A tough night but we'll be back!

[wittyfan]

John Key for PM.

Witty to stay at 6.

Ravs to be interchange hooker.

Hohaia and Moon to the Vulcans.

 

[JJ]

No coach intent on winning cn perservere with Witt in the halves... hopeless

 

[CABRA ROCKS]

WARRIORS 2009 will the year That Trophy ..Rides on the Long White Cloud to 'AOTEROA'..

 

[Micistm]

Okay, this game is going to hurt for a long time I think...Pricey and the boys remaining looked more devastated than the outgoing Legend Wiki...but maybe that will make them hungry for next year, much the same way their hiding in last years final has obviously made the Manly side go up another niche.

Anyway- Positives for the year? I reckon there's many good things we can look at and be proud of:

-The U/20 side is an obvious start-We've got some great young guys coming up, and while it's impossible to keep all of them, we'll keep a good chunk. And the others will go to other clubs and get good experience for the Kiwis!
-The injuries to players through the year let some other players step up and shine. Lance in particular had the year of his life...and continued to show his class in terms of what a team man he is, for both Warriors and Kiwis (The poor guy was slated for his ANZAC test, but what other player except Lance always gets thrown into playing different positions the morning of a game?!)
-Despite some rough form through the year, I reckon the team has shown some real resolve to keep at it, even when fans were depressed and thinking it was hopeless-To keep working hard and plugging away. Their reward was to make the game deciding who would play the grand final.
-They've made some history this year, the only team to beat Melbourne at home twice in recent years, the only team in 8th to beat the team #1...and carry on

A proud year. The only thing that could've ruined it was a thrashing in the last game, and sadly it happened. But hopefully it will be understood occasionally you will hit a team that plays the 'perfect game', and when it happens you have to take the lows with the highs.
Hopefully it won't overshadow the good work we've made. The mighty Manly side didn't happen in a year-they've worked at it and it's now paying off. I reckon we're heading that way ourselves.

 

[wittyfan]

No coach intent on winning cn perservere with Witt in the halves... hopeless

Warriors won 11 out of 18 games this year with Witty in the team.

Without him they won just four from 9.

 

[Skram]

Warriors won 11 out of 18 games this year with Witty in the team.

Without him they won just four from 9.

Grant Rovelli played all nine of the those games that Witt didn't, I think that has far more to do with the poor record.
Conversely when Fien played in the halves we won 10 from 16 with 6 from 9 when he was halfback.

 

[wittyfan]

A Witty/Fien combo yielded 6 wins from 9 games as well. Something for Cleary to ponder in the months ahead.

 

[ozbash]

Gutted, just gutted.

toughen up boy..

 

[JJ]

A Witty/Fien combo yielded 6 wins from 9 games as well. Something for Cleary to ponder in the months ahead.

He could also watch the tape of the Manly game, and see how crap Witt was when it counted...

 

[NZ Warrior]

toughen up boy..

f**k OFF!!!!

Sorry, I'm still pissed.

And I miss Skinner.

 

[Rich102]

f**k OFF!!!!

Sorry, I'm still pissed.

And I miss Skinner.

Things not working out with Baxter?

 

[wittyfan]

He could also watch the tape of the Manly game, and see how crap Witt was when it counted...

Witty's done good:

Warriors rollercoaster ends
30/09/2008 5:39 AM
Dean Wedlake
Sportal

Season 2008 has seen indescribable high and inexplicable lows for the Warriors - here's a list of both.

HIGHS
A top-four finish - Anyone predicting the Warriors making it one step away from a grand final after they were wallowing as low as 15th midway through the season would've been handed a strait-jacket and shown a padded cell. Their poor start was partly influenced by injuries but attitude, especially on defence, was the catalyst for a run of 10 wins from 12 to reach the preliminary final.

Rugby League taking the headlines - Forget the notion that league is a neglected younger brother to union in this country. The All Blacks' Tri Nations and Bledisloe Cup victories played second fiddle as the Warriors' week one finals upset of the Storm dominated headlines and talk in pubs, clubs and workplaces across the land. Will the band-wagon be as heavily populated in 2009 though?

