NRL - General Chat

Forums › Sports › NRL - General Chat

1 | ... | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | ... | 50

29746 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3219688 18-Apr-2024 06:44

TeaLeaf:

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.

Metcalf for me

TeaLeaf

6325 posts

Uber Geek

#3219879 18-Apr-2024 13:39

tdgeek:

Metcalf for me

Thats a big call bro. I do admit he was starting to look good shape wise outside Shaun and throws some miracle passes to the overlap when the defense rushes him. My only gripe is, they are not using his pace. I dont know if that is him not getting involved, like the way Egan does, or if its the coach asking him to stick to XYZ. But Id love to see him running off a short ball into broken field with his pace he would burn 9/10 FB's. Similar to how Te Maire Martin and SJ backed up hole runners in that 34-4 win over souths.

Speaking of half backs, will Fisher-Harris keep SJ on, which is something Ive been mulling over. I know SJ is carrying some soreness, but thats par for course. If Metcalf hadnt broken is leg I think it would have been interesting to see how we would go without SJ for a couple of weeks to allow hm to recover a bit. Perhaps they could do it with CHT at 7 and TMM staying at 6. CHT has all the skills of a good 7. Pick a softer spot in our calender perhaps and try it out, because I dont know what the succession plan is at this stage, but for me CHT is our second best 7 and TMM/Metcalf both provide different skills or ways of approaching the 6 role, which is nice to have two good 5/8ths.

anyway, newshub read my mind with asking this question, given Fisher-Harris is a top 3 prop, Golden Boot winner, Captain of NZ beating aussies 30-0 in the pacific cup. He certainly brings a lot of clout and a solid amount of time left in is career. SJ I dont think is passed it, especially being in the form of his life oddly, hes far from the oldest player to keep playing. Im pretty sure he will retire should we win a prem, but may stay on until we do or his body gives out, at least I hope. The good thing is he is no longer the only marquees player in the squad, whilst we pivot off him, hes not the only reason we win, although offensively his current playbook would be hard to match.

NRL: James Fisher-Harris signing may persuade veteran half Shaun Johnson to stay on at NZ Warriors | Newshub

JPNZ

1547 posts

Uber Geek

#3219898 18-Apr-2024 15:01

TeaLeaf:

tdgeek:

Metcalf for me

Thats a big call bro. I do admit he was starting to look good shape wise outside Shaun and throws some miracle passes to the overlap when the defense rushes him. My only gripe is, they are not using his pace. I dont know if that is him not getting involved, like the way Egan does, or if its the coach asking him to stick to XYZ. But Id love to see him running off a short ball into broken field with his pace he would burn 9/10 FB's. Similar to how Te Maire Martin and SJ backed up hole runners in that 34-4 win over souths.

Speaking of half backs, will Fisher-Harris keep SJ on, which is something Ive been mulling over. I know SJ is carrying some soreness, but thats par for course. If Metcalf hadnt broken is leg I think it would have been interesting to see how we would go without SJ for a couple of weeks to allow hm to recover a bit. Perhaps they could do it with CHT at 7 and TMM staying at 6. CHT has all the skills of a good 7. Pick a softer spot in our calender perhaps and try it out, because I dont know what the succession plan is at this stage, but for me CHT is our second best 7 and TMM/Metcalf both provide different skills or ways of approaching the 6 role, which is nice to have two good 5/8ths.

anyway, newshub read my mind with asking this question, given Fisher-Harris is a top 3 prop, Golden Boot winner, Captain of NZ beating aussies 30-0 in the pacific cup. He certainly brings a lot of clout and a solid amount of time left in is career. SJ I dont think is passed it, especially being in the form of his life oddly, hes far from the oldest player to keep playing. Im pretty sure he will retire should we win a prem, but may stay on until we do or his body gives out, at least I hope. The good thing is he is no longer the only marquees player in the squad, whilst we pivot off him, hes not the only reason we win, although offensively his current playbook would be hard to match.

