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#3401601 11-Aug-2025 09:39

JPNZ:

Huge games this round.

Tonight Storm v Broncos, Raiders v Sea Eagles (bogey team), Dolphins v Roosters, Doggies vs Warriors all should be good games.

I was disappointed in the Raiders loss to the Dragons in cyclone conditions, just didnt play well enough (missed touch on penalties twice, kicked out on the full twice, made too many errors =17) Was very funny seeing all the doggies fans thanking the dragons so they could go top on Saturday only to fall to the Tigers on Sunday and drop down to 3rd hahaha.

Warriors will need a huge game to stop the slide and 3 losses in a row. Games still to come vs the rejuvenated Eels and Sea Eagles who could still be in the run for the 8. Pressures on

Well, the storm v broncos ended up being one sided with injuries and wasn't much of a game to watch. Glad my Raiders stood up after a loss and put Manly away. Still odds on to take top spot eith an easier run home than the storm and a bye this weekend to boot. Phins and Roosters although ending up one sided was a hell of a game. Very enjoyable to see Leniu and Donaghue going at it along with whyte, tawha & molo. Love a good bit of passion.

Pressure caught up with the warriors, I never expected them to get close but the slide goes on, they were woeful. I tell you what watch out for the Dragons this week, beat the sharks and raiders last 2 weeks and look strong. Warriors should just aim to attack more, the swap out of Boyd was wrong call in the rain. They needed better kicking. Mountain to climb to stay 5th or 6th

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#3403784 15-Aug-2025 13:58

JPNZ: Phins and Roosters although ending up one sided was a hell of a game. Warriors should just aim to attack more, the swap out of Boyd was wrong call in the rain. They needed better kicking. Mountain to climb to stay 5th or 6th

Two of the most entertaining teams in one game, was a cracker. Its hard to imagine the Roosters not making the 8 with their Offense for and overall FnA. Speaking of, the Storm are out to +252 diff, with the best For and Against. I think a hard ride home will be to their benefit, beating the Panthers has given the Warriors a life line. I don't see them losing to the Bulldogs next week either.

What the flap, ejecting Boyd to NSW cup????? I like TMM, imo now CHT is 6 he is our best 14, but Boyd is creating overlaps and holes in the defense with that snappy running at the line and those laser no look passes out the back sucking in 2-3 players before he does so. Its exactly what the Warriors need, they can create a much better red zone try conversion % off the back of Boyd. Well it came back to bite Webbie in the butt with TMM getting injured early with the HIA.

Yes Dragons wont be easy, Warriors get back Egan and Boyd but lose Kurt Capewell, uggh. Speaking of 9s Egan up against one the greats in Cook. Sam Healey named in our Interchange, I think thats a good move, we need speed and damn that guys quick off the mark and imo could replace anybody in the back line if needed. The other guy in dragons who is always good is the captain, Gutherson.

Webbie made it clear to me, in after match conf few weeks back when he said we want to play who we are, pin teams and dominate them, words to that effect. Im all for that, that is how you get to the red zone. But the Warriors red zone try conversion is absurdly bad. To eject the only half who improves that was crazy to me, I just hope that didnt impact Boyd's confidence. The other thing is, we gotta start contending bombs, its obvious the players have been told to let the player land and pin him. For me that is when you contend cross field bombs. Boyd has a highly accurate kicking game, get him to put more hang time and contend the last tackle, or throw the ball around, starting with a set play, try coast to coast etc.

Warriors are not getting enough Value from their current edge backs. Its like we are playing a team of 13 forwards at times. RTS needs to come in at centre, he is wise but doesnt have the pace we need, Id consider next year RTS to centre and Metcalf to wing and on the right side Lieataua back at right Centre, Berry maybe interchange for backs or second row. Not sure about Pompey. Sam Healey is pushing for that 9 spot.

Fantastic finish for the NSW Cup Minor Premiers on the weekend. Boyd needs to play that grubber for the centre in first grade, hes a weapon. Doyle at FB and Kali on the wing show extreme pace both with a long range try each.

JPNZ

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#3403792 15-Aug-2025 15:01

Really thought the Panthers had it last night, midway through the game they were grinding the storm out. Intercept pass and try to coates swung the game. Two HUGE games tonight, Warriors v Drags and then Dogs v Roosters which should be game of the round IMHO.

Nice to already have the 2 points for the Raiders and sit back and enjoy bye week. Bring on the weekend!

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#3403899 15-Aug-2025 18:49

JPNZ:

Dogs v Roosters which should be game of the round IMHO.

