wasn't illegal, but it was unprofessional behaviour, and hopefully, they have all learnt from this as the NRL will always have issues with booze and drugs and the Warriors do not want to be seen as a 'Troublemaking" club.

Ben Henry

My last negative is Ben Henry.

Ben Henry was a young footballer with plenty of potential, many selected Ben as a future Warriors captain. However, injuries derailed Ben's career,

2012 was the year Ben made his debut, and he played all 24 games in his rookies season and was named New Zealand Rugby Leagues Rookie of the year.

Unfortunately, 2012 would be the only season of Ben's career that wasn't plagued with an injury.

After 2012 Ben only managed to play 28 more games in four seasons with two knee injuries and two torn ACL's over those seasons.

It was heartbreaking when he announced his retirement as I feel a lot of fans just wanted to see Ben come back from his injuries and get to play the sport we all love.

It is not all doom and gloom for Ben though as the Warriors have big plans for his future.

At the member's forum, Jim Doyle spoke briefly about Ben's future and advised that Ben is going to be assisting the players in regards to developing the younger talent, and they also will be getting him training to help develop Ben as a mental skills coach.

With all the horrible injuries Ben faced his attitude never wavered, so I think he has a terrific base to build from to assist the team with their mental toughness and I wish him all the best in this new career path.

My top three Warriors of the season

In a poor season only a few players shined, here are my top 3.

Simon Mannering

Copyright Photo: Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz

I feel like I'm just going to repeat myself with what I said above, but Simon was hands down the best and most consistent performer for the Warriors this season.

Simon gives his all and rarely leaves the field all the while going just as hard in the 80th minute as he does in the 1st minute.

As stated above if his attitude and dedication could be passed on to the rest of the squad the Warriors would be an unstoppable force in the NRL.

Bodene Thompson

When Bodene was signed it wasn't really that big a deal, Bodene played well for the Titans and Tigers but never really set the word on fire.

But in 2016 Bodene was one of the more consistent players for the Warriors, he was defensively strong and developed a good partnership with Shaun Johnson which leads to Bodene being an attacking threat on the edge,

With 2017 being Bodene's final year of his contract he will need to continue his 2016 form into the new season to get a new deal.

Solomona Kata

Solomona had a good rookie season in 2015 leading the Warriors in tries scored and all eyes were on him in 2016 to see if he could continue his attacking form.

Well yet again he lead the Warriors in tries scored, crossing the line 15 times, he also finished the season with a team-high 15 line breaks.

However what I think was more impressive was the improvements in his defensive work, now by no means was his defense great (to be fair no one at the Warriors bar Simon can say that) but he did help tighten the Warriors left edge.

If he can work on that defense even more, this preseason 2017 could be a great year for Kata.

My three biggest letdowns

With the top 3 list also comes my letdowns, the Warriors that offered so much but just didn't deliver.

Ben Matulino

Copyright Photo : Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz

I'm not sure what happened to Ben in 2016 but something was definitely missing, although he still lead the team in metres gained (2643 in total), the usual punch he gives the forward pack went missing.

His attitude appeared to change and with that, his form dropped.

New coach Stephen Kearney has made bringing Ben back to the form of seasons a top priority and hopefully, this will happen as if Ben has another subpar season the young props coming up will take his spot and leave him out in the cold.

Shaun Johnson

Shaun is a divisive player, some fans cannot stand him and demand he be dropped after every loss while other's claim that he can do no wrong.

Myself, well I'd like to think I sit in the middle, Shaun's stats were not bad in 2016, he was in the top 5 in the NRL for try assists and line break assist but he also made the most errors in the Warriors side with 40.

I think the biggest issues I had with Shaun this season were his lack of running football and his one tracked mind when it came to his fifth tackle kicking options.

I'm not sure if Shaun's lack of running with the ball in hand was a mental issue after his injury in 2015 but if Shaun is to get back to being the attacking threat the Warriors need him to be he needs to attack the line more, this has a flow-on effect for the rest of the team as the more the opponents have to focus on defending Shaun the more gaps open up for the rest of the side,

In regards to Shaun kicking options, it felt like every fifth tackle in the red zone, Shaun just put a grubber kick in, yes a good grubber can result in a try or repeat set but if all you do is the grubber, the opposition can start preparing for it and defuse it with ease.

If Foran gets cleared to play in 2017 I feel that Shaun will have no excuses to not play the highlight reel football we all know and love.

Manu Vatuvei

I feel Manu's time is coming to an end, 2016 was not a great year for the beast, poor performances, off field issues and young players breathing down his neck.

I don't know what was going on in Manu's mind but it clearly affected his football, there were games where he showed glimpses of his past form but they were few and far between.