NRL: James Fisher-Harris signing may persuade veteran half Shaun Johnson to stay on at NZ Warriors | Newshub

DCE has 2 years on him and is arguably playing just as well as Shaun. See no reason SJ wouldn't do another 2 years

Panasonic 65GZ1000, Onkyo RZ730, Atmos 5.1.2, AppleTV 4K, Nest Mini's, PS5, PS3, MacbookPro, iPad Pro, Apple watch SE2, iPhone 15+

TeaLeaf

6325 posts

Uber Geek

#3219913 18-Apr-2024 15:48

JPNZ:

DCE has 2 years on him and is arguably playing just as well as Shaun. See no reason SJ wouldn't do another 2 years

Precisely, in fact DCE also looks as fit as ever.

Cam Smith was how old when he retired? and thats playing in a role of far more physical punishment at #9.

If SJ has the will, no doubt we have the space. Its a shame hes not paid what hes worth, but then who do you drop? Possibly the likes of reserve grade and rely on the plethora of good young centres we have like Leiataua, who has been on our extended first grade bench forever yet we select Pompey. I cant see Ali letting us down on defense or offense, hes a real X factor in the making. I dont think we can afford to keep them all so some tough choices need to be made.

But we not even missing a centre this week, so why is another potential goody in Zyon not filling in for Bunty?

Some strange things going on, I trust Webby, but we need to give our players of the future game time when we can, just like we did with Tuapiki playing superb at FB (id love to see his speed somewhere ine team).

tdgeek

29746 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3219954 18-Apr-2024 19:00

TeaLeaf:

tdgeek:

Metcalf for me

Thats a big call bro. I do admit he was starting to look good shape wise outside Shaun and throws some miracle passes to the overlap when the defense rushes him. My only gripe is, they are not using his pace. I dont know if that is him not getting involved, like the way Egan does, or if its the coach asking him to stick to XYZ. But Id love to see him running off a short ball into broken field with his pace he would burn 9/10 FB's. Similar to how Te Maire Martin and SJ backed up hole runners in that 34-4 win over souths.

Speaking of half backs, will Fisher-Harris keep SJ on, which is something Ive been mulling over. I know SJ is carrying some soreness, but thats par for course. If Metcalf hadnt broken is leg I think it would have been interesting to see how we would go without SJ for a couple of weeks to allow hm to recover a bit. Perhaps they could do it with CHT at 7 and TMM staying at 6. CHT has all the skills of a good 7. Pick a softer spot in our calender perhaps and try it out, because I dont know what the succession plan is at this stage, but for me CHT is our second best 7 and TMM/Metcalf both provide different skills or ways of approaching the 6 role, which is nice to have two good 5/8ths.

anyway, newshub read my mind with asking this question, given Fisher-Harris is a top 3 prop, Golden Boot winner, Captain of NZ beating aussies 30-0 in the pacific cup. He certainly brings a lot of clout and a solid amount of time left in is career. SJ I dont think is passed it, especially being in the form of his life oddly, hes far from the oldest player to keep playing. Im pretty sure he will retire should we win a prem, but may stay on until we do or his body gives out, at least I hope. The good thing is he is no longer the only marquees player in the squad, whilst we pivot off him, hes not the only reason we win, although offensively his current playbook would be hard to match.

NRL: James Fisher-Harris signing may persuade veteran half Shaun Johnson to stay on at NZ Warriors | Newshub

Thats the key, we have depth.

Back to Metcalf, the little Ive seen in between injuries is he is small and quick, a game breaker. Like Egan and Lussock and The General, quick fast and overcomes the big boys.

TeaLeaf

6325 posts

Uber Geek

#3220213 19-Apr-2024 10:32

tdgeek:

Thats the key, we have depth.

Back to Metcalf, the little Ive seen in between injuries is he is small and quick, a game breaker. Like Egan and Lussock and The General, quick fast and overcomes the big boys.

