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#3215122 6-Apr-2024 17:02

Its going to be interesting to see if TMMartin can improve on his form during the games post Metcalf injury last year. IMO he has silky ball skills but lacks a running game. Id have been happy with our old 6 in CHT to continue at 6 given is game last week, he lacks blistering speed too, but he has the size to take the line on, and does. Not to mention a kicking game up there with Johnsons.

Metcalf just cant catch a break, or actually catches too many. First the ankle in lower grades, then a series of lengthy hamstring issues, then last years and now a significant chunk of this season with a break to part of his ankle. Just after we sign him for another couple of years. He is nearly half way through a career and in time wise has only had a season and some of play. Sucks, given how much raw talent he posesses.

Volkman gone, but also now broken town.

TMM spent a big chunk last year on the sidelines.

We are cursed in the halves, which is why I think CHT with the bigger body frame would have been a good choice. But wis TMM good luck.

Edit: 9th minute (31 on the first half clock) deception from Egan and then Johnson. Draw and pass with a bullet runner from Berry. Beautiful, thats how you cut teams up in the 5m.

Edit: circa minute 23, ERROR, the worst error in the game, Jazz drops the ball while going over the line. He use to have those type errors consistently but had a good period prior to last year, but doesnt seem to have gotten back to his best.

Edit; Ugggh now warriors in good position 3rd tackle on the 50 and Jazz tries to force and offload.

Edit: oh man, Error, Jazz drops the ball on there 40m line. Hes having a shocker, had a fumble earlier he just held on too. Id like to Zyon Maiu'u get a go on the bench.

TeaLeaf

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#3215134 6-Apr-2024 17:44

Oh gorgeous Egan, sneaky pass to a bullet running CNK backs him up, CNK through the hole to open field, has the 6 to his left, the 7 to his right, excellent backing up in the spine. Johnson over for the try.

Good debut by Laban. Nice to have CHT on the bench too. I would like to see Leiataua get more first grade time given just how good hes been in NSW cup last year and this. No doubt the Warriors have good NZ talent coming through the system.

TeaLeaf

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#3215144 6-Apr-2024 18:55

Well to sum that game up, given they were without 5 starters, the Warriors were strong on defense, super silky on offense. Webby would say "they earnt the right to play offense". 5 men injured, yet the depth is so deep, Johnson is given a breather with 10min to go and CHT takes over in 7.

TMMartin was impressive on offense, he took the line on a number of times, that was great to see. along with silky hands and backing up broken field play.

CNK briliant back at FB. Putting RTS anywhere and he turns up, playing on the wing, it doesnt matter where, he will come out of the line to run the ball on offense, especially with his connection with Johnson.

Just relentless kicking into the corner, pin point over and over by Johnson, asking teams to work it out from the ten metre without mistakes, backing their defense to create mistakes. a simple but highly effective strategy by the Webby lead Warriors.

Egan man of the match for me. But the team as a whole, to keep a team full of marquees players to only 4 was impressive.

34-4.

TeaLeaf

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#3215718 8-Apr-2024 16:03

I tend to agree with slater and co, the Warriors can win the comp this year. It is by far their best shot at it ever imo. They are belligerently unapologetic in forcing teams to run it out from their 5m without an error, which their defensive pressure is providing ample amounts of due to line speed. I think if they make the final, they win the comp.

To beat the bunnies 34-4, without 5 really key starters was impressive. Of course the bunnies have some injury woes themselves. But it was clinical, its the level of precession Webster is after. Sure they made of mistakes, but the defense in their own 40m is simply stoic. Its a simple plan to obtain field position and posession, but the offense is anything but for once with the Warriors, dynamic ball skills from all players and the lead runners avoiding being pinged for the inside shoulder usual drivel.

If either the Bunker didnt make the howler or Coates didnt make the astonishing last seconds try off a flukey drop kick rebound, the Warriors would be leading the comp right now. Ive only just gotten over losing that match, but I hope the team hasn't. I hope its given them even more resilience in big matches, not to go to sleep with what seems an unbeatable lead in future matches. It should hurt, they had won that match, they deserved the 8 point win, they fell asleep on it.

What makes me quietly confident this year, aside from the coaching and sticking to the same plan, is the depth of players. You have first grade players in reserves, who have in many cases first grade quality players in 3rd string. Ive not seen the Warriors with this level of depth, ever. I have so many young players Id like to see play but its going to take multiple injuries in the same positions. and then you have two excellent 14s in Walker and now CHT. Players who can play any position well, are rare, CHT is more rare than Walker in that I think he plays 7 possibly second best in the team, both clearly excel as 6s, but anything from FB to Wing to 9 to playing in the forwards

My main concern is not this year, but if we do not win it this year, will SJ stick around and even then, who is replacing aFB, who is irreplaceable, but no doubt the scouts and Webby will come up with a good option.

