NZ Warriors 2021 Round 7 Review: Hughes puts injury ravaged Warriors to sword but rookies show promise

After Round six's improved performance against the Dragons, the Warriors made the trip to AAMI Park to face the Storm in their annual Anzac day clash.

The Warriors came into this match with plenty of players in the casualty ward, leaving many fans, including myself, fearing for the worse but also excited to see the debuts of youngsters Rocco Berry and Reece Walsh. After looking competitive for the first ten minutes, the Storm ran away with a comprehensive 42-20 victory.

Well, I can't say I was surprised about the outcome here, the Storm has a long history of putting big scores on the Warriors on Anzac Day, and this match was no different. 

A try to former Warriors loan player George Jennings in the third minute got the scoring started before the Warriors responded in the seventh minute when Ken Maumalo scored from a nice cutout pass. The match was looking to be a tight tussle until the sin-binning of Josh Curran after the bunker controversially claimed that he made illegal contact to Jennings head. With a man down and inexperience players on the edge, the Storm made scoring look easy with Jahrome Hughes causing the Warriors plenty of issues, having a hand in four tries in quick succession via Felise Kaufusi, Nicho Hynes and a double by Reimis Smith, taking a 26-4 lead into the break. The Warriors attempted to make a contest the out of the match when Ben Murdoch-Masila barged his way over in the 43rd minute. This appeared to give the New Zealand side a second wind, with their attack looking more dangerous in patches. Still, it was their defence that let them down again, with the Storm continuing to score at will with Justin Olam running over Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in the 51st minute before Josh Addo-Carr scored a double in the 64th and 67th minute to put the game beyond doubt. The Warriors attempted to end their night on a positive note, with Walsh setting up two more tries for Maumalo in the 73rd and 77th minute to hand the big winger the first hat-trick of his NRL career.

With so many players out of this match-up, I was already concerned, but then the news that Tohu Harris would miss the match had me all but write off the Warriors chances here. There were patches in this match where they looked good, making some good defensive plays and playing some positive football when on attack. However, whenever they weren't in one of those patches, the Storm made them pay. This match was always going to be a tough task, but the next month of football has four definitely winnable matches, so the future is not all doom and gloom, especially with some key players set to return in the next few weeks.

Despite the result, a few things left a smile on my face, which leads to my positives from the match.

Match Positives

The forwards didn't offer the same impact that we saw last week, but I was impressed with the performance of Ben Murdoch-Masila. He was relegated to the bench for this match but was strong when he got on the park, carrying multiple defenders with each carry and barging over for his third try of the year. With the injury to Addin Fonua-Blake, BMM is the guy in this pack that can make a dent in the defensive line, and the Warriors need to get him involved more.

I thought Reece Walsh and Rocco Berry had pretty good debuts. More on Walsh below, but Berry did not look out of place in the centres; he defended reasonably well, only missing one, and made a few nice runs ending the match with 90 metres. He hasn't played a lot of league but looks like a great prospect once he gets some games under his belt.

I liked the Warriors attack at times; in the patches where they decided to play expansive football, they took it to the Storms defensive line and asked questions. The key this week is for the Warriors to play like that for the entire match instead of showing us tiny glimpses of what they can offer. I'm not sure if the Warriors were helped with the way the team was structured, but I think with a few tweaks to the game day 17, this side could play some enterprising football.

There were things that concerned me, however, which leads me to my negative from the match.

Match Negatives

Defence, once again, is my bugbear with the Warriors missing 30 tackles. The Storm is always a dangerous side with the ball in hand, but they murdered the Warriors' left-edge defence. With many changes to the roster, it simply looked like there was a lack of trust and communication between the players. I have my fingers crossed that this is something the coaches address this week, and we see an improvement this Sunday.

While I praised the Warriors attack in patches, they fell back into old habits when they started to fall behind on the scoreboard, resorting to the one-out running that plagued the side for seasons. Judging by comments from Nathan Brown after the match, this isn't a directive from him that players need to own it and stop falling into this predictable attack. When they spread it out a little further than one of the ruck, they were troubling the Storm, who have a great defensive record so clearly getting the ball past the first man off the ruck works, so Warriors, please put this old style in the bin.

