NZ Warriors 2021 Round 25 Review: Saving the worst till last as Warriors embarrassed in Titans blowout

After round 24's defeat to the Raiders, the Warriors made their way to Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast to face the Titans. The Titans were playing for a spot in the finals and needed a win by 11 or more to make the cut, but they blew that out of the park with a dominant 44-0 victory over a Warriors team that failed to deliver in their last outing of the year.

In the early stages, the Warriors started the match strong, almost scoring tries through Euan Aitken and Matt Lodge, but both lost the ball on the line. Then the Titans struck and never looked back, scoring three tries via Jayden Campbell, Mitch Rein and David Fifita to end the first half with a 16-0 lead, with the Warriors needing a massive effort to dig themselves out of the hole they found themselves in.

That wasnt to be with Fifita scoring his second try of the afternoon in the first minute of the second half. The Warriors offered little resistance, struggling to hold onto the ball and complete their sets, only going across for one try but was denied after the pass was deemed forward. Brian Kelly crossed for the Titans fifth try, and that seemed to be the straw that broke the camels back as the Warriors imploded. They lost Jazz Tevaga to the sin-bin after he ran in and pushed Phillip Sami after a pull-apart on the sidelines. One minute later, the Warriors had two more players sent to the bin when Matt Lodge was given his marching orders for a late hit on Tyrone Peachey, and Kane Evans was marched for striking. The Titans also lost Jarrod Wallace to the bin for his part in the fight. With only 10 men on the park, the Warriors already woeful defence just fell apart, with the Titans running through three more tries through Patrick Herbert, Campbell and Moeaki Fotuaika to twist the knife further, ending the Warriors season on a sour note with the 44-0 defeat.

What a horrible way to end the season, the Warriors had nothing but pride to play for, but they left their hearts at the door. They lacked direction, discipline and respect for the ball. I had picked the Titans to win this match, but I did not see this margin happening. It was brutal to watch and even harder to write about. I'm not sure I have much else to say here, so I will just get into my positives and negatives.

First, my positives.

Match Positives

I have watched the game over several times now, and I still can't find any positives out of the match, so my only positive is that this season is over. It has been a strange season, with a few ups and many downs and Im just looking forward to taking a break from the team for a little bit. Hopefully, the players, coaching staff and club have learnt some lessons this year and can address them in the offseason to hit the ground running in 2022.

There were plenty of concerns for me, which brings me to my negatives from the match.

Match Negatives

There were so many negatives for me in this performance, but I have decided to reduce it down to my four biggest, so let's just get into it.

Errors hurt the Warriors again; last week, I wrote that I wanted to see them reduce their errors to single digits but went the other way and ended the match with 13. They were all schoolboy errors and made the Warriors look very amateur. It just seemed like one of those days where the passes didn't stick, and the further behind they fell, the worse things got. We have seen them play low error football at times throughout the season; they just need to make that the new normal in 2022 as if they make this many errors every week next season, it will be another long year.

Missed tackles were troubling once again, They have been my biggest concern all season, and they missed 33 in this match. The Warriors had gaping holes all across their line and really took a step backwards. I was hoping that with the same team playing for the last few weeks, we would see come cohesion defensively, but it just hasn't come. I still feel that the Warriors need to part ways with Justin Morgan and bring in a new defensive coach because, as they say, defence wins championships. The Warriors can kiss their finals chances goodbye in the future if they cant get their defensive structures in order.

Discipline was an issue; the Warriors conceded 8 penalties, 4 six agains and the 3 sin bins. I felt that they were hard done by with some of the calls, but you could see that the team just fell apart and frustration set in. I love watching the Warriors play aggressive football, but they need to toe the line and not give the officials any reason to ping them (as hard as that is with some of the poor officiating we have seen). Starting fights when they were frustrated shows that the team lacks some leadership out there, but I'm positive that this will improve once Tohu Harris and Shaun Johnson are back in the mix.

Lastly is this lack of heart and desire. This was the final match of the year, and the Warriors had a chance to end their disappointing season on a better note, but they barely fired a shot, and once the Titans held a 16-0 lead, it looked like the Warriors just gave up. I know it has been a tough season; the team have had to relocate and deal with getting kids in and out of schools, had many injuries and struggled to have the same team named each week. However, I wanted the team to show some resilience like some of the other teams that face adversities this year (the Roosters spring to mind) and build like we saw them do last season. This game hurt to watch, and it is tarnishing my view on the year to date and will be the lasting memory I take into the offseason, but I know my optimism will return when I write my season preview early next year.