He has lost some of his pace and still has issues with his ball handling but on a positive note Stephen Kearney does seem to get the best out of him so hopefully, the Beast returns in 2017 in a better frame of mind.

I want to see the Beast back but if he cannot get back into for the Warriors have to let him go.

In Summary

So 2016 was a disappointment.

Yes, it definitely wasn't the worse season the Warriors have had but with all the signings and preseason talk, the Warriors were meant to be a playoffs team.

The Warriors needed to reset and start changing the culture that has developed at this club.

Eric Watson and Jim Doyle have made changes all over the place to try and achieve this, with a new coach and a new football advisory board of Graham Henry, Awen Guttenbeil, Eric Mangini and Owen Eastwood.

Will this help? or is this just more confident preseason talk to suck the fans into a false sense of security?

 For the sake of this fans sanity, I hope 2017 brings the results the Warriors always promise but never deliver.

What were you thoughts on the 2016 season?

Who was your Player of the year?

Who was your biggest disappointment?

Do you feel the Warriors have made the changes required for success?

Let me know your thoughts below

NRL 2016 Round 26 Review: Embarrassing showing sums up 2016 for Warriors

Copyright Photos: David Joseph / www.photosport.nz

With all 2016 playoff hopes dashed the Warriors had one game left before they could turn their focus onto 2017.
A good performance against the Parramatta Eels was required to try and end the season on a positive note but an embarrassing 40-18 loss just served to plunge the dagger further into the hearts of the Warriors faithful that sat in the heavy rain witnessing a truly amateur performance.

For the first 20 minutes, the Warriors appeared to have come to play pushing out to a 12-0 lead.
Then the errors that have plagued this team came back and the Warriors went from bad to worse and found themselves constantly on the back-foot yet again.
Defensively the Warriors were found out and as a result were punished.
A lack of desperation was present yet again and the Warriors just appeared to put their heads in the sand and give up in what was a bitterly disappointing way to close out the 2016 season.

My Warrior of the game goes to Simon Mannering yet again, in comments duplicated from Round 25 Simon appears to be the only player putting in 100% every game week in and week out, I wonder how tempted he has been to test the market and move to another NRL club as I'm confident that any of the other clubs would sign him if they were the chance.

My Warrior who needs to improve is a tie this week between Ben Matulino and Jacob Lillyman.
The senior front rowers have been lacking all season and I would rather release both of them and sign another prop that is willing to put in the effort week in and week out grinding the metres instead of having the back line do it.

Sitting in the rain, losing the feeling in my hands due to being cold and wet, I thought back to the Golden-Point loss to the Cronulla Sharks where the Warriors were fighting for every metre and defending aggressively.
Where did that team go?
Going from taking the first (at the time) placed team to the wire to losing the last four games in a row conceding 151 points and only scoring 70 points themselves.
To go from playoff contenders to an embarrassment, where did it go wrong?
Was the middle of the season improvement just an illusion, a series of games where the Warriors were more lucky than good?

I cannot honestly say, the Warriors need to have a serious look at every facet of their organisation in the oncoming months in order to actually be competitive in 2017.
Be it coaching changes, roster changes, a change in preseason
training or a change in training in general.
Whatever can be fixed Warriors please go and fix it!

So that's the Warriors 2016 season all done, I will be writing a 2016 season review shortly so be on the lookout for that in the upcoming weeks but before that, I will leave you with some questions.

How would you describe the 2016 season?
What changes would you make for 2017?
Do you give the Warriors a chance of succeeding next season?

Let me know your thoughts below.

NRL 2016 Round 25 Review: Lack of effort eliminates Warriors from Playoff race

Copyright Photo: Shane Wenzlick / www.photosport.nz

With the Penrith Panthers getting a close victory over the Gold Coast Titans, the Warriors still had a chance to compete in the 2016 playoffs, all that was needed was a win over the Wests Tigers to keep them in contention.
With their season on the line and playing at Mount Smart you would expect the Warriors to pick their performance up a level but the Warriors threw away a 24-18 lead to lose 36-24.

Yes, there were two Warriors tries denied by the NRL Bunker but I believe only one of them should have been allowed anyway as the try from Solomona Kata did have a forward pass involved.
Even if both of those tries had been allowed, the Warriors would most likely have still fallen away in the final 10 minutes.
As a fan in the stands, it was incredibly frustrating to watch the players just jog towards the defensive line when returning kicks and the majority of the side appeared to have an apparent lack of urgency and desperation.
In what has been a consistent trend for the past month the Warriors continually dropped the ball and put themselves under extra pressure.