NRL: Australian rugby league great Billy Slater backs NZ Warriors as Premiership contenders | Newshub

TeaLeaf

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#3216475 10-Apr-2024 10:01

Our win over Souths 34-4 highlights Match Highlights: Warriors put South Sydney hex to rest | Warriors

Lussick is looking at a 6-8 week ban after breaking a Souths NSW Cup players leg, I presume either a hip drop or coming in side on at the legs.

For me its our forwards that are a tad depleted with all rounder Walker also out for a while, which makes CHT a given off the bench wherever needed.

Bunty Afoa is looking at 6-8 weeks after doing a hammy on the weekend and Niukore one of our strong men in general but particularly on defense, he is also out with a foot injury for about the same amount of time.

So, I expect Jacob Laban who is still only 19yo to be coming off the bench for us in the back row. We are not short of guys who can fill this position.

But big skilled Props are rare, so Jazz will come off the bench to do Bunty's role. But Id really like to see Maiu'u get a crack at this, he has so much potential and is ready for the next step.

Zyon Maiu'u joins the first grade reserves bench with the 3 young players I said to keep eye out for now all named (Zyon-Prop, Taine Tuapiki-FB and Leiataua-Centre). Of course it will take an injury via foul play or concussion to see them get game time, or the boss puts them to the Interchange bench.

Is incredible how good we look on paper with missing 3 very important players, testament to our depth. DWZ back this week. Big game vs Manly, Tommy Turbo is who I expect Johnson to target strategically with his bombs, to limit Toms brilliance, as we have done vs Coates, Ponga etc.

Im not sure if this is a first but 3 brothers named to start - Trbojevic's.

Warriors v Sea Eagles - Round 6, 2024 - Match Centre | NRL.com

TeaLeaf

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#3219062 16-Apr-2024 12:00

Bizarre game. But SJ is on fire, if he keeps this up all year long like he did 3/4 of last year, no matter of BS Dally M panel will stop him taking it this year. Egan again was superb and CNK was everywhere, going over 300m for the game. Warriors were number one on defense going into the Match, what let me down was DWZ, he let in two tries trying to pick off an intercept instead of marking up, luckily he picked off one. I dont think that is the consistency Webby is after, he is after basic footy of marking up and pinning the opposition in their 30 until they make errors, in which the Warriors this year have for the first time excellent, consistent, multiple methods of offensive Options. I will take the 1 point. It was a bit dissapointing though, Johnson after striking 11/12 going into the match missed an easy one which would have been the winning points, but he did kick a crucial one with 90 secs on the clock, then with his legs being attacked nailed the penalty kick to take it to Golden point, in which he has performed excellent in the past, but he only got the one lengthy chance and it was a nice kick but he started it to the right and it didnt come back in. But he was brilliant regardless of a missed conversion.

So Lussick got very lucky with just the 4 week match ban, which might prove very fateful for the Warriors. although I personally would stick with CHT on the bench regardless.

Jazz with another very lengthy injury, Im hoping Maiu'u, who has been on the reserve bench in first grade for a while now, will be the first choice prop Webby turns to, he is a wrecking ball and chaos on offense.

All Tries - Warriors vs. Sea Eagles | NRL.com

tdgeek

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#3219359 17-Apr-2024 07:24

My take is that Manly shut us down. They watch our footage and countered it. We had no answer, no doubt Webster will assess last weekends footage and come up with counter strategies.

We were lucky to win, but in most sports when behind you throw the playbook away and play high risk high reward. Usually that fails due to the risk but it worked out which is good

Manly beat Penrith on merit, no fluke. That being said, if Penrith are tops and Manly beat them and we luckily drew with Manly as we had no counter strategy, that places us at the pointy end of 2024

Our playing style is reaping rewards, but when we play the big boys, its not easy, need to adapt.

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TeaLeaf

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#3219563 17-Apr-2024 14:32

tdgeek:

My take is that Manly shut us down. They watch our footage and countered it. We had no answer, no doubt Webster will assess last weekends footage and come up with counter strategies.

They certainly threw us off Websters tactics which are very simple until we are in the opposition 30. I think like you said their defense with some oversized backs kept our back 5 at bay with the returns, especially RTS, although CNK had a blinder of a game at FB.

It was certainly more like what I expect to see come finals time, much like the Storm game which we lost in the final 90 seconds, this game we drew in the final 90. Both were very good oppositions.

DWZ needs to forget the glamour and mark his man. 1/3 is not the ratio of reward vs cost that Webby will be happy about.