And not just NSW cup Reserves, we have First Grade (FG) depth and we even have FG dept behind many of the reserves, quite extraordinary the 30 man Squad Webby has put together.

Yes, Egan and Lussick are quick, it comes from being Half Backs and being told there is no room for another half, so clubs pick them up to play 9. Usually the get a bit more muss on though.

Id love to see Metcalf or even Tuapiki out wide, similar to the Fox for Melb and now the Cowboys. Many moons ago, wingers were fast, that was th main attribute, as they need to be. Now days Wings are big. but not always quick. SJ and his 5/8th could easily set the wing up with an overlap, they may have to step inside the FB. You see it with DWZ who is quick, but not Metcalf or even Tuapiki quick.

tdgeek

29746 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3220595 20-Apr-2024 10:30

Terrible game did they have too many beers in the afternoon??

One side was hungry the other was a tad woeful. Didnt see the first 30 minutes, apparently that was dominant the commentators said? If so the rest was even more woeful.

AliExpress

Shop now on AliExpress (affiliate link).

TeaLeaf

6325 posts

Uber Geek

#3220725 20-Apr-2024 18:35

tdgeek:

TDidnt see the first 30 minutes, apparently that was dominant the commentators said

Yes indeed, it looked like we were going to see a 30-0 scoreline at one stage.

We got pinged 4 consecutive sets in a row which the ref gave them opportunities in our 30 which they nailed all of them. One of them we failed to block the runner for Montoya to catch the ball and Lomax came screaming through the air to take it, fantastic try. We usually have the centre, RTS blocking for the wing, not sure why RTS wasnt in position so Montoya can leap, Im just unsure why he didnt have a quick look at what was bearing down on him and then decide to put everything into the player landing with the ball and smashing him, or to leap himself and compete for the ball.

another soft try RTS did it again, he came rushing out of the line looking for the intercept, he needs to get that out of his game and to stay marking him man. He also had one try that was due to an ineffective tackle, which is a hugely important stat, tackle efficiency, which saw the opposition winger run 60metres to score.

In saying all this, the ref who I hate to mention because you sound like your blaming him, but our defense regardless was the best in the league, but 4 sets in a row starting on our 40m for defense being offside. I personally counted the opposition offside far more than 4 times but not the amount of penalties in a big clump like against the warriors which breaks all sense of intensity and go forward. I suspect it was an inexperienced touch judge call. There needs to be some leeway on players trying to get line speed which means breaking exactly on the refs call, but if you cant hear or see him, it happens as it did plenty of times for St George but no bunch of penalties, they were swarming on the edges before the middle breaks which is a giveaway of being offside.

Regardless we shouldnt have lost by 4 tries, we havd the chances to score plenty, we should have been looking at 24-16, but we just failed to score in positions they defended very well and w didnt and we botched our defense. Playing to the whistle the dragons deserved the win.

One of those games every team is going to lose away each year, that the focus is usually on bouncing back from. Im starting to think we should be challienging these pin point kicks to the corner, not just waiting for the player to land but having one of our best leapers (Montoya perhaps) looking to bat the ball back or just catch it and score. I know its part of our strategy, but I think they should mix it up when we have johnson capale of really high bombs giving a winger a chance to try for it, but have the centre and back rower there to smack the ball catcher if we dont catch it. Because its a certain try if we do pinch it. Th only thing is we need to be careful, if going for it, we need to not take the player out, but you this year cant pull out either (which everyone things is a dumb rule), so the catcher has to compete if they decide they are close enough to try, without taking the player out or without pulling out lol.

tdgeek

29746 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3220770 21-Apr-2024 07:22

TeaLeaf:

tdgeek:

TDidnt see the first 30 minutes, apparently that was dominant the commentators said

Yes indeed, it looked like we were going to see a 30-0 scoreline at one stage.