I feel like a broken record as I have been saying the same thing every week but I will say it again, the Warriors cannot win games if they continue to make schoolboy errors and have a lacklustre defense.
The visible lack of effort is a serious concern for the future of this club and I think the coaching staff will have to seriously look at their current squad and possible start to think about moving some of the dead weight.

My Warrior of the game goes to Simon Mannering, in a team full of men who appear to not care, Simon continues to give it 100% and tackle everyone that crosses his path.
Simon deserves a team that will try and match his dedication and for the past five years at minimum, he has not had that support from his teammates.
Hopefully (and in typical Warriors fan speak) the team will be better for not only Simon but for all the fans as well.

My Warrior who needs to improve is Ben Matulino, I don't know what has happened to Ben this season but after a player of the year season last year, he has simply failed to show up this year.
As a former prop, I've always have a soft spot for the front rowers and generally give them more leeway when reviewing games but Ben has been a disappointment to me and if I was in the Warriors management and coaching staff I would possibly be looking at moving Ben on.
Perhaps in the offseason, the Warriors staff can pinpoint where Ben has gone wrong this season and get him back into form.

With the season now over the Warriors face the Parramatta Eels in a match with nothing but pride on the line for both clubs.
The Warriors will need to come out strong and put on a good display for the ever suffering Warriors fans to end the season on a high.

What were your thoughts on this match?
With the end of the season near, what changes would you make to the Warriors?
Would you bring the young players up for the last game of the season now that the Warriors are our of the race?

Let me know below.

NRL 2016 Round 24 Review: Warriors outplayed and outclassed in Townsville

Copyright Photo: Getty images

The Warriors travelled to Townsville to face the North Queensland Cowboys in a must-win match to keep their playoffs hopes alive and for the second week in a row when the Warriors had the chance to control their own destiny they crumpled under pressure.

The Warriors were outclassed by the Cowboys who dominated them in all facets of the game.
They kept the pressure on the Warriors and kept them camped in their own half for the majority of the game and the Warriors were never in the contest losing 34-6.

The biggest issue in the past fortnight has been the Warriors handling errors.
For two weeks in a row, the Warriors have dropped the ball early in their sets and almost always when they are in their own half.
When you give any team let alone the reigning premier Cowboys, all the possession and territory you are going to struggle to compete.
The Warriors were bullied into submission and the Cowboys made them look like amateurs.

Shaun Johnson went missing in this game and left Ata Hingano to attempt to lead the side around on his debut.
Ata was one of the only highlights in this match, he got more minutes than he was expecting and when Shaun threw up the white flag, Ata showed signs of fight but unfortunately the Warriors forwards were never in the game.
The forward pack has been laughably average, Ben Matulino has offered nothing to the Warriors all season and Jacob Lillyman has been a shadow of his former self since returning from State of Origin duty.
If I was involved with the coaching staff, I would be dropping both Matulino and Lillyman and bringing Bunty Afoa and either James Gavet or Toafofoa Sipley into their spots.
Watching this game it looked like the Backline was doing the majority of the hit ups
when you get the third tackle and Blake Ayshford is taking the hit up instead of a big forward you just have to scratch your head.
It just looks and feels like the team has given up on the season with the exception of maybe 3 or 4 players who still seem to be putting the effort in.

My Player of the day goes to Simon Mannering, Simon was out there tackling anyone who crossed his path, if the rest of the team just put 15% of the effort that Simon does on game day the Warriors would be a much-improved team.
There were times in that game where you could see the frustration on Simon's face at the performance the rest of the team was putting in.

My player that needs to improve goes to the entire team.
Heading to Townsville was always going to be tough but when the season is on the line you need to show up.
I don't really know what else to say but the Warriors team of last month needs to return quicksmart.

So after that loss the Warriors playoff hopes now fully rely on them not only winning their last two games but the Titans need to lose their last two games.
Could it happen, well yes there is a chance but the Warriors need to quickly return to form and ensure that they drastically improve for the last two rounds.
This week the Warriors return to Mount Smart and face the Tigers who haven't played well since the loss of James Tedesco but they did put the Warriors to the sword in the first round so they are no easy beats by any means.
I am picking the Warriors to win by 10.

What were your thoughts on the game?
What changes (if any) would you make to the team?
Would you bring Ata Hingano into the starting lineup?
Do you think the Warriors are going to make the eight?

Comment below and let me know what you think.

NRL 2016 Round 23 Review: Warriors fail to show up in woeful performance

Copyright Photo : Fiona Goodall / www.photosport.nz

The largest crowd of the season came to Mount Smart expected to witness a win over what has been a disappointing Rabbitohs outfit who were on a 9 game losing streak.

Instead, however, they were forced to witness a hapless Warriors side lose 41-22 in what was the Warriors worst performance since Round 11.

