NZ Warriors 2019 Round 19 Review: Heartbreak at Bankwest

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After last weeks victory in the Cake Tin, the Warriors once again made the journey over the ditch to face the Parramatta Eels at the impressive Bankwest Stadium.
A win here would have kept the Warriors playoff dreams alive, but it wasn't to be as the Eels were victorious here in a match that will, unfortunately, be remembered more for the officiating than the entertaining display that both sides delivered.

What a disappointing game.
On the plus side, it was exciting to watch and felt like it had all the stakes of a playoff match. On the negative side, some of the calls were head-scratching, to say the least.
I don't like talking about referees or their performances. Regardless of how poor they are, you should not leave your fate in their hands (although there will be some more on the officials further below).

I thought the Warriors played well for most of the game, but there were still issues.
The Warriors started 2019, putting it bluntly as a soft team. Opposition teams only had to play 60 minutes, and the Warriors would fold towards the end, however, for the past 6 weeks, the Warriors have shown tremendous heart.
Teams, unfortunately, can still defeat the Warriors but man they have to work for it.
The Match wasn't all doom and gloom though which leads me to my positives from the match.

The back three shone in this performance with all three running over 100 metres.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck lead from the front with 267 metres and Ken Maumalo wasn't far behind with 243 metres.
Sheck is the heart of this team without a doubt when all seems lost, the Warriors can always rely on RTS to turn a half-chance into a scoring opportunity, the rest of the side just needs to move closer to his level.
The impact these two have had this season has been outstanding, and I expect them to finish 2019 strong, Maumalo is still on track to end the season as the leading try scorer if he can keep his strike rate up.

The forward's form continues to improve. Lead by Paasi and Ah Mau the forwards ran hard all night and helped the Warriors surge into the Eels half, they still need to improve their defence around the ruck area, but there's no question that they are improving.
After criticising the Warriors interchange rotation for the majority of the season, I think Kearney has finally got a good thing going.
The Forwards need to keep this level of performance going for the final six rounds if the Warriors are to sneak into the top eight.

Having a 9-2 penalty count piled against them, the Warriors should have not been in this match at all let alone in a position to win it, and that kind of effort gives me confidence that the Warriors can still have a final stab at the top eight.

There were issues, too; however, which leads me to my negatives.

The penalties need to come down, I know many will claim that some of the calls were incorrect, but there were several that were just poor discipline.
If the officials treat the Warriors differently as some fans claim then the Warriors need to ensure they keep their noses squeaky clean, give no reasons to be pinged and watch the penalty count drop.

The Warriors defence has improved, but two of the Eels tries were essentially length of the field tries due to poor defence.
Tightening up the ruck defence is the main priority for the New Zealand side but their second concern will be wrapping the ball carrier up to eliminate that second phase football that continues to hurt them.
With games against the Raiders, Sharks and Roosters coming up the Warriors defence needs to be ironclad.

My last negative is once again the Warriors 5th tackle options, the Warriors last tackle options leave a lot to be desired, but it showed some improvement with the addition of Chanel Harris-Tavita.
Blake Green was hit or miss for me in this match, making some great decisions but then also having some howlers.
However, if the forwards continue charging up the middle and the back three kept doing their thing, then the halves should have plenty of time and space to create scoring opportunities.

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My Warrior of the match goes to Chanel Harris-Tavita.
With Kodi's injury last week, Chanel returned to the Warriors starting line up for the first time since round 8 and did not miss a step.
One of my biggest complaints for the past month has been the Warriors lack of 5th tackle options, and Chanel's presence helped in that department.
His kicking game added dimension to the Warriors attack and his defensive effort was outstanding, after this display you cannot leave Chanel out of the Warriors 17, dare I say 13 for the rest of the season.
This kid is a talent and has shown that he is not overawed by the occasion when playing first grade and I think the Warriors need to start using Chanel and Kodi as their starting halves sooner rather than later.

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I couldn't pick a Warrior to improve this week, so I have gone with the Officials.
At Graham Annesley's press conference today, he acknowledged that there were two incorrect stripping calls, an incorrect bunker call for Sivos 2nd try, Papali'is missed knock-on which leads to Lukes try, and that Tuivasa-Shecks pass was too close to call.
This poor showing has resulted in both the refs and touch judges being relegated this week.