Yes indeed, I have my mind on who will take it. Roosters are desperate sitting on 9th, which is absurd given their points diff and at times stunning offense. The bulldogs have just been very well coached imo, Ciraldo quite possibly will win the Coach of Year.

Warriors need to shift the ball right after Boyd has done his thing, RTS has lost his speed, the time I would use him is if he can get a 2 on 1 with that amazing left foot step he has, it is a weapon close to the line.

They need more speed, Metcalf will help, but I feel they need 3 genuine speedsters.

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#3405820 20-Aug-2025 11:42

Ended up being an easy win as I expected with the Roosters over the Doggies. Doggies for much of the season looked like an unstoppable freight train toward the Minor Premiers. The Roosters on the other hand have gone from unlikely to looking outside chance GF contenders with one of the better offensive/defensive games in the comp. Strangely the 2nd best offense in the Dolphins may now miss out on the 8. While the best offense and defense in the Storm have the Doggies this week. Which should If Melb win, could see them jump to 1st, with Canberra playing the form team in the Panthers. Although, should Melb win their final 3, I think the Minor Premiership may end up being decided by Canberras final game result with the Dolphins, with possibly also the Dolphins last chance to make the 8. Very compelling intertwined games to watch over the next 3 weeks.

The Warriors back in 4th, simply have to get their act together in the red zone. So many mistakes and penalties last week, despite the Win, they left 18 points out there imo. All season long they have had no issue getting to the red zone with reasonable ease, but either run out of offensive creativity or make an error. Boyd adds offensive complexity but you need the team to execute the plays and imo if there is no obvious try on, go to Boyd's accurate grubber for another set, Id rather see our players charging onto grubbers than not contending cross field bombs.

Rocco Berry is finally back and looking to start at Centre, pushing CNK back to FB. It seems our future star centre Ali Leiataua may not return to first grade this year after doing his ankle in NSW Cup last weekend. Which means Pompey will be the other Centre (although I think you have to make room for your best players and imo that means TMM plays Centre and Pompey plays off bench as 14 covering both outside backs and 2nd row). Kurt Capewell is also back at 2nd row adding starch to the defense, which means Leka will come off the bench, but Ford is now out until Finals which means Vamauga will start at Prop.

NSW Cup has #1 Warriors vs #2 Eels this weekend. If only the for and against was our first grades with 723-350, a mighty 353 points diff, Warriors 22 games, 19 wins 1draw 2 losses, locked up Minor Premiers a couple of wins back.

One of the two losses was last weekend with Panthers beating Warriors by just 2 points. Must have been conflicting for the Cleary family. Jett Cleary having another good game as #7 and kicking 3 from 3, seems to have the kicking boot of his brother and Father.

JPNZ

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#3405858 20-Aug-2025 14:48

The best Friday night of the year! The 4 best teams at the moment going at it.

Panthers v Raiders in Mudgee followed by the Storm v Bulldogs from Melbourne. Panthers are a bogey team for the Raiders having lost 4 outta the last 5. It will be a tough ask although its a neutral venue and Raiders off the bye. Penrith have had some massive games in that 9 win run, hope we catch them slipping like the Dragons did to Raiders a couple weeks back.

Storm v Dogs you would have to favour the storm at home. If Dogs want to be contenders then they need to start beating top teams. They have Panthers & Sharks after the storm. Should be pretty much guranteed a top 4 spot if they win one.

Warriors, what can you say, its Do or Die against their bogey team. Lose and they drop to a possible 7th place (sharks on bye, Broncos defeat Knights, Panthers defeat Raiders) They absolutly have to beat the Titans at home!

What a weekend to look forward too

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TeaLeaf

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#3406108 21-Aug-2025 13:12

JPNZ:

Panthers v Raiders in Mudgee followed by the Storm v Bulldogs from Melbourne. Panthers are a bogey team for the Raiders having lost 4 outta the last 5.

Storm v Dogs you would have to favour the storm at home. If Dogs want to be contenders then they need to start beating top teams. They have Panthers & Sharks after the storm. Should be pretty much guranteed a top 4 spot if they win one.

Yes a great Friday night for a few drinks and two good games.

Its hard not to go with the Panthers at the moment with the form peaking at the right end of the season. 9/10 wins with only the Storm beating Penrith by just 4 points. I also don't think its a good time of year to come out of a bye, but the Raiders have been pretty good all year. They finish top 2 though regardless, realistically need to beat Penrith and the Dolphins to have solid form going into week 1 Finals. Penrith also have a hard run home though, narrow loss to Melb last week, Raiders this week followed by Doggies finishing with the Dragons. Win all 3 and they are an outside chance to finish 3rd. I think this is the Game of the Round.