The game did start well with the Warriors dominating the Rabbitohs for the first 10minutes, forcing repeat sets and scoring through Solomona Kata.

Then the game started to unravel, the Warriors attack was filled with handling errors, the forwards had no go forward and were bullied all night and the last tackle options were woeful, I am not a halfback but I do not understand why every last tackle option had to be a grubber kick into the in-goal area, when you look at the Warriors right edge attack consisting of David Fusitu’a and Ken Maumalo, why not put a kick up and let them use their height advantage?

The Warriors defense was sub-par, there was no line speed, no urgency or desperation, and their defensive positioning was school boy level at best.

With the season still very much in limbo to see the Warriors perform this poorly was dishearting and with how tight the top 8 currently is this loss may very well come back to bite the Warriors and their playoff aspirations.

Watching this game live at Mount Smart the main thing I was most disheartened by was the perceived lack of effort or care shown by the majority of the team.

When the Rabbitohs finished their sets with kicks to the Warriors goal line I sat in disbelief as I watched the Warriors backs try and get the Warriors out of their own half as all the forwards just walked back slowly like it was a training run.

As a fan it felt like they didn’t care, I could only pick two forwards that looked like they were trying their best and they were Albert Vete and Ryan Hoffman.

Overall this game was a huge disappointment and this team has a lot of work to do to get back to the level required to make the playoffs.

My Warrior of the day was hard as there weren’t many options to choose from but I choose Albert Vete.

Albert was the only front rower that offered any impact with his carries, Albert has come a long way this season and I hope that his performances start to rub off of Ben Matulino and Jacob Lillyman who have not offered a lot in recent times and the Warriors need their whole prop rotation to be performing if they want to take advantage of the backline they possess.

My Warrior who needs to improve goes to Tuimoala Lolohea.

In a woeful Warriors performance Lolohea by far had the worst performance, he never seemed to be in the right position defensively and the Rabbitohs took advantage.

He needed to show some guts when defending as a lot of the tries that the Rabbitohs scored may very well have not happened if he put his body on the line, he is young and talented but he still has a long way to go and I still believe that he should not be used as a Fullback.

He has been dropped for this week’s game and I think it is the right call, I’m sure he will come back stronger from this setback.

This Round the Warriors travel to North Queensland to face the reigning premier Cowboys in what will be the Warriors last away game unless the reach the playoffs

.

The ramifications of this matchup have increased after the Warriors loss in Round 23, the Warriors really need the win here and if there is ever a good time to play the Cowboys in Queensland it might be now as their form has not been that great for the past month.

If the Warriors can return to the form they had from Round 12-22 they can walk away with the victory but if the Forwards decide to not show up again the Warriors are going to be in for a long night and possibly another year of failing to reach the playoffs.

What were your thoughts on the Warriors performance?

Do you think dropping Tuimoala Lolohea is the right call?

How confident are you that the Warriors will make the Top 8?

Let me know below.

NRL 2016 Round 22 Review: Hayne Plane fails to fly in Warriors Victory

Copyright Photo: www.photosport.nz

The Warriors kept their playoff dreams alive with a 24-14 victory over the Gold Coast Titans.

With upcoming fixtures against the Cowboy’s and an impressive Tigers outfit, this was a much-needed win for the Warriors with the bottom half of the top 8 being so tight.

All news leading up to this match was in regards to the returning Jarryd Hayne.

After two years chasing dreams away from the NRL, Jarryd had an inconsistent return; there were glimpses of the old Jarryd Hayne but the ring rust seemed a bit too much for him to overcome and the Warriors took advantage.

Overall the Warriors played extremely well; I believe this was their second best overall performance just behind the Round 16 loss to the Sharks.

It only took six minutes for the Warriors to score via a trademark David Fusitu’a diving corner try.

The game went back and forth for the rest of the first half with the scores being level 10-10 going into half time.

The Warriors were quick out of the gate in the second half with a nice try to Simon Mannering.

From there the Titans fell apart as they threw two intercepts back to back leading to two tries to Solomona Kata with the second try being an impressive solo effort by Kata.

After Kata’s last try the Warriors had a firm grip on victory and the Titans just could not get themselves back into the game.

The Warriors improved on all fronts in this performance, the defensive line has yet again improved, the days when the Warriors let soft tries in appearing to possibly be over.

The team appears to be confident and have belief in the man beside them in the defensive line and this needs to be a constant theme on game day.

They were threatening on attack and have reduced the error rate, these are all facets of their game that they need to keep up if they want to not only reach the playoffs but have some success in the playoffs.

If the Warriors continue to play this way a lot of teams will start to look over their shoulders.

