Post Match NRL 2019 - Round 8 - Warriors vs Knights Post Match Discussion

[jonno]

We are incredibly slow, Fusitua got run down by Ben Hampton in the cowboys game and it happened over about 20 meters.

I don’t think we’ve scored a try from inside our own half since round one, something we used to take for granted with Shaun Johnson.

Fusitua should plan on bulking up and moving into the back row. He's not going to be jumping forever, and he's got great offloading and passing skills. And he's quick for an edge forward, but slow for a winger.

When will the warriors ever learn how to manage players careers?

 

[Fearmuss]

Am i the only one that thinks Papalii is overrated and doesn't offer much ?

Tacklebot, short, not explosive, shit attack.

No way he should be on the edge. If he developed a bit more sting in his contact he would be good in the middle.

 

[jonno]

Tacklebot, short, not explosive, shit attack.

No way he should be on the edge. If he developed a bit more sting in his contact he would be good in the middle.

You forgot dumb as a plank.

 

[ZoysTheWarrior]

My two cents for what it's worth:

- Despite the talk about 'playing for each other' it's clearly not happening in the forwards... Burr and Harris are probably the only two who can lay some claim to performing at a 1st grade level. It's sad seeing these guys being physically beaten up like this up front. Almost pathetic really watching guys like Paasi and Ah'Mau being dominated.

- Halves are playing way too deep to be effective. If Chanel Harris-Tavita plays any deeper he might as well be playing fullback. Added to the fact that they almost always have to stop to receive a pass from dummy half, they really are just sitting ducks for the defense. Waiting and hoping that Nikorima can play a bit more flat and use his speed to at least get the defense back peddling.

- Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is a great player but also has to be one of the poorest support running fullbacks in the game. The number of opportunities missed by him not pushing up and supporting the front runners is really costing us. It's almost like he prefers to hang back to be able to organise the defense due to a lack of confidence in it, rather than pushing into the line like Tadesco, Tommy Turbo and Ponga etc. Ponga really showed him up at the end by running that fantastic support line to score that try.

- I've actually gone full circle and started to feel sorry for Kearney. Think he took the 'loyal' approach with some of these players and they are well and truly letting him down. Adam Blair is nothing but a walking penalty/disgrace, Isaac Luke has a contract so isn't interested anymore, the players recruited haven't made a difference, the Halves are not adding any impact and his loyalty is just not being rewarded. He has to grow some balls and make a statement through selection or just find a new club to move onto. Surely Cameron George can't accept this level of ineptness on the field and particular in front of home crowds????....

 

[Old Sid]

My two cents for what it's worth:

- Despite the talk about 'playing for each other' it's clearly not happening in the forwards... Burr and Harris are probably the only two who can lay some claim to performing at a 1st grade level. It's sad seeing these guys being physically beaten up like this up front. Almost pathetic really watching guys like Paasi and Ah'Mau being dominated.

- Halves are playing way too deep to be effective. If Chanel Harris-Tavita plays any deeper he might as well be playing fullback. Added to the fact that they almost always have to stop to receive a pass from dummy half, they really are just sitting ducks for the defense. Waiting and hoping that Nikorima can play a bit more flat and use his speed to at least get the defense back peddling.

- Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is a great player but also has to be one of the poorest support running fullbacks in the game. The number of opportunities missed by him not pushing up and supporting the front runners is really costing us. It's almost like he prefers to hang back to be able to organise the defense due to a lack of confidence in it, rather than pushing into the line like Tadesco, Tommy Turbo and Ponga etc. Ponga really showed him up at the end by running that fantastic support line to score that try.

- I've actually gone full circle and started to feel sorry for Kearney. Think he took the 'loyal' approach with some of these players and they are well and truly letting him down. Adam Blair is nothing but a walking penalty/disgrace, Isaac Luke has a contract so isn't interested anymore, the players recruited haven't made a difference, the Halves are not adding any impact and his loyalty is just not being rewarded. He has to grow some balls and make a statement through selection or just find a new club to move onto. Surely Cameron George can't accept this level of ineptness on the field and particular in front of home crowds????....