The Doggies form against quality sides has been spotty, Im not sure I see them in the Final. One has to expect the Storm to be outright Favs to win this one. It is conceivable the Doggies lose their Final 3 games with the Storm, Penrith followed by another form team in the Sharks, that is a damn tough run into the finals and a possibility to dent their confidence. The flip side is if they beat a couple of those teams it gives them some positivity going into finals.

IMO Sharks are the team flying under the radar potentially Broncos, and with Sam Walker being on fire as the form half back right now, the Roosters chances are hugely improved.

I think the 8 is pretty much set, Dolphins still have an outside chance if they win all 3 remaining with that big final game against Raiders, leaving them on 13 wins so other results will have to go their way.

Its a total gamble right now to guess GF day as the Finals draw will be a huge chunk of deciding who gets there, any of these top 9 teams could get to finals. Form suggests Storm or Panthers should make it, Raiders if they can impress over the next 3 weeks and maybe Sharks. Thats how I see it right at this point in time, which could change with the wind depending on how that Final draw looks like at end of Regular Season.

TeaLeaf

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#3406769 23-Aug-2025 14:45

Well those were closer games tam I expected, especially the Bulldogs losing by only a converted try, I expected Storm to tear them apart. Raiders with a miraculous win by 4 points shows they are still capable of beating good sides, but those highlights dont show the reality of the game. So now for Canberra, assuming Melb beat Rooosters next week and their final game and Storm do not lose to the Tigres, the Canberra v Dolphins game could decide the minor premiership.

Id rather the Warriors play Raiders week 1 of finals than the Storm, but neither is an easy task. Bulldogs not long back looked like tying up the Minior Premiership with ease, now look like they could slip as low as 5th, Warriors have to beat Titans who were part of that terrible period for the Warriors of 1/5. I really need to see some intensity at the RedZone, it needs some complexity and execution. Titans will not have the easy soft right edge of Capewell who is too slow to be considered a Centre now and DWZ who cant help himself coming in looking for the intercept of which he has a terrible for and against. Rocco Berry will add defense capable of covering DWZ but also capable offensively of getting over the line or sucking in defense only to offload to DWZ. Long term I expect Lieataua at centre on this side.

I use to be Niukore's biggest fan, but he doesnt seem to be hitting the ball up as much or breaking through the defense in red zone to score.

Warriors are close to the foundations of a new era. I can see some young faces retained, some older quality retained, some movement from NSW Cup as there are a couple of speedsters in there along with two quality 9s. I want Boyd to retain 7, our for and against would be +60-100 with conversions alone this season, but more so his ability to attack the line and then get that laser no look pass swinging the backline toward and overlap. Speed is the answer. At 27 I do not think Metcalf is going to pickup how to play 7, but he could be useful at creating open field play at Centre.

Maybe not next year, likely the year after due to contracts ending, I expect a new team, hopefully a faster zappier set of players both backs and forwards.

If the NRL puts in a U20 Draft system, this will be a ruin for the Warriors who have finally got their head around player management.

Either way, realistically, all I want from Webbie is to get us to the finals consistently and to keep our record of never having won the wooden spoon. Finals is a bit of a lottery with players injured, teams being faced based on where the system places you in the 8. Its a quick fire Tournament and thats how it needs to be played, come out firing. If we can be there 8/10 years, I can see us winning a GF finally.

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#3407060 24-Aug-2025 17:07

The Roosters - Eels game was over within 2 minutes with the best player in the comp the last 4 rounds was concussed HIA1 and wont be playing next week.

Great teams can win without an x factor HB, but the Roosters of this year isnt quite there. Eels showing how strange they can really turn it on when its all too late.

Warriors I would have given 8/10 until those 2 silly tries they piggy backed the Titans in. 32-6 looks a whole lot better than 32-18. But they had they Titans done in every way outside those two loose throw the ball around tries. What a difference having a genuine first grade Centre back makes and when Lieataua makes it back to replace Pompey, they will have increased their ability to score immensely

The question next year, given Boyd is everything you want in a 7, Metcalf is learning the position and I just don't feel we can be teaching 27yo players. Tough one as his speed is needed, but every position has a quality player in it. CHT and Boyd looked fantastic with they worked together to setup tries. Having an 85% goal kicker will add 100+ to our for and against next year, which would put us in a position to own a top 2 position potentially.

Interesting to see Niukore do some work and only at the 60m did Leka get to play, possibly the naughty card for those mistakes last week.