My Warrior of the day goes to Solomona Kata, in a match where he was facing a close friend in Konrad Hurrell.

He had a big task marking Konrad who has started to play like he did in his first few season at the Warriors but Solomona was completely up to the task keeping Konrad on the back foot and was always testing the line when he got his hands on the ball.

And his fend for his solo effort try was one of the best I have seen in a long time.

In the past two weeks Kata has started to return to his try-scoring ways after having a bit of a drought and with him returning to this form the Warriors have legitimate scoring threats in every position in the backline.

My Warrior who needs to improve this round again goes to no one, I just cannot pick out a player that let themselves down in this game and I hope that this is a trend that continues for the foreseeable future.

Although I do hope that the goal kicking improves this week as Tuimoala Lolohea did not have a great night with the boot.

This week the Warriors return to Mount Smart to face the Rabbitohs, even though the Rabbitohs have been a shadow of the team we have come to expect in the past few season they are still a threat.

If the Warriors can stop the likes of Sam Burgess getting easy metres up the middle and keep the defensive line speed up to reduce any chances Greg Inglis has of breaking the game open then the Warriors have a good chance of adding another win to the tally which would also make it the sixth win in a row at Mount Smart.

I’m picking the Warriors to win this match by 11-20 points, I may be slightly optimistic but I think this Warriors side is on a roll and the Rabbitohs will not be able to hold them back.

What were your thoughts on the Gold Coast match?

Do you think Jarryd Hayne is going to return to his Hayne Plane form before the season is over?

Where do you predict the Warriors to be on the Ladder at the end of Round 26?

Comment and let me know.

NRL 2016 Round 21 Review: Warriors break Golden Point Hoodoo

Copyright Photo: Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz

Well, it took 3 attempts but the Warriors have finally won a game in Golden Point and it came from a moment of Brilliance from Shaun Johnson.

The big assist came from Solomona Kata when he successfully stripped the ball in a one on one tackle mere moments before Shaun took advantage of a rushing Panthers defensive line to score the game-winning try in a much needed 20-16 victory.

The win moved the Warriors back into the top eight and kept their season alive.

It’s fair to say that the Warriors should have closed the game out as they were leading 16-8 late in the second half until Josh Mansour scored two tries back to back to level the game.

Both sides took turns attempting field goals unsuccessfully largely in part to both sides ignoring the marker rules and being offside taking advantage of the whistle-shy referees too scared to give penalties in Golden Point.

The Warriors improved their defensive line thanks largely to the returning Bodene Thompson and Albert Vete.

The error rate reduced and the Warriors took advantage of the chances they were given on attack.

With how tight the competition is at present the Warriors need to keep their eye on the ball as it is possible that a one-off performance could spell the end of their playoff aspirations.

My Player of the day goes to David Fusitu’a, it would be a cop out to give this to Shaun for the game-winning try but I believe that David had a strong game scoring a double and helping keep the right edge defensively tight.

Every time the Warriors give David a challenge he keeps knocking them for six, regardless of if he playing Fullback, Wing or now Centre he continues to contribute.

With Roger Tuivasa-Sheck possibly being close to a return David may have now found his permanent home in the centres which could very well be where he will find himself all next season.

My player who needs to improve….. Well, I can’t actually pick anyone that I was disappointed with, the team played well as a unit and I cannot pick anyone out for major criticism.

This week the series of must-win games continues for the Warriors as they head over to the Gold Coast to face the Titans.

The week leading up to this clash has been filled with news with calls for Golden Point to be removed, Konrad Hurrell’s first game against the Warriors and his impending clash against Solomona Kata and in perhaps the biggest news for the Titans the signing of Jarryd Hayne and the Titans decision to add him to the bench for this weekend’s matchup.

I am picking the Warriors to win this contest narrowly.

In regards to Golden Point, I’m really not swayed either way, it be an exciting part of the game when a team scores an amazing try to earn the victory but it can also a boring kick-fest.

I think one solution would be to remove Golden Point from the round robin matchups at least.

The Konrad vs Kata clash should be exciting to watch, with Konrad returning to the performances he use to give in a Warriors jersey a few seasons ago.

The move to the Titans has rejuvenated Konrad and I still think it was the best decision he could have made.

Solomona Kata will have his work cut out for him marking Konrad but I am confident that he will keep him contained.

And the lastly Jarryd Hayne is now a Gold Coast Titans.

I am surprised that the Titans were the team to nab Hayne but I guess the Titans fans can thank Daly Cherry-Evans for walking out on his deal with the club as that gave them enough money to become the top bidder.

I don’t expect much from Jarryd of the bench this week against the Warriors or for that matter the rest of this season but I think with a full preseason under his belt he could help make the Titans title contenders.

