End of season report card

[SpaceMonkey]

Well that’s it for 2023, so I think it’s time to assess how the team has gone this year- I figure this will be a pretty fun exercise for most of us!
I’m personally only going to rate the guys who’ve been given a reasonable crack at first grade but if you were following NSW cup closely feel free to rate the whole squad.

Team overall: A

I think it’s safe to say this year exceeded our wildest expectations. I’m only going to hold off an A+ because we dropped a few games we really should’ve won, and got shown as still needing to improve to match the real heavyweights in the finals. But 2023 made supporting the Warriors fun again, and I’m so grateful to them for that.

Andrew Webster: A+

Webby gets perfect marks, because he achieved more than a rookie coach in his situation had any right to. I just pray there’s no second year syndrome and he coaches us for years to come. And he seems like a humble, likeable guy.

gonna take me a while to edit my post and add ratings but I’ll start by posting the team list so you can all copy and paste it.


Bunty Afoa B

I feel like Bunty has hit a ceiling and it’s consigned him to a somewhat limited role but he’s been solid and effective in doing that job when asked. He’s still relatively young by front row standards so hopefully can improve further next year

Tom Ale B

a bit like Bunty he performed well in a limited role but he’s obvious a lot younger and is in the early stages of his career. Stil had the otebtisl to develop into a top class front rower and plenty of time

Mitch Barnett A

one of our best signings, has played hard and effectively all season except when injured. Only issue is his tendency to attract judiciary attention, though he’s no JWH/Radley, thankfully!

Rocco Berry A-

took his chance in the back half of the season and nailed down his centre spot. Looks to be improving the more games he gets and has the makings of an elite centre.

Adam Cook

Josh Curran B-

Seemed to have been somewhat out of favour early in the season and consigned to a bench role, but has still been very effective when used and hopefully in for a bigger 2024. Off season legal troubles likely affected him.

Wade Egan A

has become one of our star players and one of the craftiest dummy halves in the game. Only concern is his lack of self preservation that could well end his career early due to head knocks. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

Addin Fonua-Blake A+

now unquestionably one of the top 3 props in the game. The complete modern front rower and the king of post-contact metres.

Jackson Ford B

Yes, he can be a bonehead and you’ll usually curse him at least once a game, but he gets through a mountain of work in every single game and has performed well above his price tag.

Kalani Going

Tohu Harris A+

The lynchpin of both our attack and defence, as well as a great captain. Performs at the highest level week in week out despite doing it on busted legs. Hopefully a good off-season and some rest can get him properly fit for neact year

Shaun Johnson A+

The renaissance nobody expected by myth we all loved seeing, just when we’d all bit given up on him SJ has his best ever season, fulfilling all his potential as an elite halfback and leader. Hopefully he’s got a couple more years of this left in him.

Edward Kosi C

Rarely sighted in first grade, though didn’t really do anything wrong. Suspect he won’t feature too much next year unless there are injuries.


Jacob Laban

Ali Leiataua

looked the goods in his brief first grade appearance. Excited to see what he can become in 2024

Freddy Lussick B

proved a pretty capable backup for Egan, which is a valuable asset given the latter’s concussion concerns.

Zyon Maiu’u

Temaire Martin B-

Season cruelled by injury, only returning for the finals somewhat underdone. Didn’t disgrace himself at all but needs some time to really soot into the system and show what he’s really capable pf


Luke Metcalf A-

Breakout year, grabbing the opportunity created by Martin’s injury and making the #6 jersey his own until injury ended his season. Great pace and attacking instinct though needs to continue to work on his distribution game and defence. A big part of our future, and part of our success this year.

Marcelo Montoya B

Form was a bit up and down during the year but back to what he’s capable of in the finals. Probably never going to be an elite winger but at his best he’s a capable finisher who can be brutal on attack and defence. Always valuable coming out of our end.

Charnze Nicholl-Klokstadt A+

Didn’t put a foot wrong all year. Gave 110% and ran hard as we knew he can do and was safe at the back, but also formed a lethal attacking combo with SJ and DWZ, Dallin owes him big time for his try tally.