We got pinged 4 consecutive sets in a row which the ref gave them opportunities in our 30 which they nailed all of them. One of them we failed to block the runner for Montoya to catch the ball and Lomax came screaming through the air to take it, fantastic try. We usually have the centre, RTS blocking for the wing, not sure why RTS wasnt in position so Montoya can leap, Im just unsure why he didnt have a quick look at what was bearing down on him and then decide to put everything into the player landing with the ball and smashing him, or to leap himself and compete for the ball.

another soft try RTS did it again, he came rushing out of the line looking for the intercept, he needs to get that out of his game and to stay marking him man. He also had one try that was due to an ineffective tackle, which is a hugely important stat, tackle efficiency, which saw the opposition winger run 60metres to score.

In saying all this, the ref who I hate to mention because you sound like your blaming him, but our defense regardless was the best in the league, but 4 sets in a row starting on our 40m for defense being offside. I personally counted the opposition offside far more than 4 times but not the amount of penalties in a big clump like against the warriors which breaks all sense of intensity and go forward. I suspect it was an inexperienced touch judge call. There needs to be some leeway on players trying to get line speed which means breaking exactly on the refs call, but if you cant hear or see him, it happens as it did plenty of times for St George but no bunch of penalties, they were swarming on the edges before the middle breaks which is a giveaway of being offside.

Regardless we shouldnt have lost by 4 tries, we havd the chances to score plenty, we should have been looking at 24-16, but we just failed to score in positions they defended very well and w didnt and we botched our defense. Playing to the whistle the dragons deserved the win.

One of those games every team is going to lose away each year, that the focus is usually on bouncing back from. Im starting to think we should be challienging these pin point kicks to the corner, not just waiting for the player to land but having one of our best leapers (Montoya perhaps) looking to bat the ball back or just catch it and score. I know its part of our strategy, but I think they should mix it up when we have johnson capale of really high bombs giving a winger a chance to try for it, but have the centre and back rower there to smack the ball catcher if we dont catch it. Because its a certain try if we do pinch it. Th only thing is we need to be careful, if going for it, we need to not take the player out, but you this year cant pull out either (which everyone things is a dumb rule), so the catcher has to compete if they decide they are close enough to try, without taking the player out or without pulling out lol.

I don't think I blamed a ref

It was like they all had a few beers and were off, but obviously thats not the case. Its also highly unlikely that most players were a bit off. It was like the last game, the draw. We were outplayed. My take is like the last game, the other side looked at what we do well, our game style and countered it. Shut us down. Again we had no plan B or C, looked a little lost. Webster needs to step up and get past that he created a top team, and work on strategy. Here is what we will do and here is how we will adapt when the other side plays smart to nullify our strengths.

TeaLeaf

6325 posts

Uber Geek

#3221535 22-Apr-2024 17:16

Well not much you can do when the ref calls offside 4 restarts in a row, that would shut down any team offensively. However, given just how good we have been on defense this year, you would expect them at minimum to stop them 3/4 attempts. The defense was just woeful regardlesss of 4 sets in a row, that can happen without the refs and we have shown plenty of times we can defend it, Minds were not on the job, I guess it is an odd way to get that much pressure rather than the team hitting it up then getting 6 again etc, more stop start, but still terrible.

But I expected a closer game than sportsbet had it. They were on point the week prior.

However, on a positive note. SJ may stay for James, I would if I were him. He would be the on prop in the top 3 that I think suits SJ style more. I think Maiu;u will learn tons from him, he will likely be our captain should Tohu retire, Tohu might want him to be next season. Hes not a guy you say no too lol. Go forward is already our feature, imo it will step up a notch next season because he will demand it from the player around him. IMO outside a serious inj, I think SJ plays next season minimum.

NRL: Shaun Johnson admits James Fisher-Harris signing provides another strong lure to return to Warriors | Newshub

JPNZ

1547 posts

Uber Geek

#3221672 23-Apr-2024 08:34

The warriors playing away from home (1 win - 2 losses in 2024) feels like previous years when they didn't travel so well. The titans (0 wins from 6 games) this ANZAC day who should be easy beats but the Titans have been building and wouldn't surprise me if they push the Warriors close.