Speaking of bins, that sin-bin call against Josh Curran was one of the biggest howlers I have seen this season. I didn't think much of Matt Cecchin officiating, but this call was not his; it was the bunkers. It was a legal tackle that unfortunately resulted in Jennings getting injured due to a head clash with Curran. Losing Curran at this moment sucked all the energy out of the Warriors and turn the tide heavily in the Storms favour. I don't think it was enough to ruin any chance the Warriors had of winning, but it was a shocking call none the less. What makes this call even worse is that Curran has been sighted for his tackle and could be suspended for 3-5 weeks. If that happens, it is a travesty and technically should change the way the NRL is played; Curran had a head clash with Jennings, so if this decision holds, does this mean that any accidental head clash will result in a sin-binning and suspension. Hopefully, cooler heads prevail at the Judiciary, and he does not get punished.

Warrior of the match 

Copyright Photo: New Zealand Herald

I went with Reece Walsh as my Warrior of the round.

The Warriors have a bonafide star in the making in Walsh. While he was found wanting on defence on multiple occasions, he offered some much-needed spark to the Warriors attack; the decision to start him at fullback and move Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was an interesting one and not one I would have made and after watching his performance, I would be moving him into five-eighth right away. He has been playing there in the reserve grade, and right now, it strengthens the Warriors, keeping RTS out the back and increasing the attacking capabilities of the halves. His size has many people worried, but he showed heart and no fear when he was taking the line on, and man, does this kid has a boot on him.

I'm not sure what the Warriors plays are for Walsh for the rest of 2021, but I expect the 18-year-old to feature in the Warriors 17 for the rest of the season.

Warrior to Improve

Copyright Photo: Getty Images

My Warrior to improve is Kodi Nikorima.

I'm not sure what else there is to say about Nikorima that I haven't already said in the rest of my Warriors to improve sections that he has been involved in. He continues to fail to deliver and is proving each week that he is not a half. He ran 10 times for 51 metres and also kicked 10 times for 204 metres. It just isn't good enough, and the performance of Walsh just further highlighted the lacklustre effort Nikorima is offering. He also was a massive liability defensively, constantly moving off his man and putting extra pressure on his outside men. Besides his performance, his comments at the end of the match just rubbed me the wrong way; instead of owning up to his efforts, he pushed the blame elsewhere, citing that the coach moving him to halfback affected his game and that his edge defence was hindered by inexperienced players. This is not how an experienced player should act, in my opinion. Perhaps I am off the mark and am just used to hearing Tuivasa-Sheck not throw his teammates under the bus. Still, if it was me, I would be moving Nikorima to the bench as a utility or sending him to reserve grade for a spell to give his attitude a well-needed adjustment.

Next game's thoughts and predictions

Round 8 sees the Warriors return to the Central Coast to face a Cowboys outfit riding a three-game winning streak. This will be a tougher match than I would have predicted a few weeks back, but the Warriors stand a great chance of returning to the winner's circle here. The Cowboys have looked good the past few rounds, but I am going with a Warriors win by 10; I think the Warriors have what it takes to get the job done, just as long as the forwards do their part and the halves get the backs involved.

Team naming Tuesday will be interesting, and I'm not sure what Brown will pick this week, but if it was me, I would probably keep the backline as it was except for moving RTS back into fullback, Walsh into five-eighth and O'Sullivan back into the halfback. I would be happy to keep them how they were in the forwards, with Harris returning to lock being the only change.

Before I go, I just wanted to do a shameless plug. I have started writing a weekly segment for The Final Tackle Podcast every Monday where I recap the entire round, so if you are interested in my take on all the NRL games each week, go check it out at the link below.

The Final Tackle - Brad's Ramblings Round Recap

So that was deflating Round 7, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions?

What would you do with Reece Walsh?
Who was your player of the day?

Was I too harsh on Nikorima?

What is your score prediction for the Cowboys clash?

NZ Warriors 2021 Round 6 Review: Step in right direction as record-breaking Warriors vanquish Dragons

After Round five's embarrassing loss to the Sea Eagles, the Warriors made the trip to Netstrata Jubilee Stadium to face a Dragons on a four-game winning streak.

I was nervous about this match but was happy to get my prediction wrong with the Warriors returning to the winner's circle and the top eight with a 20-14 victory.

Well, that was a better effort, the Dragons have been on a roll, but the Warriors continue to have the edge over the St George outfit, with this being the 5th win in a row against the red V.

