lol try 3 in ten minutes. Pompey passed finally to Montoya.

Ref misses the strip on Egan (should have challenged) and Warriors lose Niukore, knights get frst try.

Edit: twenty mins later and Niukore is on the bike haha, tough guy.

Now that Johnson isnt a running back but a brilliant game manager, when he retires if we can retain Volkman through next year, we are going to have a very similar HB to SJ is now, more like Stacy Jones. Which will see us good for another 8+ years.

Good effort. Played hard for 80 minutes. Unlike past Warriors they 1. Play for 80 mins  2. Run the ball   3. Offloads. Thanks Mr Webster

When Knights got momentum we dug in. Then we took control again. A nice psychological gain for next week's semi. Warriors wont lose, you need to beat them

Wakrak: Left edge was fabulous considering the performances in weeks past.

So true. Thats where the young Leiataua who imo is the best centre potential since Latrell Mitchell will begin to force his way into the left edge with RTS sure to take the right side.

We need to do what we did to Ponga tonight but next week Walsh and Renoylds which will be bloody hard, FB and 7.

Handle9: Warriors rank 15th out of 17 in offloads. They had 4 more offloads than the last place team.

Yeah, Tohu use to be the top offloader in the comp at the Storm.

But the flip side is the game plan now days is not hot potato exciting Warriors, but more proffessional Warriors who grind the opposition into the ground with low error rates, pin them in their corner, force them to Error with our top 3 defense and then keep scoring. Clearly we operate mostly in the middle 3rd now, which simply put means rolling ruck speed up the middle, first by the back 5 then by the big guys like aFB and Barnett along with high intensity players like Jazz. Its more like how the Panthers play vs the Broncos wo now play like the Warriors of old.

They now gotta some how shut down Reynolds and Walsh next week. Eeeeek. Broncos will be favs no doubt. Part of it will be not kicking down the middle to Walsh but to the corners to pin the wings, but they got one very good edge so really is going to have to be a perfect game. Broncos do have high errors in them at times.

tdgeek:

 

Good effort. Played hard for 80 minutes. Unlike past Warriors they 1. Play for 80 mins  2. Run the ball   3. Offloads. Thanks Mr Webster

 

When Knights got momentum we dug in. Then we took control again. A nice psychological gain for next week's semi. Warriors wont lose, you need to beat them

 

I think that last sentence seems to sum up the difference between Warriors 2023 version vs past years. They were notorious for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory and oppositions always felt in with a chance as they would gift the opposition with points too easily. This year, points have to be earned and the Warriors heads aren't going down like they used to. Was a great game to watch, but Broncos will be a whole different kettle of fish.

sen8or:

 

 

 

I think that last sentence seems to sum up the difference between Warriors 2023 version vs past years. They were notorious for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory and oppositions always felt in with a chance as they would gift the opposition with points too easily. This year, points have to be earned and the Warriors heads aren't going down like they used to. Was a great game to watch, but Broncos will be a whole different kettle of fish.

 

Agree. To me, Webster has been huge. The game style is so much different. Its like watching the South Africa rugby team style, start to play French or ABs rugby

Broncos. Obviusly hard to beat, but they will know Warriors are not easy beats, and they know they can score at will, so they will play Broncos league but be watching the rear vision mirror as well. As long as the Warriors are told "win, lose, or draw, play hard for the full 80 minutes, nothing to lose" Ive seen many sports where the best side/player is expected to win, the other has nothing to lose, so can play freely. less about skill, more about between the ears

tdgeek:

 

Agree. To me, Webster has been huge. The game style is so much different. Its like watching the South Africa rugby team style, start to play French or ABs rugby

 

Webby has been amazing for the game in NZ reminds me of 2011 when his old boss was in charge

tdgeek:

 

Broncos. Obviusly hard to beat, but they will know Warriors are not easy beats, and they know they can score at will, so they will play Broncos league but be watching the rear vision mirror as well. As long as the Warriors are told "win, lose, or draw, play hard for the full 80 minutes, nothing to lose" Ive seen many sports where the best side/player is expected to win, the other has nothing to lose, so can play freely. less about skill, more about between the ears

 

Bronx not unbeatable will be a tall order but they start like they started against Newcastle they will be on a roll.

nztim:

 

Webby has been amazing for the game in NZ reminds me of 2011 when his old boss was in charge

 

Bronx not unbeatable will be a tall order but they start like they started against Newcastle they will be on a roll.