Marata Niukore A

Did exactly what he was brought to do. Brings mongrel and intent to our forward pack. Hits hard on attack and defence. Discipline can be an issue.

Adam Pompey B+

Yeah I know, he’s a bit of a plodder. But for a guy with limited talent he gives his all every week. Ideally he’ll be an NSW cup star and a capable backup rather than a first choice centre, but he’s kept guys with more natural talent out of first grade through sheer hard work.

Paul Roache

Demitric Sifakula

Bailey Sironen B-

Sirro seems to be a bit of a Mr Fixit- a reliable bench player who provides depth and resilience to the side and can cover a bunch of positions. He doesn’t really stand out as exceptional but pretty much always does what's asked.

Jazz Tevaga B-

Tough year for Jazz with injury and I think he’d score higher if he’d had a decent run in the back half of the year. His combo with Walker off the bench is excellent and he really seems to have eliminated the silly stuff from his game these days. Hopefully we see him fully fit and firing in round one.


Taine Tuapiki B

Good season for the young guy filling in capably for CNK but still needs to develop parts of his game to reach the top level. Love his fearless attitude

Viliame Vailea D

Just didn’t seem interested either in first grade or after he was dropped to NSW cup and was consequently let go. A shame because he has a lot of potential but it’s useless without the right attitude. Maybe Payten can find that in him

Ronald Volkman A-

Great year in NSW cup and capable in his first grade stints, though he’s still no SJ. Hopefully we see a real combination develo with Metcalf, as they’re out long term future.

Dylan Walker A

Has been a fantastic signing and provides a real turbocharge off the bench, especially when combined with Tevaga. Hopefully we have that combo for years to come.

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak A+

A club record for tries scored in a season, and he did it despite missing a good chunk of the early season. One of the game’s elite finishers and a cult hero.

 

[Izz]

Agree with most of your ratings, except I still don't quite have it in me to give Webster an A+, just a flat A. Sure, amazing turnaround and amazing season, but I really feel like his no big-man bench was a mistake that stopped us from being able to hold our own with Penrith and Brisbane in the finals. Maybe there were injury or other off field things we weren't made aware of but if not, then why change what had been working so well for us up to the last bye?

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

Man I'd almost forgotten how at the start of the year I was certain Vailea was going to be our #1 centre by the length of the straight. Honestly I still stand behind my basic reasoning for thinking that, particularly in that I still firmly believe Pompey basically sucks and Vailea has more athletic ability than probably any of our actual starting backs.....but jeez what a dud he turned out to be. Can only be attitude.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Agree with most of your ratings, except I still don't quite have it in me to give Webster an A+, just a flat A. Sure, amazing turnaround and amazing season, but I really feel like his no big-man bench was a mistake that stopped us from being able to hold our own with Penrith and Brisbane in the finals. Maybe there were injury or other off field things we weren't made aware of but if not, then why change what had been working so well for us up to the last bye?

I thought about that but just couldn't mark him down at all after how much he's exceeded expectations.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Man I'd almost forgotten how at the start of the year I was certain Vailea was going to be our #1 centre by the length of the straight. Honestly I still stand behind my basic reasoning for thinking that, particularly in that I still firmly believe Pompey basically sucks and Vailea has more athletic ability than probably any of our actual starting backs.....but jeez what a dud he turned out to be. Can only be attitude.

Telling that he was the only player I gave a fail grade to. Even the C I gave Kosi was basically just because he didn't really get enough first grade opportunities to make an impression this year either way.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

One thing I think this exercise shows though is that getting pretty much everyone in your squad to perform wil get you deep into the finals, but it won’t win you a premiership if your squad isn’t stacked like Brisbane and Penrith. We’re probable performing at our current roster’s potential and the next step is upgrading on some of our guys like Pompey and Sirro who don’t have high ceilings. Continued success will bring that as it will make signing and retaining good players easier, and of course development pathways are need to bring our own stars through.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

Yeah, one summary of our season is that we beat none of the top 4 in, by my count, 5 goes.