Warrior of the Match

For the first time in quite a while, I could not pick a Warriors of the match, some players played better than others, but no one stood out enough for me to give them the nod. I hope I don't find myself in this position next season.

Warrior to Improve

Copyright Photo: New Zealand Herald

My Warrior to improve goes to Kane Evans. Every week I question why Nathan Brown picks Evans, and every week Evans shows why he shouldn't be in the side. He played just over 20 minutes and was put on report for leading with his elbow and then binned for punching for the second time this season. He just doesn't offer any positives to outweigh his negatives and is slowly climbing up my ranks as the worst signing in club history (I haven't compiled a list, but #1 for me is Jesse Royal, FYI). It looks like he will miss at least the first 5 weeks of next season due to suspension, and I hope that cooler heads prevail and he does not return to the gameday 17.

Seasons done; what's next for me?

So that is the last game for the Warriors this season, and it wasnt the way any of us would have liked the season to end. 2022 looks to be another year with no (or just a handful) of games on home soil for the side, which will be tough for the club, players, and fans alike. However, before the 2022 season begins, I will be back with my season review; I normally wait to release it just before the Grand Final, so look out for it in a few weeks. In the past, I have disappeared in the offseason. Still, I would like to do some articles throughout the months before everything kicks off again, so if you have anything you would like to see my opinions on, let me know, and I will see what I can put together.

So that was an embarrassing Round 25, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

Did you have a Warrior of the match?

What would you do with Evans?
How would you grade the 2021 season overall?

Are you going into the 2022 season confident or worried?

NZ Warriors 2021 Round 24 Review: Warriors slim playoff hopes sink in second half collapse

After round 23's defeat to the Broncos, the Warriors made their way to BB Print Stadium in Mackay to face the Canberra Raiders. Both sides needed the victory here if they wanted to keep their playoff aspirations alive, and I was confident that the Warriors could get the job done here, and it certainly looked that way when they shot out to a 16-0 lead; however, it wasnt to be as the Warriors didn't return from the sheds at halftime, allowing the Raiders to come from behind with a 28-16 victory putting playoffs officially out of reach for the Warriors.

The Warriors busted out of the gates scoring in the first minute when Wayde Egan darted out of the ruck before putting Sean O'Sullivan away. After a brief battle in the middle with neither side getting the upper hand until the Warriors scored back to back tries when they kicked towards Bailey Simonsson, who had a shocker and failed to defuse either kick, allowing Rocco Berry and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak to score. The Warriors had a few more chances but failed to capitalise; just before halftime, the Raiders got on the board when Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad barged his way over to see the Warriors enter the sheds with a 16-6 lead.

The Raiders were over again in the first two minutes of the second half when Sebastian Kris barged over on the right edge before the game once again settled into a battle. No points were scored until Kris finished off a nice 50-metre play, which after Jordan Rapana's conversion, saw the match level with 15 minutes to go. The Warriors had a few attempts of regaining the lead but made some poor choices with the ball in hand, which was a constant theme of the second half with Chad Townsend off the pitch after reinjuring his shoulder. Reece Walsh attempted a field goal which sailed to the left. This seemed to be the last swing the Warriors could muster as the Raiders scored down the left edge, with Rapana scoring the match-winning, in almost an identical manner to his try from round 3 that was stopped by Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. The Warriors attempted a short kickoff and came within a fingers grasp of grabbing before the Raiders struck again as the final siren blared when Hudson Young scooped up the loose ball after Walsh dropped a bomb to score the Raiders fifth and final try of the night.

It was a frustrating watch, the Warriors had the game in control, but as soon as Chad Townsend was injured, they lost their direction and with Matt Lodge and Addin Fonua-Blake both off the field, the Warriors lost their backbone in the middle. It just opened the doors for the Raiders to walk straight back in. I don't really know what else to say here that I won't cover in my positives and negatives, so I may as well just get into it.

Despite the result, there were a handful of things in the match that made me smile, which brings me to my positives from the match.