Personally, I felt the Warriors were hard done by in this match, but I watch all the games, and I think that the referees are poor the majority of the time and show no signs of improvement. Dropping these refs will not fix the issues, and the NRL need to look at how they can fix it.
I don't know what they can do either, perhaps move back to having one referee and maybe incorporating a Captains challenge similar to what they have in cricket. Give the Captain's one challenge a half, and if you use it and overturn the decision you keep the challenge, you get it wrong, you lose it.
I'm sure there are brighter minds than mine in the NRL that can bring solutions to the table to fix the officiating and let the football be the topic at the water coolers again instead of the men with the Whistles.

Round 20 has the Warriors finally return to Mount Smart, hosting the Canberra Raiders.
The Raiders have had a great year to date and will be a real challenge.
With Issac Luke most likely missing the next two weeks due to suspension, I personally would move Kodi Nikorima to hooker and keep Chanel partnered with Green in the halves.

I have gone a run picking against the Warriors for the past fortnight, but this week I'm picking the Warriors, the Warriors will be disappointed after Round 19 and will be looking at making a statement, so I'm picking the Warriors to win here by 8.

So that was my take on a heartbreaking round 19, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

If Issac Luke is out, who would be your hooker this week?
How can the NRL fix the Referee issues that have plagued the 2019 season?
Who was your player of the match?
What is your score prediction for Round 20?

NZ Warriors 2019 Round 18 Review: Warriors season still alive after heart-stopping victory over Sharks

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After the disappointing draw in Round 17, the Warriors returned to New Zealand taking their home match to Westpac Stadium, hosting the Cronulla Sharks who after four losses in a row were desperate to get back into the winner's circle.
It wasn't to be as the Warriors came from behind, keeping their season alive with a nailbiting 19-18 victory.

I will admit that I was not confident that the Warriors would get a win here. I predicted the Sharks to win by eight here and on my drive down to Wellington for the match. The news of Ken Maumalo and David Fusitu'a not being fit to play pushed my confidence down further.
But I have never been happier to be wrong as the Warriors showed determination and a desire to win that has been sorely absent for most of 2019.
Adam Pompey did not disappoint in his debut, Blake Ayshford was also solid in his return. Fans, however, will still be hopeful that Maumalo and Fusitu'a are back for Round 19.

The Sharks have been in a slump for the past month. The frustration within the team was clearly evident as they essentially allowed the Warriors back into this match via silly errors and brain snaps.
The Warriors have lacked confidence this season, but this match should have given that a much-needed boost as they head into the final stage of the season.
There is still plenty of improvement in this side, but they can hold their heads high after this match, which leads me to my positives from the game.

With Maumalo not being able to play in this match, the Warriors forwards needed to pull their weight more than ever. And for the most part, they did with five of the pack running for over 100 metres.
Ken is vital in the start of the Warriors sets but if the pack can continue to perform like this when he returns the Warriors will be in prime position to continue notching up wins.

The Warriors dominated possession and territory, forcing the Sharks to fight out of their own red zone for the majority off their sets. The Warriors didn't convert this dominance into a lot of points (more on that below), but I believe with their confidence returning the points will start to flow if they can keep their opponents camped in their own half.

After their Golden Point defeat in round 15 and last weeks draw. It appeared that the Warriors did not have the playmakers to set up and get those narrow victories. The Warriors were smart in the final stages of this match surging up the field and allowing Blake Green to nail what was unbelievably a career first field goal.
Taking the penalties when on offer was smart even if I wasn't happy about it at the time. In the wet conditions with a Sharks team failing to keep their discipline in check, nailing those penalties keep the scoreboard ticking over and more importantly allowed the Warriors to keep hold of possession.

Lastly, I want to highlight Westpac Stadium, I haven't gone to a league match at the Cake Tin before, and I loved it.
The central location gave plenty of options for a drink both before and after the game (shout out to the View from the East stand lads who I briefly caught up with before kickoff), and despite the weather, my seats were pretty good too.
If the Warriors take a game to Wellington next season, I will be making the trip down once again.