Excellent observation on the standing too far back... we gain at best 5 metres once they've made the first 10 back up again. And, once again the few penalties that we get are totally wasted...how many 10-15 m kicks did we manage last week. Why do we start off by facing as we intend to kick...at best 15 meters??? Why are we not supporting the runners, like alongside Kenny/Bunty/Fusitua etc from the back, if someone, anyone was beside him that immediately puts their defence in two minds as to who is going to get it, same from 20m restarts...smart effort needed boys, stop taking the ball standing still and one out runs for 5m, get up to full speed before taking the ball, and see what a difference that makes to line breaks, offloads, enthusiasm, crowd support and so on... and for god sake, try a chip n chase and see how fast they come up in defence next time...??

 

[defensivebomb]

I also think we need someone with a decent boot. We tend to kick the ball from halfway a lot because we get scored against a lot. These typically go about 25 metres, rather than behind the goal line, which ends up with the first tackle of a defensive set being the 35 metre mark, and their second tackle on halfway. So the opposition is immediately put back into a good attacking position every time they score points.

That's not to even mention the general play kicking, kicking to get us out of trouble, kicking on the fifth, and kicking for points.

We all think the deficiency with the roster is leadership and big forwards. We also need a decent kicker as well. I have no idea what KN can fill this void.

 

[wizards rage]

Shocking season but I feel a lot comes back to our injuries early in the season. We took a gamble on getting through the season, saving cash and hoping to rely on the senior players pulling us through.

Injuries to Green, Fusitua, Sheck and bully have wrecked our combinations and momentum. We look like a team that lacks confidence and has multiple players playing injured.

Not making excuses but the best teams keep the same lineup to grow combinations

 

[Aman]

Burr has made me eat my words. Really impressed by this guy. I genuinely thought he was a dud but man he trys hard and has worked on getting errors out of his game that he was known for.

 

[bruce]

Am i the only one that thinks Papalii is overrated and doesn't offer much ?

He is always near the top on tackle count.

However last week some forwards were just slowing them down instead of stopping them. I haven't watched a replay, but that would show just who was allowing the post contact metres. Also I am suspicious of any bro with a fancy haircut, this is rugby league not a bloody fashion show.

His mother is a genuine hard nut in the woman's team, and drove him hard when he was a youngster, so if he is weak mentally you would have to ask why.

The only credit I will give him, apart from his tackle count, is his age. Forwards mature and harden later.

What really worries me though is his build. He is like his mother and is quite stocky. I guess Corvo will have him under close watch but he is carrying a lot of weight.

Neither in top 30, and Frei is only on a development contract.

Heyzeuss spare me. That is dodgy squad selection 101, purely on the basis of hunger. Those two want to win, I wouldn't like to get between them and a rump steak. In a club like the Warriors one would think that attitude is gold.

If what your saying is true Bruce we need to punt the culprits and replace them with some NSW & QLD country lads. Sure might not be as talented but you know they'll be giving there guts every week.

Absolutely, and to invite the elephant back into the room the Mad Butcher was saying that 25 years ago. This club learns real slow.

 

[pbrown01123]

Bateman is a skinny little Pom with a hard head, good on him.

I will just add I was talking to an Aussie mate of mine, who knows nothing about NRL he is a an AFL fan. He knew Andy Platt when he was here. Every Thursday he, Betts and another import used to spend Thursday after training drinking themselves stupid at home. He was not impressed, neither am I. Poms are not welcome in my team. I couldn't care if Heyzeuss himself was a bloody Pom.

Our backs are not the problem right now, it is our forward pack. Ah Mau is doing the job, so is Afoa and Harris. What about the rest, and they are not small. I would not want to be hit by Papaili, Blair is a big guy too. It is a mental problem as alluded to by SK, but all this pack were signed by him. He has to carry the can for that.

You mention speed, Fusitua isn't slow and Ken is slow off the mark but when he get going he is ok. Hiku isn't slow nor his Chanel Harris-Tavita. Green was carrying a groin injury and was let down by his forwards. Nikorima will add genuine speed from close in, but if he is getting belted by forwards as well it might not help much.

I have been harsh on the ISP side, but there are some goers in that team Riki and Frie for starters. Are they worth a go? I don't know but something has to happen.