Match Positives

Chad Townsend was strong while he was on the pitch, he directed the side round the park well, and his kicking was on point. I think it was his best performance since rejoining the club; it was also his last game for the Warriors, as the injury he suffered will see him miss the final game of the year against the Titans. I hope that Sean O'Sullivan and Chanel Harris-Tavita have learned from the veteran half during his stay and can step up and similarly direct the team in the final match of the season before Shaun Johnson returns next season.

As expected, Matt Lodge and Addin Fonua-Blake were strong up the middle, with both running over 100m (AFB with 179m and Lodge with 171m). They look so much better when they are playing; the issue though is that when they both come off the field, the Warriors performance falls off a cliff. Both players can play large minutes, but the coaching staff need to figure out how to make sure they have at least one of these guys on the field all the time if they stagger them coming off in a way where one comes off early and plays a longer second stint and the other plays longer at the start and shorter in the second. I'm not a coach, so I could be way off the mark, but I feel the Warriors are better when these guys are out there, so make they both don't sit on the pine at the same time.

I had plenty of concerns, however, which brings me to my negatives from the match.

Match Negatives

That second half was shocking; I already mentioned that when Townsend went off, the Warriors went off the rails, but I feel that they may have come out for the second half thinking they had done enough to keep the lead. Complete speculation on my part, but in the NRL, a 10 point lead is never safe; you need to keep the pressure on. To see the Warriors let the Raiders off the hook when their season was on the line just hurt as a fan and makes me concerned with how they will go this week with nothing but pride to play for against a team still desperate to squeak into the playoffs.

Errors again hurt the Warriors; they ended the match with 10, and just like last week, many of them came from poor carries. They just need to show the ball more respect and keep that ball locked in when making contact. It can be easier said than done, but the Warriors have shown throughout the season that they can play error-free football, so with one game left, I want to see the errors move into single digits. 

Ah, missed tackles, my old friend; it's back once again with the Warriors missing 44 in this match. The first half was a reasonably good defensive display, but the defensive line went to tatters when Lodge and AFB went off. Once that middle started to soften, the edge defence started slipping, and the Raiders just started breaking the line at will. Defence has been a massive concern for me all year and needs to be one of the main things addresses in the offseason.

Nathan Brown's team selection needs plenty of work. Seeing him drop Jazz Tevaga to 18th man and bring in Kane Evans had me scratching my head. Evans has done nothing to deserve a spot in the 17, and this game was more of the same. He offers very little on attack running only 3 times in the 29 minutes he played. A positive was that he made no errors this time; he is a monster of a man; he just doesn't play like one. Tevaga offers so much more and should have at least been on the bench, if not starting at lock instead of Bayley Sironen, who still isn't offering enough. Brown needs to pick his best side. This year I don't believe he has done that, and if he continues this trend next season, we may have to be prepared for more disappointment.

Lastly, I want to touch on milking, the Raiders players appeared to be staying down after tackles in a bid to earn some soft penalties, and it worked for them, with the Warriors being penalised 7 times. It just irked me to see the Warriors getting punished for legitimate tackles when the Raiders got away with some high contact shots throughout the match, especially with the game being so close. I don't want to see the Warriors resort to milking themselves, but the Refs need to stop being baited.

Warrior of the Match

Copyright Photo: Getty Images

My Warrior of the match goes to Wayde Egan. I have been critical of the hooker this season, but this was Egans best game to date in a Warriors jersey. With Lodge and AFB rolling forward, Egan could use the running game I praised back when his signing was announced. He ran for 117m, set up that nice try for O'Sullivan and was involved heavily in defence. He took a knock and didn't get to finish the game, but if he can perform to this level consistently, then the Warriors spine might be quite dangerous in 2022.

Warrior to Improve

Copyright Photo: Getty Images

My Warriors to improve goes to Kodi Nikorima. Having to come on to replace Townsend in the halves was not was planned for Nikorima, and he had a start to forget, dropping the ball with his first touch. This saw him go into his shell as he offered very little after that, running the ball twice and not contributing to the kicking game. It's just not good enough for a player with his level of experience, and as harsh as it may be, I think his time with the Warriors is up; however, I don't see any club picking him up, so he will most likely be with the club next season. I think he could add something as the teams No.14, but if he needs to be relied on to replace a half, then the Warriors will be in trouble.