The match wasn't perfect, though, which leads me to my negatives.

My biggest concern was the lack of execution, although the Warriors had the lion share of territory they struggled to convert it into points.
Blake Green was running the ball a lot. But for some reason, he was often doing it on the fourth tackle meaning that Kodi Nikorima had to take control of the last tackle options and as he has done for the majority of his time with the Warriors he chose to run it on the last.
The Warriors need to stop doing this so often as it is not bearing fruit. In the wet conditions, it was the perfect opportunity to either kick the ball high or place grubbers through, putting more pressure on the Sharks and ultimately lead to more tries.

The Warriors defence around the ruck area still needs plenty of work, the Sharks made them pay with sniping runs out of dummy half. Unless they tighten up the middle, you can expect the opposition in the upcoming rounds focus on attack the Warriors straight up the middle.

My last negative is errors. The Warriors completed 83% of their sets, but they still continue to make errors while in scoring positions. Errors on the first tackle of the set or directly off a scrum are coach killers and need to be scrubbed out if the Warriors are to keep their season alive.

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My Warrior of the match goes to Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
It was hard this week as Blake Green was key to the Warriors winning this match, but with his constant running on the fourth I had to go with Roger.
Despite the Warrior topsy turvy season, Roger is one of a select few players in the squad that have been consistently performing.
Rogers game stats have been through the roof for the past five weeks and this week was no different with the Fullback leading the Warriors in running metres and line breaks.
The great thing for Warriors fans and the scary thing for the opposition is that at 26 years of age, the best is yet to come from the current Dally M medalist.

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My Warrior to improve was just as hard, but it goes to Isaiah Papali'i.
Unfortunately, Papali'i was guilty of some of those errors mentioned above, and he also made some poor defensive reads, which resulted in scoring opportunities for the Sharks.
He is only in his second year in first grade, and at his young age, this is merely a hiccup. I know he will continue to grow and develop and be a better player for it.

Round 19 has the Warriors heading to the impressive Bankwest Stadium to face the Parramatta Eels.
The Eels have had a good season so far but lost in a high scoring affair in round 18 against the Manly Sea Eagles.
More troublesome for the Warriors is that the Eels have a 6-2 record at Bankwest and will be confident that they can make it 7-2 on Saturday night.

A win here could even see the Warriors creep into the top eight for the first time since round 2.
The Warriors should hopefully see the return of Maumalo and Fusitu'a (perhaps even Patrick Herbert will be back too), which will strengthen the side's attacking ability.
If the Warriors can keep the Eels camped in their own half like they did to the Sharks, then they will be well on the way to victory.
Unfortunately, I don't see the Warriors getting the win here. The Eels will be hurting from their round 17 defeat and will be looking at making a statement in front of their vocal home crowd, so I'm picking the Eels to win by 14.

So that was my take on a heartstopping Round 18, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Now sitting at ninth on the ladder, do you see the Warriors creeping into the top eight?
Who was your Warrior of the day, and your Warrior to improve?
Who has been your Warrior of the season?
What is your score prediction for Round 19?

NZ Warriors 2019 Round 17 Review: Warriors squander lead in nail-biting draw

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After last weeks narrow victory over the Knights, the Warriors were on the road once again this time heading to Suncorp Stadium to face a Brisbane Broncos outfit brimming with confidence after their defeat of the Cronulla Sharks.
With both teams sitting on 6 wins and 9 losses, walking away with a victory here was crucial to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
Despite leading 16-6 at half-time, the Warriors could not get the job done as the Broncos clawed their way back into the match and forced the game into golden point where neither team was able to gain the upper hand resulting in the first draw since 2016.

What to say about this performance?
I knew this match was going to be tough, but after that first-half lead, I thought the Warriors were well on the way to securing the win here, but it looked like they stopped trying to win the match and were too focused on holding onto the lead.
The injury to Ken Maumalo in the second half didn't help matters, and his absence left a massive hole in the Warriors attacking sets, and their last tackle options left a lot to be desired (more on that below).