I was going to let this pass on the basis it ( I mean the 'argument' - honest ) is so stupid as to be beneath contempt, but I just can't. Are you seriously saying that you wouldn't consider a player of the ilk of the Burgesses, James Graham or the Canberra quartet on the basis of some 20-odd year old hearsay?

 

[Warrior482]

I think Corvos been well and truly Warrior'd. Probably thought "righto diggahs we've got the fitness and intensity down last season, this year we'll work on improving our muscle mass and strength. Sick hey boys".
Little did he know that this team don't work like that. They've absolutely shit the bed and thrown it all out the window.

Jokes aside i know The Lads© are fit, capable and smart enough (its league ffs. honestly.)
They don't play with any confidence in the gameplan whatsoever. You can tell because plan b is: plan a isn't working, shit the bed.

Green has always been an excellent supporting half. Not a great lead half.

Rog isn't support running because he's doing way way too much work trying to get The Lads© to fire.

Bigface has made some downright poor decisions in team selection and tactics, but to be fair the same selections and tactics got us within a bee's laho away from a win against the storm.

That 2nd NZ team ready to go yet?

 

[SPJ]

I watched the game again to see specifically where we fall short. It's real weird how games look so different when it's playing live vs as a replay.
Some positives before I get into what looks off:
- Maumolo is a machine
- Paasi then Maumolo hit ups are lethal in getting us momentum
- Our big back three, when fully fit, will get us serious metres, momentum and attract penalties
- Hiku and Harris are strong in attack
- Blair controls ruck speed in the tackle well
- Refs penalised Knights for over-wrestling and being offside multiple times - we just rarely took advantage of it with poor attacking sets
- Burr and Papalii are real hard workers
- Herbert looks smart defensively

There are some serious issues here though which have been around for years:
- We don't control ruck speed cos we rarely physically dominate them in the tackle, especially during the first few tackles - oppositions quick play the balls lead directly to poor line speed
- Middle forwards playing for way too long and not enough metres (or forwards) off the bench
- poor running and lethargic shape off the first few runs in a set off our line
- halves, especially Green, standing way too far back and not threatening the line at all
- horrible 10m touch finders from Green and lack of kick penetration- he doesn't have a big boot or a torpedo bomb
- clunky attacking shape, especially when they use Blair or Papalii as 2nd receivers with the centre running a crash (inside) line - worked once with Harris (who really should be on the right edge) and Hiku but didn't lead to a try
- block play off green where prop runs an out line gets shut down quickly resulting in us losing all go forward
- Chanel Harris-Tavita is too green - some poor last tackle options and didn't execute quite a few runs and passes
- we looked real tired from the beginning of the second half. Once again, we needed fresh forwards off the bench
- Beale needs to step back against 6'5" dudes and defend the kick rather than take himself out of play with a leap

We can criticize the forwards effort and will as much as we want but our forwards are slower (heavy), shorter (harder offloads) and are being played for way too many minutes because of the coaching staff. They don't get much help at all from the bench and they play off halves that can't kick to win field position, whether it be bombs that don't land in the 10m zone or kicks that don't force drop outs. The last few rucks said it all when Blair, Burr and Papalii stood in front of 6'5" 125kg Saifiti and Klemmer and got dwarfed; Kearney knows and acknowledges this issue and continues to do nothing about it except give Satae/Sao 15 minutes at best.

 

[tajhay]

Bruh, You're on the magic mushies!! You're the chairman of the Anti Kodi brigade! Do you even go back & read your posts? Lol

Not specifically targeted at this post...but

We have received a lot of messages and reports on AusWarriorsFan posts along with others who have just gone back and forth hurling insults at each other. We have posted 3 warnings in the past week on threads, had conversations with him, and still see this back and forth still going on. We have also provided ways you can ignore posters.

Everyone has a right of opinion.

Enough is enough now. Play the ball, not the man, or don't post. The vast majority on here don't appreciate posts like the above clogging up threads.

Instead of posts being deleted, users who engage in this behaviour causing mods more work will get a holiday for a week.

Save yourself and our time by using the ignore function if you don't want to be moderated.