Next rounds thoughts and prediction

The final game of the Warriors season sees them return to Sunday afternoon football when they travel to Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast to face the Titans. The Warriors got the win in round 1, but I think the Titans will be harder this week. They still have a slim chance of making the eight, so you can expect a big performance out of them. With Townsend out, we should see Harris-Tavita and O'Sullivan combine in the halves. Hopefully, Egan is fit to start at hooker and in regards to the rest of the pack, I would move Tevaga into lock, drop Evans from the bench and put Sironen there or bring Jamayne Taunoa-Brown back. I hope the Warriors give us a great final performance here, but I think the Titans will be too strong at home, so I am picking the Titans to get the win by 10. 

Before I go, I just want to touch on the news that the Warriors may be spending the 2022 season in Australia. This would be devastating for the club and the fans here in New Zealand who have been starved of live football since August of 2019. I have my fingers crossed that this won't be the case, but it does not surprise me with everything happening on both sides of the Tasman with COVID.

There has been nothing official on this yet, so I will give more of my thoughts in a separate article once we have more information since I want to keep writing in the offseason.

So that's was an embarrassing Round 24, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

What are your thoughts about Browns team selections?
Who was your player to improve?
Do you think another year stuck in Oz will improve the Warriors?
What is your score prediction against the Titans?

NZ Warriors 2021 Round 23 Review: Winning streak over as Broncos hold on for narrow victory

After round 22's victory over the Bulldogs, the Warriors made their way to Suncorp Stadium to face the Broncos. After Brisbane's narrow defeat to the Roosters in round 22, I came into the match nervous. Unfortunately, that feeling was on the money as the Broncos walked away with a 24-22 victory, essentially ending the Warriors slim playoff aspirations.

The Broncos started the match looking more dangerous, but the Warriors were able to scramble and keep from scoring. Both sides traded sets for the first 20 minutes, with each having a try denied by the bunker. Brisbane kept plugging away and soon scored two tries via Xavier Coates in quick succession. A 60-metre sniping run out of dummy-half from Reece Walsh saw the Warriors deep in Brisbane territory. A few tackles later, they were on the scoreboard when Marcelo Montoya finished off a simple backline passing play. The Broncos surged back, and Anthony Milford looked to have scored, but Peta Hiku managed to wrap him up. A few tackles later, Hiku was in the mix again when the Warriors put up a bomb which he kicked on, and after Chad Townsend pushed it into the in-goal, Hiku pounced on the loose ball. The bunker was called on again and denied the Warriors, advising that Hiku had knocked the ball on. This saw the sides go into the sheds, with Brisbane holding a 12-4 lead. 

The Warriors started the second half strong, almost nailing a 40/20 on their first set before scoring on their second set when Dallin Watene-Zelezniak put a grubber through which Hiku kick forward before diving on it over the line. The comeback was on as Bunty Afoa almost barged his way across the line, but Josh Curran finished the set off with a nice hit and spin, handing the Warriors the lead. The Broncos took the lead back when Albert Kelly latched onto a fortuitous bouncing ball to score; however, the Warriors responded when Hiku drew in defenders before throwing his trademark flick pass out to DWZ; Walsh missed the conversion, which meant the game was levelled 18 all at the 60-minute mark. The scores stayed locked until Milford crossed the line after his own kick was tapped back to him, handing Brisbane back the lead. Time was running out for the Warriors, but they managed another try after Euan Aitken was ruled by the bunker to have grounded the ball before Coates; Walsh had the chance to level the scores with his conversion from the sideline but shanked it. With time running out, Walsh attempted a two-point field goal, but it swayed to the left, and the Broncos held onto the ball, waiting for the final whistle. The match ended with a bit of frustration on display, with both sides having a pull-apart as the final siren played.

I know I have been saying that I didn't see the Warriors making the top eight; however, this defeat all but seals their fate. They still have a chance at making it if all their stars align, but I just don't see it happening. The Broncos played well here, this isn't the same team that has been poor for the majority of the season, and it just wasn't the Warriors night. I thought the referee and bunker had a shocking night, and while I thought the Warriors were hard-done-by, the Broncos had calls go against them too. 

It's frustrating and disappointing, but I hope the team and coaching staff take a massive lesson from this defeat and end the season with two strong performances against the Raiders and Titans.

However, it wasn't all doom and gloom, leading me to my positives from the match.

Match Positives

I thought the majority of the forward pack did well in this match. Lead as always by Addin Fonua-Blake, who ran for 207 metres and lead the Warriors defensively with 38 tackles. He was assisted by some strong efforts from Eliesa Katoa (100m), Afoa (98m) and Aitken (88m). A few more of the pack still need to step up, but the return this week of Matt Lodge should help in that department.