The Dragons drew first blood with young speedster, Cody Ramsey, crossing over in the corner in the 7^th minute. The Warriors bounced back and took the lead with two tries in the space of three minutes when Tohu Harris barged over to score, and then Paul Turner, who found himself on the field sooner than expected when Peta Hiku left the field with a shoulder injury, dived on a grubber that Matt Dufty failed to ground. Massive winger Mikaele Ravalawa bulldozed his way over in the corner in the 29^th minute to narrow the Warriors lead. The rest of the first half saw both sides shut each other down with some impressive defensive displays. The Dragons containing Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and the Warriors kept Corey Norman quiet to see the Warriors hold onto a slim 12-8 lead as the teams went into the tunnels. The second half offered more of the same, with neither side able to get the upper hand until a try by Dufty in the 59^th minute gave the Dragons back the lead. It looked like it might be all they needed to walk away with the victory, but Warriors skipper Tuivasa-Sheck took control and, in an excellent solo effort, forced his way to the try line to wrestle the game back into the Warriors favour. A penalty goal in the 69^th minute by Kodi Nikorima pushed the Warriors lead back out to 6, which lead to a tense final 10 minutes with the Dragons throwing everything they had at the Warriors defensive line. Still, the New Zealand side held firm and got the much-needed win.

I thought this was a great effort by the side, they have been awful the past few weeks offering very little of attack and struggling on defence, but they improved tenfold this match. The key now is that the Warriors build on the platform they set in this match and don't fall back into old habits. They have a tough match this week, but the next few rounds after that are definitely winnable matches.

Unlike last week, there was plenty of things that left a smile on my face, which leads to my positives from the game.

Match Positives

Just like in last years match against the Dragons, the Warriors accuracy was excellent. They broke their own record with a 98% completion rate, completing 40 out of 41 sets (it was reported as 100% until the stats were updated today). This type of accuracy is not generally associated with the Warriors, but it was good to see that they were able to keep the silly errors that plagued them in earlier rounds out of this match. If they can keep this up while also increasing their attacking opportunities, then they stand a chance to win a lot more matches. 

Speaking of attack, their attack was a lot better this week. The forwards had no issue getting the ball up the field, with the return of Bunty Afoa and Jamayne Taunoa-Brown making an immediate impact. I also loved getting to see Ben Murdoch-Masila get his first start for the Warriors; he started the match strongly and was causing plenty of headaches for the Dragons. My only concern was that Nathan Brown waited a bit too long to bring him back on for my liking, but I have made no secret of my man-crush on BMM. Fingers crossed, we see the big starting again this week. With forwards doing the job upfront, the halves started to show promise, getting themselves involved more and, more importantly, getting Roger Tuivasa-Sheck into prime positions to attack. This is a great sign, and hopefully, it continues for the rest of the season.

The Warriors defence also improved, with them ending the match with 91.2% tackle efficiency. They kept their defensive line reasonably solid. Joshua Curran helped in the aspect, making a team-high 50 tackles. I think that may have been why he got the call up this week, he is always solid on the defensive side of the game, and I'm sure he will be in the gameday 17 for some time. It could also be down to the team starting to trust each other. Whatever the reason behind this is, please show me more. While the defence was better this week, the Warriors still missed 26 tackles, so they would need to bring that number down.

There weren't many concerns for me this week, but I did have one, which leads me to my negative from the match.

Match Negatives

The only negative I have from this match is injuries. With Addin Fonua-Blake, Euan Aitken, Chanel Harris-Tavita, and David Fusitu'a already out, the Warriors had five players head off for scans today with Peta Hiku Adam Pompey and Paul Turner all expected to spend times on the sideline. This is a massive hit to the club, especially with Pompey and Turner's efforts in this match. Time will tell how long these guys will be out for, and Nathan Brown has said that we may see the likes of Hayze Perham and Reece Walsh come into the side as early as this week. The Warriors are not the only team suffering from injuries, but generally, when you are ravaged by injuries, your season doesn't end well. Fingers crossed that the injuries suffered in this round are not too bad.

Warrior of the Game

Copyright Photo: Getty Images

My Warrior of the match was Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.

In his 100th match for the Warriors, their skipper was at his usual excellent form. He lead the side in running metres with 249 from 26 runs, broke the line twice, had 7 line breaks and 1 offload, not to mention his match-winning try. He always delivers, and seeing him getting involved more on attack means only good things for the club. It's still such a shame that he is leaving at the end of the year, but you can never question his commitment to the 2021 campaign. I just hope that New Zealand fans get a chance to send him off in style with a match or two at Mount Smart.