What were your thoughts on the performance against the Panthers?

Which position do you think David Fusitu’a should play for the rest of this season as well as next season?

What are your thoughts on Golden Point?

And lastly, how do you think Jarryd Hayne will perform for the Titans this weekend?

Let me know below.

NRL 2016 Round 20 Review: Late fight back not enough for Warriors

Copyright Photo: Mitch Cameron / www.photosport.nz

The Warriors lost 26-22 in their second Golden Point defeat in a row in what was their third Golden Point loss in Four Games.

The 26-22 scoreline was flattering for the Warriors as the Raiders were on their way to a large victory until Thomas Leuluai and David Fusitu’a clawed the Warriors back into the game.

Unfortunately, the Warriors continued their recent trend and could not close out the game and succumbed to the third try of a Jarrod Croker hat trick.

The Warriors showed intent on attack but lacked execution and failed to convert on the chances that the Raiders gave them.

The defensive line speed was not to the level we have come to expect in the past two months and hopefully, this is not a sign of the return of the end of the season slide the Warriors presented us with last season.

If the Warriors can improve their line speed and start to threaten on attack again, they still will have a chance to play finals football.

I believe they need to win at least four of the last six games which with their run home is still manageable.

My player of the day goes to Thomas Leuluai.

He played his heart out and when the Warriors needed a miracle he brought them back into the game by just simply attacking the line (Which is a subject I am going to mention below).

The Warriors are going to miss Thomas next season; he is the settled solid Ying to Shaun Johnson’s Yang.

His defense is underrated for a half and whoever is going to take his place next season has a lot to live up too.

I’m still not sold on Tuimoala Lolohea being five-eighth next season but I am happy to be proved wrong.

My player who needs to improve goes to Shaun Johnson.

Shaun needs to get back to attacking the line, my memory may be fuzzy but I do not recall Shaun running even once in this game.

When Shaun hits the line he puts the defense in two minds which opens up opportunities not just for him but for the entire team, if the Warriors are to play finals football Shaun needs to step up and return to his attacking form.

This week the Warriors return to Mount Smart to face the Penrith Panthers in a must-win match.

Both teams are neck in neck in the quest to make the eight.

The Panthers always seem to perform against the Warriors so this will be a tough battle.

If the Warriors can improve their execution and put pressure on Nathan Cleary the battle will be half won.

Andrew McFadden has selected an interesting side with Tuimoala Lolohea moving to fullback with David Fusitu’a going to centre and Blake Ayshford being sent to the interchange.

I’m not sure about the side as I like David at fullback and I think having a centre on the interchange is a waste of an interchange spot but will don’t know what Andrew’s game plan is until we witness it unfold on Saturday night.

I’m picking the Warriors to win this won by 6 and hopefully we do not witness another Golden Point heartbreaker.

What were your thoughts on the game?

Who was the standout player for you?

Who was the disappointment?

What do you think of McFadden’s 17 for the Panthers game?

Let me know below.

NRL 2016 Round 19 Review: Perth Curse Continues

Copyright Photo: Daniel Carson / photosport.co.nz

The Warriors made the long journey over to Perth to play the Manly Sea eagles in Round 19, and the horrible track record the Warriors have playing in Perth and also playing in Sea Eagles continued with the Warriors losing in Golden Point 15-14.

Both of the Warriors defeats in the past month have been in Golden Point, which shows that the Warriors have improved and are no longer a 60minute team, this team now needs to focus on closing games out and if they find themselves in Golden Point situations again how to set up for the wind (No props sitting at first receiver and trying to kick field goals).

The Weather for this game was miserable and the Warriors made the game a lot harder for themselves with some poor defence and the Sea Eagles scored some quick tries and took advantage of the Warriors poor discipline and slotted a penalty goal.

Bunty Afoa continued his dream start as a Warrior scoring two tries back to back bringing the Warriors back into the game at halftime only being behind  14-12.

The second half was a tight encounter with the only points scored via an Issac Luke penalty goal.

The Warriors had a chance to take the game with Solomona Kata failing to dive on the ball over the line and then minutes later Manu Vatuvei was forced over the sideline.

Then in what was one of the most confusing moments in this contest Sam Lisone stood in at first receiver on the last tackle and made the worst attempt of a Field Goal I’ve seen in many years.

After that disaster, both teams went into Golden Point and after a few missed attempts, Daly Cherry-Evans broke the Warriors fans hearts when he finally slotted the winning field goal.

Firstly as a former prop I had dreams of getting a game-winning field goal but I was never stupid enough to try and do it in an actual game, I have no idea what Sam Lisone was thinking and I really hope that Sam finally starts to understand that he is not a playmaker and focusses on getting the Warriors going forward with big runs.