Manu Vatuvei - Any talk of mentally tough athletes must include 'The Beast'. Even Eels fans winced in his 2007 shocker at Parramatta Stadium but sheer hard work has seen Vatuvei silence his critics. No longer do sides view him as an easy target on defence - as the kick-happy Roosters showed in attacking Aidan Kirk's wing in the Mt Smart semi-final. Credit must go to coach Ivan Cleary who stuck by his man, where others may not have, and is reaping the rewards. Oh and before we forget, he's the most potent try-scorer in the NRL and scored 16 times from 17 appearances in 2008.

The late-season halves combination - Cleary was reading from the Graham Henry manual with his mid-season tinkering of the halves before he finally found the answer in Michael Witt and Nathan Fien. Both were believed to be shopping for new clubs but their form in the second half of the season should book them hooks number 6 and 7 in the Warriors' changing sheds in 2009. Fien is a natural halfback, not a hooker, with the best kicking game at the club and Witt was brilliant when given an extended run at the back end of the season. His goal-kicking is also invaluable.

New signings - Anyone who predicted the impact of hooker Ian Henderson is either lying or should give Mystic Meg a few pointers. The Warriors have a history of signing quality No.9s and Henderson is perhaps the best of them all. He must've come perilously close to Player of the Year. Brent Tate enjoyed a solid season on the field but it's his competitiveness and influence that made the biggest difference. One criticism could be his lack of tries with only four this season.

Strong roster in 2009 - There's nothing to match the marquee signing of Steve Price - will there ever be? - but credit should go to Warriors management for their forward thinking. The biggest coup of all was the swoop for Broncos wing Denan Kemp, who was the NRL's top try-scorer for most of the season until Brett Stewart nudged him out. Kemp was a relative unknown before 2008 and just after the Warriors secured his signing, he scored four tries against the Eels. Nice timing. Cowboys back-rower Jacob Lillyman isn't the ball-player that many were calling for but is an Origin rep and is

Source: http://sportal.co.nz/League-opinion-display/warriors-rollercoaster-ends-57728

 

[NZ Warrior]

Things not working out with Baxter?

Not me, mate. I would have totally own3d with the Anchorman characters, it was totally wasted on that idiot.

A note to anyone taking on Alias'. You have to become the character or the person, make people believe that the very person you are impersonating, is actually posting on this very forum. That is the true art, anything else is just sad.

 

[pantherz9103]

Realistically you guys did a tremendous job to finish in the last four teams standings.

Hopefully next year you guys can start the season better and finish it strongly again and be in with a chance at the title.

Joel Moon and Denan Kemp should boost your attacking depth. While Wiki is a big loss he's laid the foundations for the future. Another successful season for the Warriors in 2009 is on the cards.

 

[Micistm]

Yeah Panther, in months to come we'll look back and be proud of the team and how it came from such a position to a game away from a GF, it really was something impressive.
At this stage the gutted feeling is still there, and you could hear it in Price, who in his classy nature fronted up for his League hour on Radio Sport today before taking his hols next week. He sounded pretty devastated, and as fans you just feel for the whole team. They did fantastically well, and a lot of 'what ifs' come in...they may well have got to the GF, except for the fact they just met a Manly side who showed incredible class, played the perfect game, and determined to send Menzies out a winner. Gotta admire them really...and next weeks GF should be brilliant-The Storm are in for a game and a half

 

[pantherz9103]

Yeah I may have cheered for the Warriors if they went through to the gf to play the Storm. As alot of people know I quite like the Storm, but would've liked to see the Warriors get their first premiership. With some more speed out wide next season (Kemp), Warriors can take the next step.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

I flew out to Samoa just before the GF started and only just got back into the country and saw the final score... makes me feel a fair bit better about the way the Warriors bowed out now, we were the only team who managed to score a point against Manly all finals series!

 

[Micistm]

Indeed. And most are seeing it that way- The warriors did really well in the last few weeks, and just met a side on fire that no other team was close to. You just have to admire the professional way Manly went about their business this year...it's a yardstick for other teams.
And John Matheson can frankly **** himself, on his one man crusade to diss the Coaching team. We all had doubts through the year at times but FFS even he has to concede they did well.

 

[Rich102]

Yeah, the warriors were beaten by a vastly superior side. The forwards never got onto the front foot and the halves crumbled.
I was more disappointed by the Juniors; they should have won their game and were capable of winning the final. I think they got two quick tries in the second half, thought they had the game won and eased off. They should be a force next year.

 

[Micistm]

I was more disappointed FOR the juniors, rather than by the Juniors. How cruel was that finish for them? Still- that happens and you have to deal with it...and they'll be stronger for it in the long run