Warrior to Improve 

I have watched the game several times, and I still couldn't pick a Warrior to improve. I think the improved effort was spread across the 17. The usual suspects in this section, Wayde Egan and Kodi Nikorima had better games, with Egan getting the ball out of the ruck quicker and Nikorima taking charge in the halves. 

Next game's thoughts and prediction

Round 7 sees the Warriors head to AAMI Park to face the Storm in their annual ANZAC clash. This match always fills me with dread as the Storm love to put a cricket score on the Warriors this time every year.

The Storm made easy work of the Roosters this round and have been in excellent form as of late and will be the toughest challenge for the Warriors so far. I feel that unless the Warriors play the game of their lives, they will be on the way to another ANZAC day defeat. So I am picking the Storm to win by 18. With the injuries hitting the side, I'm not too sure what the side will look like, but if Pompey, Hiku and Turner are all out, I would bring Walsh onto a wing and Perham into the centres. It may still be too early to bring Walsh in, especially against a side like Melbourne (I thought he was on a development deal, but with Brown saying he may play this week, I guess he isn't?). Still, the troops are dwindling, and the only other option would be to move a second-rower into the centres and put Perham on the wing, so I say give the young boys a shot.

So that was a much improved Round 6, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Who would you bring in to replace the injured backs?
Who was your player of the day?
Did you have a player to improve?
What is your score prediction for the Storm clash?

NZ Warriors 2021 Round 5 Review: Warriors at embarrassingly worst as Sea Eagles end losing streak

After Round four's disappointing loss to the Roosters, the Warriors returned to Central Coast Stadium to face a Sea Eagles side, desperate to get themselves in the winner's circle for the first time in 2021.

The game was messy, with both sides making plenty of errors, but the class of Daly Cherry-Evans was the difference in the end, with the veteran halfback keeping composed after Josh Schuster had a field goal charged down to nail his own a few moments later to hand his side a 13-12 victory.

What a horrible game to watch, Manly have been woeful this season, and they were no different in this match. However, the Warriors came down to the Sea Eagles level and played the worst I have seen them since round 10 of last season (there 46-10 loss against the Sharks). The Warriors were missing plenty of talent this week but still had a side that should have beaten Manly, but they just failed to fire. After a poor first half where the sides went into the sheds level at 6 all, I was hoping to see some improvement from the Warriors second half like we had seen in previous weeks. After only 5 minutes, this looked to be the case when Sean O'Sullivan spied a hole in Manly's defence and darted away for the Warriors second try of the match. Instead of kicking into top gear, the Warriors stalled but looked likely to hold on for a narrow victory. An error scooping up a grubber kick by Kodi Nikorima saw the scores level again in the final 20 minutes of the match. The Warriors had chances to get themselves back in the lead. Still, the issues they have had this season with their red-zone attack continued as the spine constantly appeared to not be on the same page with some questionable fifth tackle options and a horrible field goal attempt by O'Sullivan. An error by Jack Murchie inside the Warriors half handed Manly the chance they needed, and after Schuster's attempt at a field goal was charged down, the Sea Eagles regathered the ball, and Cherry-Evans would not be denied.

So overall, it was a brutal game to watch as a Warriors fan. not much to praise, if I'm honest. I was concerned about the Warriors performance against a top tier side. Still, after seeing them fail to deliver against the potential wooden spooners, I am genuinely worried about the Warriors 2021 campaign. I expect to see the Warriors bounce back this week when some of their players return, but yeah, they need to show some improvement quickly or see their playoff aspirations crumble.

There wasn't much I like about this match, but there were a couple of things that I could pick out, which leads me to my positives from the game.

Match Positives

There weren't many players that stood out this week, but I liked what I saw out of Marcelo Montoya. He was looking for work, added some much-needed pace to the backline and pulled his weight defensively. It wasn't a fantastic performance by any means, but he offers something different, and I liked what I saw, and I think if he continues to get game time, he will build and be a decent fill-in until Euan Aitken returns.

I also like Sean O'Sullivan, I know he has been getting plenty of criticism from the fans, but he is out there trying. The Warriors halves are not at the level they need to be, but while he is trying things and they are not working, I like the fact that he is at least trying things. I will quote a fan of my page, John Sweetman, who said he saw a comparison between O'Sullivan and James Maloney, and I agree 100%, O'Sullivan just needs time to get his feet wet, and he could become a good little halfback for the Warriors. If it was up to me, I would be keeping him at halfback, moving Chanel Harris-Tavita into five-eighth when he returns from injury and moving Nikorima to hooker. It's just a thought, but I'm no coach and a retired front-rower, so my advice on how to improve the spine may well be way off the mark.