Note - It's hard for us to act upon moderation on reports when usually both parties in the reported posts are guilty of baiting and trolling each other.

 

[Billy Teets James]

Not specifically targeted at this post...but

We have received a lot of messages and reports on AusWarriorsFan posts along with others who have just gone back and forth hurling insults at each other. We have posted 3 warnings in the past week on threads, had conversations with him, and still see this back and forth still going on. We have also provided ways you can ignore posters.

Everyone has a right of opinion.

Enough is enough now. Play the ball, not the man, or don't post. The vast majority on here don't appreciate posts like the above clogging up threads.

Instead of posts being deleted, users who engage in this behaviour causing mods more work will get a holiday for a week.

Save yourself and our time by using the ignore function if you don't want to be moderated.

Fair enough...I guess. Deleted Post.

 

[razzrillinger]

Discovered this for anybody who is interested :

 

[defensivebomb]

Discovered this for anybody who is interested :

View attachment 40876

That'll explain Paasi's punchy runs in the weekend. Great post-contact metres.

 

[mt.wellington]

Tacklebot, short, not explosive, shit attack.

No way he should be on the edge. If he developed a bit more sting in his contact he would be good in the middle.

Kids 20 years old and already capable of playing 80 minutes. Watch him get better and better over the next few years. He's going to be our captain one day...

 

[bruce]

I was going to let this pass on the basis it ( I mean the 'argument' - honest ) is so stupid as to be beneath contempt, but I just can't. Are you seriously saying that you wouldn't consider a player of the ilk of the Burgesses, James Graham or the Canberra quartet on the basis of some 20-odd year old hearsay?

Mate it was not hearsay, anybody who had to sit through the pain of watching those useless poms back in 1995 - 96 was not hearsay, we saw it and it was disgraceful. We also saw English teams come down under during Super League and get thrashed because they couldn't care less.

They they brought down those young guys to the Warriors who were even worse than our youngsters.

Sorry brother, rave all you like about Canberra and the Burgess brothers (they are just dickheads anyway). A couple of Poms trying hard at Canberra and James Graham isn't enough to get me wanting a Pom unless he is a James Graham reincarnation.

Call me stupid if you wish, I bet you were for signing Tompkins as well.

 

[pbrown01123]

Mate it was not hearsay, anybody who had to sit through the pain of watching those useless poms back in 1995 - 96 was not hearsay, we saw it and it was disgraceful. We also saw English teams come down under during Super League and get thrashed because they couldn't care less.

They they brought down those young guys to the Warriors who were even worse than our youngsters.

Sorry brother, rave all you like about Canberra and the Burgess brothers (they are just dickheads anyway). A couple of Poms trying hard at Canberra and James Graham isn't enough to get me wanting a Pom unless he is a James Graham reincarnation.

Call me stupid if you wish, I bet you were for signing Tompkins as well.

I didn't call you stupid Bruce ( although many on here have ), it was your argument that I had a problem with which was;

"I will just add I was talking to an Aussie mate of mine, who knows nothing about NRL he is a an AFL fan. He knew Andy Platt when he was here. Every Thursday he, Betts and another import used to spend Thursday after training drinking themselves stupid at home. He was not impressed, neither am I. Poms are not welcome in my team. I couldn't care if Heyzeuss himself was a bloody Pom."

I was trying to point out that it was rather a sweeping generalisation to make about ESL players.

As it turns out I have a mate who knows nowt about NRL ( synchronised swimming fan ) and he heard a rumour that certain Aussie players like to drink themselves incontinent and then simulate intercourse with a dog whilst others like to give themselves a urine palette cleanser before going back on the booze. He also heard of some NZ players who fancy themselves as film stars in such home-movie epics as 'Escobar - The Kiwi Konnection'. He was not impressed and neither etc etc.....

 

[Swanny]

Kids 20 years old and already capable of playing 80 minutes. Watch him get better and better over the next few years. He's going to be our captain one day...

Yeah and not to mention that it was spoken of all off season that he was now considered a middle forward and had trained that way, yet finds himself out on an edge. Has regularly topped the tackle count and also provided a nice offload on occasions.