Id like to see SJ run it more, he still has it, that was a brilliant solo try. Interesting drop goal attempts at the end, all 3 of Cherries were on target but falling well short, where Johnson would easily have cleared from the 40m. a shame as he was moving right he kicked it 3 metres to the right but nearly 20m of clearance from the 30. He could have had a shot earlier in the set, possibly catching manly aiming up on defense still. I also think he had more time than he realised. Nice kick, shame about the direction off the boot. It does give me some confidence he can kick 2 point field goals.

If it is Maiu'u to fill in as prop, I hope he goes in with the good hands he does possess, but game day they all have nervous energy. But I do back our teams goal line defense, provided nobody rushes in this week. The Dragons are no mugs either. They looked fantastic with Ben Hunt on form steering them around the park. I would expect a win, but nothing is a given in such a tight comp this year. I expect Webby will emphasise defense this week in training, getting back to earning the right to go on offense, through pinning them inside their 10m and hammering them with excessive line speed defense. It should be a good one.

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#3219570 17-Apr-2024 15:00

OMG we pick up James Fisher-Harris from next season!

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TeaLeaf

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#3219574 17-Apr-2024 15:06

nztim:

OMG we pick up James Fisher-Harris from next season!

Yep, was just posting the news of the round, how good? Im so happy about this. :-) Just to add to this, Cleary is such a class act, never stands in the way of the will of players or his coaches, just points out their good traits and wishes them well. I think he still has a soft spot for the Warriors haha

Speaking of the Tevaga injury. Interesting Pompey added to interchange in the 17, but I think that is not what we need, we need another barn storming prop in the form of Maiu'u. So dont quite get adding the centre. Young Laban is already on the bench as back rower interchang. Seems a perfect time to give the hard man Maiu'u game time. But things can change between now and then. NRL: NZ Warriors forward Jazz Tevaga sidelined by hamstring tear, but coach Andrew Webster 'excited' by injury toll | Newshub

Of the injured players its Marata Niukore (foot), five-eighth Luke Metcalf (leg), and interchange forwards Dylan Walker (ankle) and Bunty Afoa (hamstring), its Nukore on Defense, Bunty on interchange prop, Dylan Walker covering everything and the pace of Luke Metcalf and the Versatility of Tevaga and his hole line running, prob in that order of importance for me.

It looks like we will be losing Egan to SoO, not surprised, hes the form hooker in the comp right now. a little surprised but happy we wont be losing Kurt Capewell. I dont think RTS will jump ship either to ply SoO NRL: NZ Warriors prepare to lose hooker Wayde Egan for New South Wales State of Origin duties | Newshub

Lastly very excited about this BIG news, wit aFB leaving, Fisher-Harris, the Kiwi captain will be joining the Warriors in 2025 from the Panthers. Thats a testament to whats going on at th Warriors, he could have got bigger dollars elsewhere I think, of course, he is a Kiwi so there is that factor. Plus we wont lose him to SoO etc. NRL: NZ Kiwis captain James Fisher-Harris released by Penrith Panthers to join NZ Warriors from 2025 | Newshub

Id really love to see Maiu'u get some more experience this year. If Fisher-Harris & Barnett start, imagine having two good props off the bench, I know Im rating Zyon before hes been well tested, but thats the point. Zyon and JFH have a lot in common, hard to tackle, hard nuts, all muscle, strong leg drive, Zyon has the meanest dont argue fend. We know what Bunty provides. I know it would be unusual to have 4 props but I think play your best players, it means Barnett and James dont have to be relied on for huge minutes, having fresh props = a lot of post contact metres and reliable short balls 5m out unstoppable plays.

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#3219604 17-Apr-2024 16:15

nztim:

OMG we pick up James Fisher-Harris from next season!

Its a good signing for sure, tempered with the loss of AFB who IMHO is a better player than JFH anyway.

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TeaLeaf

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#3219627 17-Apr-2024 17:55

JPNZ:

Its a good signing for sure, tempered with the loss of AFB who IMHO is a better player than JFH anyway.

Yep is hard to replace an aFB, but he also needs the right coach and conditioning coach to get the most out of him.

Where I find the likes of JFH nearly always on point with intensity pre match.

Barnett is doing a good job despite having some loose plays in him, he is a beast on defense. Zyon is the type of prop you want close to the line, a short ball and you wont be stopping him. JFH much the same. Bunty tends to be more of a work horse in the middle but a valuable assett all the same.

I have no issue with a downgrade in size if we get consistent intensity across the props, so there is no dip in interchange.

With Niukore, etc, its going to be an epic team. Great to see Egan called up for SoO, its just going to make him a better player for the Warriors. Lussic has 3 more matches to sit out. But I prefer the idea of what extra you get wit CHT playing 9.

Most of all its a team built of players all with one goal in mind, to win a Premiership for the NZ Warriors.

tdgeek

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#3219640 17-Apr-2024 18:58

TeaLeaf:

tdgeek:

My take is that Manly shut us down. They watch our footage and countered it. We had no answer, no doubt Webster will assess last weekends footage and come up with counter strategies.