 

Yes indeed. My two picks for our new coach were Ciraldo and Webster, a lot of people scoffed at me asking who are they and then why would we want a 2IC and then Webster even lower at assistant. Most people wanted a super coach, to be fair I can understand that, but we are never going to get a super coach to move to NZ until we change the RLNZ culture and the professionalism asked of players at a young age like occurs in Aus, by the time they filter out who is truely talented they are also professional enough to be ready for the NRL proper. The other factor is they were both coaches under Cleary, who uses a simple game plan until within striking distance when the 5/8th and 7 start steering the game offensively, asking serious questions of the defense. 

For me Websters impact is also shown in our NSW Cup reserve grade team, many of whom play first grade when required and some are potential future stars of the Warriors "Club". Finishing one try short of making the Grand Final is a good effort, 3rd in the regular season. 

I aslo like that Webster is not intimidated by it all. Its a huge ask, of an assistant coach to up sticks him and his family, to another country and to change the Culture of the Club. But I felt confident pre season, partially due to our signings but also due to Webby's atttitude. I remember him saying he loved his time at the Warriors in his previous stints at the club and of NZ in general and that he considers himself a "Kiwi". Thats pretty bold, but his actions have backed the words up.

I think next year with RTS playing right centre and Leiataua getting more time at first grade level, will both fix our edge defense (which has already improved) but will add and extra dimension of offense, both very capable of scoring individually or being able to sum up the situation and put the Winger over when appropriate I think we will see Webby take our Red Zone offense to the Penrith level next year. Its a heck of a 30 man squad we have next year, we will eventually lose some players but thats what happens to really good teams ie 4 excellent halves, RTS, Pompey, Berry, Leiataua in the centres etc. We have shown we can stick to the main game plan and win even when we look like we are beaten, but sticking to the plan. Next year will be just a notch up in offense. 

You are totally right, the Broncs are not unbeatable, especially defensively. They play ad lib hot potato which is the Warriors of old, except they have a pretty decent team on paper, offensively. We need to shut Reynolds down, as Webby said of Ponga, not take him out, which we did and Ponga had no impact. Reynolds is a notch above though. Walsh we need to keep the return kick away from, kick to the corners etc and just play the player not the Ball, if we ball watch Walsh he can put a freakish play on, in the blink of an eye. and whilst imo aFB has been the form Prop of the comp this year and is playing 70mins a game, Payne Hass is going to be tough to defend. Some awesome match ups and elsewhere. But if we can control how we play those 3, will go a LONG way to beating the team. We will have to bring the intensity on defense and when we get in the red zone, do more than just play one off stuff for the barge over try. We can win though.

Yep, we can win. What helps us is that they know if they give the Wahs and inch they can take a mile, so they will be more circumspect than if "Warriors yeah they are ok but everyone knows we will win"  Everyone knows that is not the case in 2023. Its between the ears as much, if not more than brute skill. Bit of luck here, a good play there, Broncos a little scared to just go wild in case it backfires. Its a knockout game, time to go hard, don't leave anything on the table

tdgeek:

 

 "Warriors yeah they are ok but everyone knows we will win"  

 

Yep. Like any sport when you think you have the upper hand, it has a psychological impact.

Some of Fox were saying they wouldnt be surprised to have a large Warriors fan base at the game. I dont know about that, but what I do know is every game Ive been to Warriors vs Bronx at Suncorp, Warriors fans and chants were so dominant. Which does have an impact. Not sure with this game being a final, but largest NZ pop in aus would be South Bris to Gold Coast, so I dont see why it might at least be an even fan base.

I expect the Broncos to come out hot on offense, chucking the ball around, if that is defended well, it will cause errors and enable us to play our predictable but effective game plan. Kick to the corners and try to pin them n the 10, defend well and either we dominate the game of "Force Back" or we pressure errors which is the goal. I dont think Johnson will leave  anything behind, with possibly his last real shot at winning a Prem. So I expect our red zone offense to be exciting to watch. Im sure he will try aFB through a hole to start out, which has produced a lot of tries this year for the Big man. Many options for SJ. But we have to earn those oppurtunities first. :-) 

Agree with all that. Errors is the key if we can rush them and force errors. Run the ball and offloads are great but also be unpredictable, so that causes them to protect more.

TAB has them a strong favourite as expected, but evens are at a 11 point win, so TAB sees it as a 2 try win for the Broncos. Thats not a big margin. TAB see the total match points as about 40, so about a 25-15 game.