Tigres still have an outside chance, but they have to beat the Cowboys tonight. They certainly have some players, they just need to dominate with early points.

Top 8 could be as low as 11 wins, but more likely for and against on 12 points will end up the cut off.

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#3408987 31-Aug-2025 12:26

What a game Broncos vs Cowboys, 68 points. I said a few rounds back the Roosters and Sharks were the two under the radar, Roosters destroyed the Storm. The Doggies have righted their ship with a solid beating of Panthers who are top 8 but cant make top 4 now.

Warriors game, if they hadnt fallen asleep on defense when attacking they would have stopped two long range tries and won the game easily. I also find our strategy two one dimensional, I agree playing forceback is the right strategy, forcing the other team to work it out from their 5-10m without mistakes is the basics of the game, but our defense needs to be more consistent, at times it is brutal and solid across the line, at other times our flanks are confused and other times teams seem to go through large holes in the middle third.

As JFH said, we wont be victims to decisions made by the Refs, but its the third game where we have lost after some extremely controversial reffing.

Its irrelevant to me as we should have won that game given the territory and chances we had, many converted, but again the 100m tries is not something we should be letting through after being on offense.

Warriors still have some hope for the 4, Broncos have Storm next week and Sharks have Doggies. But Warriors still have to beat Manly who have a mathematical chance, but need Roosters to lose badly etc, highly unlikely. If Dolphins win today, they are more likely to make the 8 if Roosters lose with a much closer for and against.

Exciting times.

JPNZ

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#3410282 2-Sep-2025 09:40

Been in Australia the last two weeks so been enjoying the non stop league coverage over here. Rugby barely gets a mention in the media. Sooo happy for my Raiders to seal the minor premiership with one game remaining. Now to rest and get ready for Broncos or preferably sharks in the first round of finals.

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TeaLeaf

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#3411547 5-Sep-2025 12:52

Reece Walsh is on fire, the last few matches he is throwing ridiculous (in a good way) passes that simply put people through wide open space. The Storm are shot, Jahrome Hughes had only just returned to #7 after 5 weeks out (hence their form slump), the Storm had no chance from that point on. He is in the top 4 half backs in the game. It was a closer match than the score suggests, 4 tries to 3, Meanie only 1/3 conv, with Walsh kicking 3/4 conversions and 4/4 penalties. In saying that, Broncos have some sloppy defense, its simply down to whether Boy Genius stands up in the finals, if he does the Broncos could easily beat any team.

So with the Storm looking very shaky without the star half back Hughes, potentially takes out one of the opponents capable of beating the Raiders (should they make GF of course). In saying that they still have a very strong team, but #7 is the lynch pin of an entire team. Perhaps moving Munster to 7 and Papenhuyzen to 6 is a smarter move. Of course they could just play their RG 7, but I feel Finals is when you want your key positions fit and filled. #6 is a much easier position to fill than 7. Munster knows the plays, he can easily fill the role and still do his trickery as he usually does playing #6. Interested to see what they decide to do. Their forms since losing Hughes went from Minor Premier contenders to utter inconsistency. Cooper Cronk to do an Alphie Langer? lol

Regardless of not making the 4 after last weeks highly controversial bunker call and Broncos beating Storm, the Warriors still would prefer finishing 5th than 6th, they need to beat Manly tonight and the Sharks to lose to the Bulldogs.

Also #8 is yet to be confirmed with Roosters on 12 wins and both Dolphins and Manly on 11, however Roosters with for and against of +102, Dolphins +87, Manly +20. So even if Manly beat Warriors, it has to be a HUGE win and a huge loss for Roosters (ie extremely unlikely). However Dolphins are close enough to Roosters and with the Raiders reducing the team to largely a reserve grade Squad to protect better players from injury prior to Finals, its really up to the Sharks to take advantage and put a 40+ win on the Raiders. Roosters still need to lose to Rabbits, which for me is unlikely with the other Boy Genius, Sam Walker returning after concussion. In the prior 4 weeks after a lengthy injury Walker was the best player in that period, Try Assists alone he was double that of the next best. Sam Walker makes the Roosters Grand Final contenders.

Im happy Warriors are in the Finals. Regardless of a couple of games being decided by pretty speculative bunker over turn calls this season and yet another year with large numbers of the Starting 13 injured for lengthy periods, they still made it. But after a win/loss of 10/3 mid season, had they continued with that, were eying up contending Minor Prems. However, the second half should they lose tonight will be 4/7. Im still not a fan of playing a 1 dimensional game of Territory and Defense all game. Webbie has proven Warriors can be a consistent team at playing Territory, but we need to be far more creative with our backline along with mobile forwards like Leka joining the backline on offensive plays.