Behind the forwards, the backline looked threatening at times. Montoya, DWZ and Hiku all caused headaches for the Broncos. Walsh had plenty of shining moments, too, especially being lethal when deciding to run from dummy-half. If they all get on the same page, they can create plenty of scoring opportunities. I still have concerns with Adam Pompey, I think he is a good ball runner, but he needs to work on his distribution skills a bit more as he showed in this match that when he decides to set up his winger, the Warriors can score down his edge.  

 defence

I thought the defense looked better, they did miss 35 tackles, but the team were sliding to plug up holes in the line and looked more in control. They appeared to be communicated better and is hopefully a sign that with the team not having wholesale changes, they are started to gel and build combinations. It may be too little too late for 2020, but it could be the start of a fruitful 2021.

I had concerns, which brings me to my negatives from the match.

Match Negatives

The Warriors were hurt by a slow start once again. Too often this season, the Warriors have allowed their opposition to score the first two or three tries. This just makes things harder for them, as any team on their day can give you trouble. The Warriors cannot continue to allow teams to run up an early lead as it will only lead to misery as they cannot rely on massive comeback attempts to get them out of jail every time.

Errors continue to be an issue for the Warriors; they made 11 in this match. Many of them came from poor carries. Ball security is a must; with a comeback needed, the Warriors tried pushing things a bit too much, and it backfired. Fixing those slow starts will help in this department, too, as it will stop them from needing to chance thier arm as much. When they played simple football, they managed to score with relative ease. More of that this week and the points will come.

Goalkicking was an issue in this match, with Walsh only kicking one from five. Plenty of critics have pulled the youngster apart for his poor showing, but he made up for it in other ways. I guess the question is when it looked like he was having an off night, why didn't Nathan Brown switch to Chad Townsend or Chanel Harris-Tavita? 

Speaking of Brown, my last negative is his use of the interchange. I have criticized his use of the bench many times this season, and he still has me scratching my head. He didn't use all of his interchanges and only brought Jack Murchie on for just over 10 minutes, which makes me question why he had him there in the first place? He needs to make smarter decisions on how to use his bench, when to inject forwards into the match and when to get players off before they start to make errors due to fatigue.

Warrior of the Match

Copyright Photo: Getty Images

My Warrior of the match goes to Peta Hiku. He was a constant threat on attack, scoring a try, being denied another, and setting up one for DWZ. Not to forget his defensive efforts with his try-saving tackle on Milford. He has been strong since his return from injury, and I think it was a huge mistake allowing him to walk away at the end of the year; I'm sure they could have convinced him to stay with the offer of a longer deal, but it is too late now. I hope we see more of his awesome try assists in his final two matches for the club. The Cowboys have got a talented player with gas still in the tank.

Warrior to Improve

Copyright Photo: Warriors.kiwi

My Warrior to improve goes to Bayley Sironen. I couldn't find any images of him from this match because he was that invisible. He only played 48 minutes and ran for 48m; he did make 35 tackles, but the Warriors need a bigger effort out of their lock; if that was me, it would be the last game for the season for Sironen with either Jazz Tevaga or Josh Curran taking the No.13 for the last two matches. Sironen is a talent, but he needs to start offering more with the ball in hand if he wants to keep his spot. Especially with the performances, the Warriors have been getting out of Curran and Aitken.

Next rounds thoughts and prediction

Round 24 sees the Warriors return to Friday night football, travelling to BB Print Stadium in Mackay to face the Canberra Raiders. The Raiders are hard to gauge; they have been awful for long stretches of the season and are currently sitting on a two-game losing streak. I come into this match worried as I don't know if the Raiders are bad enough to lose three in a row. The Warriors will welcome back Matt Lodge, and apart from that, I don't know what other changes will happen. Wayde Egan should go back to starting hooker with Tevaga moving to lock. Since Brown opted to bring Townsend back, I say stick with him instead of changing the halves once again. It will be another tough encounter, but I think the return of Lodge should give the Warriors the edge, so I am optimistically picking the Warriors to get the win by 8.

So that was a disappointing Round 23, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

What are your thoughts on Nathan Browns interchange use
Who was your player of the day?
Who was your player to improve?
What is your score prediction against the Raiders?