They certainly threw us off Websters tactics which are very simple until we are in the opposition 30. I think like you said their defense with some oversized backs kept our back 5 at bay with the returns, especially RTS, although CNK had a blinder of a game at FB.

It was certainly more like what I expect to see come finals time, much like the Storm game which we lost in the final 90 seconds, this game we drew in the final 90. Both were very good oppositions.

DWZ needs to forget the glamour and mark his man. 1/3 is not the ratio of reward vs cost that Webby will be happy about.

Id like to see SJ run it more, he still has it, that was a brilliant solo try. Interesting drop goal attempts at the end, all 3 of Cherries were on target but falling well short, where Johnson would easily have cleared from the 40m. a shame as he was moving right he kicked it 3 metres to the right but nearly 20m of clearance from the 30. He could have had a shot earlier in the set, possibly catching manly aiming up on defense still. I also think he had more time than he realised. Nice kick, shame about the direction off the boot. It does give me some confidence he can kick 2 point field goals.

If it is Maiu'u to fill in as prop, I hope he goes in with the good hands he does possess, but game day they all have nervous energy. But I do back our teams goal line defense, provided nobody rushes in this week. The Dragons are no mugs either. They looked fantastic with Ben Hunt on form steering them around the park. I would expect a win, but nothing is a given in such a tight comp this year. I expect Webby will emphasise defense this week in training, getting back to earning the right to go on offense, through pinning them inside their 10m and hammering them with excessive line speed defense. It should be a good one.

I agree with a lot of that. Its tight. I have no issue with errors, they happen in a fast game as League, unlike a similar sport. Good luck, bad luck its sport. Early in that game we were down I had no issue as we are the better team. Arguably we are, but Manly nailed the strategy. In any top tier sport, they are all close, so let the season roll out, the cream will rise to the top. What IMO showed last game is that the Wahs can do this and do that, but the opposition wont just roll over, they will look at strengths and counter it, as they did. We need to counter that. The pain is that we end up top four, great, we will earn that with season points, but then its knock out. Id like a best of 3 for quarters, that lessens the luck/run of the green issues.Easy $ for the promoters.

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#3219643 17-Apr-2024 19:01

TeaLeaf:

JPNZ:

Its a good signing for sure, tempered with the loss of AFB who IMHO is a better player than JFH anyway.

Yep is hard to replace an aFB, but he also needs the right coach and conditioning coach to get the most out of him.

Where I find the likes of JFH nearly always on point with intensity pre match.

Barnett is doing a good job despite having some loose plays in him, he is a beast on defense. Zyon is the type of prop you want close to the line, a short ball and you wont be stopping him. JFH much the same. Bunty tends to be more of a work horse in the middle but a valuable assett all the same.

I have no issue with a downgrade in size if we get consistent intensity across the props, so there is no dip in interchange.

With Niukore, etc, its going to be an epic team. Great to see Egan called up for SoO, its just going to make him a better player for the Warriors. Lussic has 3 more matches to sit out. But I prefer the idea of what extra you get wit CHT playing 9.

Most of all its a team built of players all with one goal in mind, to win a Premiership for the NZ Warriors.

100%. We were the feeder team, go to the Warriors they will take anyone, then they leave.

Times have changed

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#3219647 17-Apr-2024 19:39

tdgeek:

Times have changed

Oh boy have they what. Since Brownie, Reece Walsh and co did a runner (who wants players who arent in it to win it) he has quickly transformed not just how we play, but who wants to play for us and at a greater extent, the public perception both in NZ and Aus that this team is going to give it a fair dinkum nudge and it wont be just one year, its changing the club culture to be consistently in the top 4, this year they could be anything.

Old times, you would have to play with who had stayed in NZ, we never had a team with talent of this level in every position and now even with 5 important players injured and Egan about to go to Origin we still look overtly strong on paper.

I do like the idea of these nuggety props, fast and furious, and whilst aFB has a step, Zyon is more elusive, given time in first grade, JFH no doubt is hard to handle, Barnett is angry during the game every hit up, often the one looking to offload whic worries me but hes still great on defense and running a hole.

Laban and Jackson ford with Tohu Harris is a good mix of the tall post contact metre back rowers.

all of the backs are elusive.

I cant wait for next year, whilst I honestly believe we can give it a real crack this year. We just need the consistency we showed in the Souths game. Weve learnt a lesson from the Storm game which would have us outright on top of the table, how to shut an 8 point lead out with two mins to play, conversely how to do it ourselves by never giving up.

The real key though is when will SJ call it a day. He could easily play a few more years if it suited his family. If anything he is just reaching his best in the last 12 months. But one day we will need a replacement playmaker, I dont see it in any of the current halves, all have skills of their own but not the complete package.

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