I say play for Territory as the default, but when we can, try to get the backline working to create open field play, when we can, contend those pin point kicks from Boyd, contend Boyds grubbers, contend for everything, the worst that can happen is not much different to not contending. Overall with the players we have, I expect to see much more complexity to offense. Rather than the outside backs and FB hitting the ball up, bomb and dont contend, rinse and repeat.

I think when we have Rocco Berry AND Ali Lieataua back in the Centre spots, along with Metcalf on the wing, we have 4 creative players in outside back positions. Combine that with two half backs plenty capable of trickery and a 2nd rower (Leka) highly capable of splitting the field with pace and strength and excellent at contending those high balls. IMO its time to play RTS as a #14 or a small forward, to make room for pace on that wing. When Lieataua is fit I think the Warriors will be a far more exciting team, especially if he combines with Leka, or with pace. Ali is so good at either stepping and running, or knowing how and when to setup the player outside or inside him.

JPNZ

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#3411566 5-Sep-2025 13:22

Yea the warriors win or lose tonight are going to face the Roosters or more likely the Panthers. I can't see them getting past either team even in Auckland. A good season of improvment after 2024, but not strong enough to make 2nd week of finals IMHO.

I think the young raiders may make a good game of it vs the Dolphins. Kinda weird having your team play this late in the season and the result not mattering at all. Bring on the Broncos week 1!

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JPNZ

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#3412604 8-Sep-2025 14:56

Well the Finals are set in stone.

Storm v Bulldogs at 9:50pm Friday

Warriors v Panthers at 6:05pm Saturday

Sharks v Roosters at 9:50pm Saturday

Raiders v Broncos at 6:05pm Sunday

Last two game are matches of the round for me. I think the Storm & Panthers will have too much in their respective matches.

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#3414525 13-Sep-2025 13:34

JPNZ:

I think the young raiders may make a good game of it vs the Dolphins.

I havnt been on GZ in a while but imo (I think I suggested at above) Raiders were never going to beat the Dolphins once the Raiders had taken their 3 really good players and the other good players from the team. I put a rather large figure on this for Dolphins 13+ but wasnt expecting such a huge win 62-24, not sure what that would have paid out.

Again showing the Dolphins are one of if not the best offensive team in the comp. Much like Raiders and Broncos though they rely largely on 3-4 players to get most of that offense done and have had a fairly good luck with injuries this year, the Storm and Roosters show when you lose your most important player in the #7 things can turn bad fast. Luckily for Roosters, Sam Walker's injury was only minor and hes back for the Finals after missing much of 25, which put the Roosters in the position of chasing just to make the 8, now Storm are doing their best without Hughes again, which took them out of Minor Prem contention and now is making them look super fragile with a very late try to beat the Bulldogs last night

JPNZ:

Sharks v Roosters at 9:50pm Saturday

Raiders v Broncos at 6:05pm Sunday

Last two game are matches of the round for me. I think the Storm & Panthers will have too much in their respective matches.

Yes imo the 2 Grand Finalists will be coming from these two games. If Walsh remains in the absurdly unstoppable form he is in, I can see him beating the Raiders, more so if the Raiders are a bit flat from those 8 rested players once actual intense game time starts, it happens. Roosters if Sam Walker returns to being in the form of best player in the game for those short couple of months, I think they will be be too much for the Sharks. However the Sharks were my "Wild" card, so I can still see them winning. Hynes whilst not the best player in the games this or last year he is still a class act. Luckily for the sharks the Match Review Committee (NRL execs cough cough) have downgraded his high contact so he is free to play the Roosters. Without Hynes the Sharks would have been chum ;-p

I would not write the Warriors off so easily, the Panthers are missing a couple of key players (and should have had more stood down over this womanising scandal, sends a rubbish message to female fans letting them play and pay for it post finals). The problem for the Warriors is going to be putting Capewell back into Centre, I think its a crazy decision. Taine Tuaupiki is not even playing and TMM is one the sideline as #14. It makes no sense not to play TMM at Centre and Capewell at 2nd row and bring Tuaupiki into #14, we lack speed and Tuaupiki on that left wing and bringing RTS into centre makes so much more sense. Home game to the Warriors, they have beaten or only just lost many games vs quality teams and this is not last years Panthers. They did however have that 10 win form a few matches back, so if they can get back to that, yes they should win, but similarly if the Warriors can hold onto the ball in the Redzone, utilise Leka out wide with Boyd sucking in 3-4 players, we should see him score a couple. Im 50/50 on this one, either team could win.

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