3-2-1 v Tigers

[Penrose Warrior]

Anyway

3. RTS. Got a real kick in his step, literally, at the moment.
2. TT. So good at the back. I would've had Roger there but Webby got it right.
1. Vaimauga. The enforcer we need

HMs for Boyd, he missed more tackles than is ideal but loved his running game, directness and long kicking game. DWZ was good, CHT is coming on each week, JFHs first stint was particularly good, Egan having a huge year, Clark power house again, Leka is a freak, Niukore hit some great holes etc.

 

[Big Marn]

Not sure what that has to do with my observation. My point was we didn't win any short drop offs when we were kicking them, nor win any when Wests were kicking them.

My point was there are no more guarantees of getting the ball back like in the past with the long dropout. Teams are practcing more and more on trying to get the ball as they are expecting a short kick. Today we whiffed on that part of the game.
You may even see this evolve into a decrease in the number of grubbers into goal like Cleary and co use to keep pressure on, since they might not get the ball back.

 

[Meth]

I don't get this at all. What do you mean because he's there?

He's playing big minutes in the middle of the field. He's willing. He's going to have some stats. My argument is that those stats are deceiving.

I'm not really worked up about it. I can't really be bothered and, as you say, you don't see it the way I see it.

 

[Blair]

Gee, our nerves are frayed as Warriors fans.

3. Roger - leadership from the wing.
2. Tauapiki - fleet-footed, dangerous. The opposition defence is always guessing.
1. Boyd - I'm from the original Star Wars generation, I know 'jumping to lightspeed' is pure science-fiction, so take this with a grain of salt. OK, that said, Boyd reminded me of Cooper Cronk. In that his solid play, quick passing, clinical kicking and general game-management, always had us on the front foot. He's a true half. Oh, and his goal-kicking is a relief after Metcalf.

 

[Meth]

Oh, and his goal-kicking is a relief after Metcalf.

definitely

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Re Ford: He made 9.22m per run which is pretty much dead equal with Clark (9.23). Only Niukore and Leka made more metres per carry but neither carried the ball as often. So it’s not like he’s racking up stats by making lots of weak carries, he’s consistently getting over the advantage line.

 

[Meth]

My issue with Ford has consistently been the tackle he misses on the line, the penalty or the set retort he gives away, or the error. When he cuts those out, he's a serviceable first grade player. When he doesn't, like tonight, he isn't.

 

[Grizzman]

3 CHT he's becoming a really solid 6. He's not flashy but look at his stats. He's getting the job done every week. Took a lot of pressure off Boyd.
2 Taupiki -good pick from Webster. Offers a real difference
1 Vaimauga - Every week he grows in confidence and every week he gets more dangerous. He's starting to believe he belongs there and thats awsome/

HM: RTS, Boyd, Leka, Clark, Ford ( I see what I see).

 

[SpaceMonkey]

I can’t overstate what a freak Leka is. I thought he was having a relatively quiet game until the last 10 minutes but he created CHT second try by competing for the kick in his trademark way then created his own with pure strength and explosiveness. The kid has the kind of natural physical talent that can’t be coached and also seems to have a good football head on his shoulders. I’m glad he’s locked up long term.

 

[ozbash]

3 - CHT
2 - RTS
1 - BOYD

HMs. Fisher-Harris and DWZ

 

[Blair]

I can’t overstate what a freak Leka is. I thought he was having a relatively quiet game until the last 10 minutes but he created CHT second try by competing for the kick in his trademark way then created his own with pure strength and explosiveness. The kid has the kind of natural physical talent that can’t be coached and also seems to have a good football head on his shoulders. I’m glad he’s locked up long term.

If we'd lost him, as long-suffering Warriors fans, I'm sure we would've made the Rodney King Riots look like a Knitting-Nanas protest outside the local MP's office.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

He's playing big minutes in the middle of the field. He's willing. He's going to have some stats. My argument is that those stats are deceiving.

I'm not really worked up about it. I can't really be bothered and, as you say, you don't see it the way I see it.