My last positive is the return of several players next week. Jamayne Taunoa-Brown and Bunty Afoa will return from suspension, Bayley Sironen will return from injury, and while he is still meant to be out for another week, we might see Peta Hiku back. Having these guys back should improve the Warriors chances of getting back in the winner's column.

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

Match Negatives

The Warriors attack continues to plenty to be desired. The Warriors have very little trouble getting to their oppositions red zone, but once they are there, they look lost at times and just can't capitalise on the scoring opportunities. Egan continues to be slow at getting the ball out of the ruck. Kodi Nikorima is not inserting himself into the attack. Adam Pompey had me pulling my hair out with his refusal to feed Ken Maumalo the ball, giving me flashbacks to Solomone Kata. The only time Maumalo was used properly in the Sea Eagles half was when Roger Tuivasa-Sheck put Jack Murchie into a hole, who then passed to Maumalo for a try. All I want to see is the Warriors used their wingers on attack; they can score tries, so give them a chance.

The Warriors made 12 errors in this match, and it was a huge momentum killer. They were dropping easy offloads, making errors in the play the ball area and just gifting the Manly too much ball inside their own half. You just cannot afford to play with such a lack of respect for the ball against any team in the NRL because they will make you pay, as we saw here.

Nathan Brown praised the Warriors defence, but I can't; the Warriors missed 27 tackles. Despite some good defensive showings by a select few, The Warriors defensive line is still too slow, and if they continue to deliver at this level, I feel that heavy defeats will be on the horizon. Like I said last week, defence is all about attitude and having trust in your teammates, so fingers crossed we start to see some improvement soon.

Warrior of the Game

Copyright Photo: Getty Images

My Warrior of the match was Jazz Tevaga.

It was hard to highlight a player this week after being so disappointed with the performance, but in the end, I had to go with Tevaga. He lead the forwards with running metres, earning 145 metres from 16 runs; he also lead the side with 51 tackles. However, he did miss 7. He also lead the side with 3 offloads. Leading in so many stats made it easy to pick him out of the bunch, and you cannot fault Tevaga for the effort he puts in. He has heart in spades and never takes a backstep; he has worked on his fitness which has seen his error rate drop, which is great to see; if more of his teammates could bring the same level of effort as him, then this side would be a tough team to beat.

Warrior to Improve

Copyright Photo: Photosport

My Warrior to improve is Kodi Nikorima. Nikorima had a great chance to have a field day against a Sea Eagles side that has failed to deliver this season, but instead, he went into his shell. With the Warriors losing Chanel Harris-Tavita and having the inexperienced Sean O'Sullivan in the halves, it is up to Nikorima to get the Warriors attack in order, but he continues to struggle. He plays his best when running the ball, and behind his massive pack, he has had plenty of chances to run and gun, but he seems not to be capable of doing it consistently. The Warriors need to turn their season around, but if he doesn't step up sooner rather than later, they will continue to struggle.

Round 6 sees the Warriors travel to Netstrata Jubilee Stadium to face a Dragons side on a four-game winning streak. I picked the Dragons to earn the Wooden Spoon this year, and they have been making me eat humble pie. They have no issues scoring points, and the way they defended against the Eels this round has me really worried about how the Warriors will fare. Brown has players returning this week, but I also think he needs to make some other changes in the backs to inject some attacking threats into this side. If Hiku returns, I would drop David Fusitu'a and move Montoya to the wing. I also would not mind seeing Hayze Perham replace Pompey in the centres. Other players could also come in, but Brown needs to try something because just waiting for the current players to play themselves into form is not working.

I am going into this match without much confidence, so I'm picking the Dragons to win here by 18.

We had the great news that Reece Walsh has joined the Warriors effective immediately, and the Warriors have not had to swap a player to get him early to try and leave on a positive note. It's a win-win, I think, as the Warriors keep the young players with potential while also getting Walsh in early to learn from Tuivasa-Sheck. I'm not sure if Walsh has been signed directly into the Warriors top 30 or if he is still on a development deal this year, but I wouldn't mind seeing the Warriors throw him on a wing at some stage this season to get some games under his belt.

So that was a demoralising Round 5, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

What would you do with Reece Walsh?
Who was your player of the day?
Who was your player to improve?
What is your score prediction for the Sea Eagles clash?