Then two games away from home (Knights and Roosters) Knights with no Ponga should be an easy win the Roosters will be much harder. Interesting few weeks ahead!

Panasonic 65GZ1000, Onkyo RZ730, Atmos 5.1.2, AppleTV 4K, Nest Mini's, PS5, PS3, MacbookPro, iPad Pro, Apple watch SE2, iPhone 15+

tdgeek

29746 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3221774 23-Apr-2024 11:16

TeaLeaf:

Well not much you can do when the ref calls offside 4 restarts in a row, that would shut down any team offensively. However, given just how good we have been on defense this year, you would expect them at minimum to stop them 3/4 attempts. The defense was just woeful regardlesss of 4 sets in a row, that can happen without the refs and we have shown plenty of times we can defend it, Minds were not on the job, I guess it is an odd way to get that much pressure rather than the team hitting it up then getting 6 again etc, more stop start, but still terrible.

But I expected a closer game than sportsbet had it. They were on point the week prior.

However, on a positive note. SJ may stay for James, I would if I were him. He would be the on prop in the top 3 that I think suits SJ style more. I think Maiu;u will learn tons from him, he will likely be our captain should Tohu retire, Tohu might want him to be next season. Hes not a guy you say no too lol. Go forward is already our feature, imo it will step up a notch next season because he will demand it from the player around him. IMO outside a serious inj, I think SJ plays next season minimum.

NRL: Shaun Johnson admits James Fisher-Harris signing provides another strong lure to return to Warriors | Newshub

Its the refs fault? He only targeted Warriors?

TeaLeaf

6325 posts

Uber Geek

#3221916 23-Apr-2024 19:15

Ouch losing Kurt Capewell, but getting Walker back finally couldnt come soon enough with CHT injured. I really want Niukore back for that damaging line speed defense, the guy is more intimidating in person.

BUT finally Zyon Maiu'u is moved up to the bench, something I think should have happened last week. He is going to be a mean as inter-change for aFB. Cant wait to see the wreckng ball running off the back fence, big defenders bouncing off of him. Solid move by Webby.

a lot of starter long injuries though, but Niukore I woulnt think will be far away.

19yo backrower Laban EaRNS a starting roll this week. Hes been solid just quietly doing his work.

NRL: Dylan Walker in, Kurt Capewell out for NZ Warriors against Gold Coast Titans on Anzac Day | Newshub

TeaLeaf

6325 posts

Uber Geek

#3222451 24-Apr-2024 16:25

and I thought JFH coming to the Warriors from Penrith was big news, get this, Jett Cleary snubs Penrith and signs 3 year deal to play for the Warriors, hes a Kiwi, spent most of his youth here as did Nathan which surprised me he didnt sign with the Warriors but never say never, still this isnt just because he is Nat Cleary's brother and Ivan's son, this kid is a dang good half and just when I was questioning the succession plan for SJ.

He was expected to play outside Nathan next year as the classy 6 (one of the best running backs ever imo) Jermoe Luai is leaving. So this causes a headache for them.

Now we have a abundant of good halves, Jett is plating 7 for the Panther SG ball team, so he must be more than just a 6 which we have plenty of, but next year would look good outside SJ and pickup some class from SJ and move to 7 for the Warriors post SJ whenever that is.

Cameron George talking signing into our pathways, screw that, most the good halves I recall have played FG at 20yo, some 19yo. Heck both SJ and Nat Cleary were 20

HUGE signing imo, for the clubs future of remaining competitive.

NRL: NZ Warriors sign Jett Cleary, younger brother of Panthers superstar Nathan, to three-year deal | Newshub

tdgeek

29746 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3222941 25-Apr-2024 19:35

Sigh. FFS Warriors

Poor. Again.

1 | ... | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | ... | 50