Nah and you know I have no issue with a different viewpoint. I'm genuinely interested. I just don't see it, but nor am I the oracle of rugby league. I just see a lot of other players who are playing reasonably big minutes but they don't have Ford's minute by minute output. Nor do they have his ability to make post-contact metres. No doubt he has errors in his game.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

I can’t overstate what a freak Leka is. I thought he was having a relatively quiet game until the last 10 minutes but he created CHT second try by competing for the kick in his trademark way then created his own with pure strength and explosiveness. The kid has the kind of natural physical talent that can’t be coached and also seems to have a good football head on his shoulders. I’m glad he’s locked up long term.

I think the most impressive thing about him is his attitude. He's got such a good footy brain, he competes, he's hungry, pretty level-headed, doesn't overplay his hand, he's just a freak in all respects.

Shoutout to sup who was saying this 18 months ago

 

[Big Marn]

Nah and you know I have no issue with a different viewpoint. I'm genuinely interested. I just don't see it, but nor am I the oracle of rugby league. I just see a lot of other players who are playing reasonably big minutes but they don't have Ford's minute by minute output. Nor do they have his ability to make post-contact metres. No doubt he has errors in his game.

theres definitely a correlation between the agitation on here and when he starts the game. I think when he plays from the bench hes less error prone. IMO he should have had a breather at the 60min mark. Fatigue factors into errors and he was making more than a few by then.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

theres definitely a correlation between the agitation on here and when he starts the game. I think when he plays from the bench hes less error prone. IMO he should have had a breather at the 60min mark. Fatigue factors into errors and he was making more than a few by then.

Yeah, and as I said in previous weeks, he would be a bench player if it wasn't for Barnett's injury. But to me, he's doing a very serviceable job as a 3rd/4th banana.

I can't judge numbers definitively, all I can say is that his numbers are very compatible to Clark's, or JFH's in terms of carries, metres per carry, post contact metres (actually he beats both), tackles and so on. We would have killed for a guy running for 160m and making 40 tackles in the past, when we used to have Ale/Bunty etc as a fourth rotation prop who offered very little. Again, the stats say he made no errors, gave away one penalty (a lifting tackle that is play on a lot of the time) and missed 3 tackles. Hardly a mess.

 

[TheDMC]

theres definitely a correlation between the agitation on here and when he starts the game. I think when he plays from the bench hes less error prone. IMO he should have had a breather at the 60min mark. Fatigue factors into errors and he was making more than a few by then.

agree, he was tanked by the 60 min mark, but still kept trying (and some failing).

 

[Meth]

gave away one penalty (a lifting tackle that is play on a lot of the time)

At 3:56am, my jet lagged arse can think of 2 penalties, admittedly, both tough calls. He was penalised for a strip which led to the first try. Add that to just waving Douehi through and you start to get my frustration that he always seems to makes the crucial error.

 

[Rich102]

Having slept on it:
3 Boyd. Fitted in great. Not easy.
2 TT. Got flattened bad. Back on his feet and into it. Mullet would have been stretchered off.
1. Leka. The new kids are playing well.
Reminds me, I saw Cappy in the crowd. A lot of this is thanks to him.
HMs. Ford. Huge effort. Always gives everything. Sure he makes mistakes and gets wrong-footed. More up to the coach leaving him on too long.
CHT. Easy to miss a lot of his touches. Fine player.

 

[Izz]

Good team effort. Nobody really had a poor game.

3 - RTS - looking really threatening with almost every run at the moment
2 - TT - the kid has so much x-factor
1 - this is tough, but i'll go Tanah Boyd - slotted straight in, and i feel like he created a lot of space for us on attack

HM - almost everyone, really, but especially Vaimauga and Leka. Vaimauga is providing high impact minutes, and Leka made 40+ tackles in his 80 minutes, and still had gas at the end, which is a great sign.

Actually, HM to TMM, too. Slotted in pretty seamlessly at centre.

On the Ford debate, I kinda feel like that try was just as much Egan's fault. It was Egan who over committed on the outside man, which opened up that space for Doueihi. Ford's attempt was pretty feeble, but so was Egan's.

Pleasing to see Dallin hitting the line hard on his kick returns. Don't think his defense can be fixed at this stage of his career, so he just has to maximize the rest of his game.

And poor Berry. Feel like even if this isn't season-ending, the coaching staff should give him the rest of the season to focus on strength and fitness. If he can come into a preseason fully fit, that'll give him the best chance of making it through a whole campaign imo

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

Apologies to all. That Mt Smart grog hit a little too hard last night.