Secondly the Warriors have improved in the past month and are now no longer a 60 minute team but the Warriors need to improve their ability to close games out, in both Golden Point losses it looked like the Warriors were clueless, if the Warriors want to be a consistent threat in the NRL they need to improve their execution, which brings me to my last thought…..

Thirdly the use (Or lack Thereof) of Tuimoala Lolohea.

Lolohea was not used until the 82 minute of this game and has again been named on the bench for Round 20.

Now unlike a lot of the Warriors fans I do not think Lolohea is going to work for us in the halves as I feel his game style is too similar to Shaun Johnsons and if you look at when Shaun plays his best, it is when he has a stable half partner.

Now I could be completely wrong and the two of them in the halves could be a master stroke, but in regards to where he should be playing right now I would be playing him at centre and moving Solomona Kata to the wing and I would move Manu Vatuvei to the bench and use him as a Forward of the bench as Manu’s time on the wing is done but the Warriors can still use him for his metre gaining ability up the middle.

My Warrior of the day goes to Bunty Afoa, this young man as done nothing but impress me in his first two games.

His defensive game, attacking ability and general game day attitude are all remarkable for a young man at the start of his career and I think he will be putting a lot of pressure on the senior members of this team and make them fight for their spot in the game day 17.

My player that needs to improve goes to Sam Lisone.

I'm sorry to mention it again but Sam you are a prop forward, you may (Like most props I know) think that you have all the playmaking skills in the world but in reality, you don’t and you need to leave the pretty stuff to the backs.

You do not see Charlie Gubb trying to be a playmaker, do yourself and the Warriors a favour and follow in Charlie's footsteps, please.

The Warriors travel to Canberra to face the Raiders in what is a must-win game for them now.

Another lost could see the Warriors fall out of playoff contention.

The last truly horrible performance from the Warriors was also against the Raiders so they will look at making amends for that performance.

The pundits and experts have all picked the Raiders to win this one but I have a feeling that the Warriors are going to fire for this game and pick the Warriors to win by 12 or under.

What were your thoughts on the Perth performance?

Do you think Tui best position is five-eighth?

What would you do with Manu?

And lastly, if you were in Sam’s shoes would you have tried to kick the game-winning field goal?

Let me know you thoughts down below

NRL 2016 Round 17 Review: Victory in Mannering Milestone

Copyright Photo: Fiona Goodall / www.photosport.nz

Round 17 saw the Warriors face the Gold Coast Titans in a hard fought encounter.

In a match that was not only Simon Mannering’s 250^th game as a Vodafone Warrior but also the 250^th game played at Mount Smart Stadium, the Warriors came from behind to defeat the Titans 27-18.

The Titans were quick to silence the boisterous Warriors fans with a quick 90 meter try to Josh Hoffman from a poorly placed grubber kick from Blake Ayshford, Blake made up for his error a few minutes later with an 85-metre intercept try.

Both teams went back and forth until the Titans got their second try by using Nene Macdonald’s height advantage over Tuimoala Lolohea.

An Error from the Titans gave the Warriors a sniff and they took it with both hands with Tuimoala Lolohea scoring with mere inches to spare in the corner making it 10 all at halftime.

Both sides traded penalty goals in the first 20 minutes of the second half and the game was on a knife-edge until Shaun Johnson took advantage of a gap in the Titans defensive line and scored a 60-metre try.

Bodene Thompson scored minutes later to take the game out of reach for the Titans who did finish the game with a late try to Cameron Cullen.

Overall it wasn’t the best display from the Warriors but they managed to claw their way back into the game and take advantage of the Titans errors.

Their defensive line was a let-down and they need to regain the defensive line speed that has been so impressive in the past month.

The forwards need to focus winning the battle up the middle because the backline will not be able to be unleashed if they are continually on the back foot.

But on a positive note the Warriors are playing tough and getting results, they also no play for the entire 80 minutes instead of falling off in the final 20minutes which will worry a lot of teams that have to face them in the upcoming rounds.

My player of the day goes to Bodene Thompson.

Yet again Bodene put in another impressive display, I would place him as my player of the year so far as although he may not be scoring the fancy tries he is making a lot of the metres each week for the team and is always high up on the teams tackle count.

My player who needs to improve this round goes to Charlie Gubb.

With Ryan Hoffman being ruled out of the game with a virus, Charlie made the move to the starting lineup as Lock and I’m not sure if he was uncomfortable in that position or if he is not fit enough to be playing big minutes.

I'm sure the performance of debutant Bunty Afoa did not help matters as Bunty played a tremendous game and kept Charlie on the sidelines with his performance.