It was yet another game that the Warriors should have won this year and it's frustrating to see them let precious competition points slip through their fingers once again, but at least they walked away with a point which leads me to my positives from the match.

The Warriors looked dangerous in the first half, running with intent and creating opportunities almost at will.
Peta Hiku was linking well once again with Maumalo, and they were causing headaches for the Broncos all night until Maumalo left the field, Hiku's move to the wing dampened his impact on the game slightly, but he still provided some strong runs.

Against a sizeable forward pack, the Warriors pack fronted on the attack and were in the fight for the majority of the contest, the platform they set allowed Kodi Nikorima to create some opportunities for the backline, and if the pack can keep that form going this week, you can expect to see some exciting tries.

The fitness shone again, playing for 90 minutes is no easy feat, and some of the Warriors had ridiculous stats, Tuivasa-Shecks 367 running metres and Jazz Tevaga's 72 tackles (not including Jazz ran for 184 metres also) being the standouts.
You can be disappointed in the result, but it would be unfair to not praise the individual efforts by many of the men on that field, combining those efforts as a team was where they let themselves down.

Speaking of letdowns, that leads me to my negatives from the performance.

The Warriors last tackle options were terrible, against the Knights the Warriors were making great inroads with grubber kicks, but in this match, they almost always decided to run on the last.
Nikorima has plenty of pace and can create something out of nothing at times, but they cannot do this on every set.
Blake Green needs to step up and take control of this team or move out of the way for Chanel.

The forwards may have had a good night on attack, but their defence needs work, the Warriors were weak up the middle of the park, and the Broncos took advantage, charging up the middle and utilising some nice inside balls to unleash Payne Haas and Tevita Pangai Junior.
The Warriors need to sort out their ruck defence now as the Sharks will be charging up the middle of the park all night long on Friday night.

The errors and penalties in the second half turned the tide in favour of the home team, and the Warriors have been guilty of silly mistakes all year.
Perhaps it's a case of low confidence, but when the pressure comes, the Warriors tend to fold right now, playoff hopes may be gone, but if the Warriors can sort this out, they will at least get themselves a chance to end the season on a high note.

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I never thought I would do this, but my Warrior of the night was Adam Blair.
This was Blair's best game since he joined the New Zealand club, a superb solo effort try, 188 running metres and 31 tackles rounded out a good night for the veteran second rower.
With Tohu Harris still out with injury, the Warriors need this version of Blair to stick around and lead the pack from the front.

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My Warrior to improve goes to the other second rower Isaiah Papali'i.
Papali'i did make 50 tackles, but it has been apparent in 2019 that his attack needs some work, he is prone to handling errors and makes poor decisions with the ball in hand too often.
With the wingers this team has, the second rower's ability to link with the centres to create overlaps to unleash Fusitu'a and Mauamlo in the corners is crucial, and right now you cannot bank on Papali'i being that link.
He is young and still has plenty of time to develop, and I'm hopeful that he will grow into a balance footballer and not spend his career being a tackling machine.

Round 18 sees the Warriors take a home game to Wellington when they host the Cronulla Sharks.
The Sharks have not had the best run of form recently and will be looking at turning their fortunes around with a win in the Cake Tin.
The Warriors, on the other hand, need to get the win here if they want to keep their slim top eight hopes alive.
Ken Maumalo should be fit to return, and the Sharks sound like they will be without Shaun Johnson, Josh Dugan, Josh Morris and Andrew Fifita so if the Warriors have a decent chance of getting the win here.
I don't see it unfortunately as I'm picking the Sharks to come away with the win here by 10.

It should be a good game, however, and I'm making the journey down the island to watch it in my first live game away from Mount Smart in what feels like an age.
I'm looking forward to the trip and hopefully will be able to catch up with some of you who are also making the trip.
I will be keeping an eye out of Facebook for where everyone is meeting up before the match and will let you know where I am on my page so if you see me having drinks before the game come and have a chat.

So that was my take on an unfortunate Round 17, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

How would you fix the Warriors second-half collapses?
Who was your player of the match and player to improve?
Who would be your starting lock, Tevaga or Burr?
Are you travelling to the Cake Tin and what is your prediction for Round 18?