Both Charlie and Bunty have tremendous abilities and will have big futures with this club and I'm confident Charlie will learn from this game and come back strong in the weeks to come.

This win took the Warriors into the top eight and with a bye in Round 18 the Warriors get another two points and will stay in the eight.

The road home is not that bad for the side with only one game against a current top four side so if the Warriors continue to play the way they have in the past 6 weeks they have a very good chance of playing finals football for the first time since 2011.

Round 19 sees the Warriors travel to Perth to play the Manly Sea-Eagles in what will be a very tough game.

The Warriors have not had a good time in Perth but this Warriors team has shown that they can overcome adversity and I believe they will be leaving Perth with the victory over what has been a disappointing Manly team.

What are your thoughts on

the game vs the Titans?

Who do you think had the best performance?

Where do you think the Warriors will end up on the ladder by the end of round 26?

Let me know down below.

NRL 2016 Round 16 Review: Warriors go down in Golden Point Nailbiter

Copyright Photo: Mitch Cameron / www.photosport.nz

After a tough performance in round 15, the Warriors travelled to Cronulla to face the first place Sharks.

The Warriors have had three wins on the trot but the Sharks have been playing well and are currently on a 10 game winning streak.

My thoughts before the match were optimistically hopeful of the Warriors pulling out an upset but I can honestly admit I was worried that the Warriors would get dealt too by the well-oiled Sharks team.

Thankfully that was not the case as the Warriors were the better performing team on the night but lost by a James Maloney field goal in golden point.

The Warriors elected to move Tuimoala Lolohea to the bench and start Jonathan Wright on the wing in what was, in my opinion, a strange choice given how key Lolohea has been to this Warriors side this season.

In the first 30 minutes, the Warriors made too many errors but the improved defense we have witnessed from this side the past month keep the Sharks from scoring from these errors.

The Warriors crossed first with Blake Ayshford taking advantage of a nice break from David Fusitu’a and then moments later Jonathan Wright went over after Shaun Johnson broke through the Sharks line.

With ten minutes to go in the first half, the Warriors appeared to have a lapse in performance and the Sharks took advantage scoring back to back tries through Michael Ennis and Ricky Leutele to take the lead into halftime 12-10.

The Warriors looked to come out in the second half in the same way they started the first half until Jonathan Wright dropped a pass with no one in front of him, the Sharks again took advantage of this and went the length of the field and were awarded a penalty try after Simon Mannering held back Jason Bakuya.

After a lot of back and forth, Thomas Leuluai managed to get across the line and a penalty goal by Issac Luke tied the match up and took the game into golden point.

Both teams had chances of taking the match in golden point before James Maloney slotted a horrible looking field goal to get the eleventh win in a row for the Sharks.

This game was by far one of the better performances by the Warriors this season, yes there were still silly errors and penalties and at times the defensive line fell apart but this team has shown that they can play arguably the best team in the NRL this season at their home ground and push them to the limit.

I believe that the Warriors were the better side on the day and if Lolohea was starting instead of Wright and the penalty try wasn’t awarded that the Warriors would have walked away with the win.

The penalty try is a head scratcher for me as I don’t believe it was the right call, it should have been a sin-binning to Simon and a penalty as you could not say that the Sharks were certain to score in that situation.

Overall I was happy with the performance, there is still lots to work on but the remaining games left for the Warriors this season is not that bad with only one game left against a current top four side so they still have a chance to get into the top eight (Especially once the Eels have their points deducted – if that ever actually happens).

My player of the game goes to Simon Mannering, Simon was on fire in this game with the only mistake being the penalty try.

He made 69 tackles in this match (The most by any player this round) and gives his all every game, I think standing down as captain has helped him focus on getting back to the level we expect from him as Warriors fans.

If he continues to perform like this the Warriors will be climbing up the ladder in no time.

My player who needs to improve is Jonathan Wright, his ball handling is in need of a lot of work, you can give him a pass of the dropped intercept and perhaps even the second intercept attempt (I think the correct call would have been to dive on the ball instead of trying to scoop it up), but dropping the ball when you are metres from the try line with no defenders in front of you is soul destroying for a fan to witness.

I think Wright is a decent footballer but should only be making the Warriors side as injury cover and should never get the call up over Lolohea again.

This week the Warriors face the Gold Coast Titans at Mount Smart Stadium in what is the 250^th game played at Mount Smart and also Simon Mannering's 250^th game.

This is yet again another must win for the Warriors and this special occasion will only help the Warriors run away with the win here, so I'm picking the Warriors to win 13+.

What were your thoughts on the game vs the Sharks?

Was the penalty try ruling correct?

Would you have Jonathan Wright in your lineup?

What’s your score prediction against the Titans?

Comment and let me know.