Having said that, we were reasonably consistent in winning games v teams 5-8, and most notably the bottom 8 who we didn't lose a game to (not counting the Dolphins last round with a rested outfit). That speaks to a coach who is outstanding at getting us mentally up, who is ultra consistent in the way he prepares us.

The problem is, nigh on all of our losses we were outmuscled. The two finals games we got pushed backwards and lost the ruck. The two wet-weather losses at home to the Rabbitohs (most notably) and Roosters, we didn't handle their size and having to shape up to their big boys.

So if we're going to improve in 2024, we really need to address that. I loved this season, but the expectation is higher now - we want to build a side that on their day can beat anyone. We aren't that right now. We either need to invest more heavily in Ale and Bunty (not sure about the latter), bring someone in and/or develop someone big already in the system. AFB can't do it all, he showed that in the finals - he looked knackered v Brisbane. And if he gets injured, we're f**ked. Barnett ain't a big guy, he's a converted back rower. Then we have no size on our bench. It didn't work.

 

[Izz]

Zyon Maiu'u is a decent propping prospect.

 

[Beavers Headgear]

The key is that quite a lot of the squad had career years, can they back up and do it again

Getting this far in a season isn’t a guaranteed recipe for continued success, and it’s a good thing for the Warriors to be able to see where the Cowboys were in 2022 and where they ended up in 2023 after they buttoned things back a touch

2021, Manly prelim final, haven’t made the 8 since

2022, Parra GF, Souths and Cowboys Prelim, all missed the top 8 this year

need a bit of luck along the way with key injuries, Warriors pretty much full strength in the big games this year was a massive bonus

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Yeah, one summary of our season is that we beat none of the top 4 in, by my count, 5 goes.

Having said that, we were reasonably consistent in winning games v teams 5-8, and most notably the bottom 8 who we didn't lose a game to (not counting the Dolphins last round with a rested outfit). That speaks to a coach who is outstanding at getting us mentally up, who is ultra consistent in the way he prepares us.

The problem is, nigh on all of our losses we were outmuscled. The two finals games we got pushed backwards and lost the ruck. The two wet-weather losses at home to the Rabbitohs (most notably) and Roosters, we didn't handle their size and having to shape up to their big boys.

So if we're going to improve in 2024, we really need to address that. I loved this season, but the expectation is higher now - we want to build a side that on their day can beat anyone. We aren't that right now. We either need to invest more heavily in Ale and Bunty (not sure about the latter), bring someone in and/or develop someone big already in the system. AFB can't do it all, he showed that in the finals - he looked knackered v Brisbane. And if he gets injured, we're f**ked. Barnett ain't a big guy, he's a converted back rower. Then we have no size on our bench. It didn't work.

I agree with that. We overachieved with the squad we had- roster wise we’re still only a fringe top 8 side but when everyone is firing that gets you to the level we reached. But we need more recruitment and develop to foot it with the big boys. That’s realistically of where the team is at in building back from a really tough period. We came 3rd/4th in a rebuilding year. That’s damn good going. Bet Eddie Jones wished he could manage that!

 

[JJ]

Agree we overachieved in many ways - but that was on the back of our best players (Tohu, Johnson, AFB, Egan, and CNK) having terrific seasons - and others being very solid (DWZ was better than solid) - if collectively the best players (9, 7, and 1 especially) have top seasons, then you'd expect the team to do well?

Injuries aside, risk next year is SJ and CNK haven't been the most consistent across years, and Egan gets beaten up

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

Since this thread has taken a bit of a turn towards caution about next year, and cynicism and negativity are my wheelhouse, I'll add my 2 cents...

I really think the biggest concern, which far overshadows all others, is that SJ is both disproportionately important to the team and at an age where being completely over the hill is an ever-present threat (hell, we thought it had already happened a year ago). With our current squad, we basically aren't a top 8 side unless SJ is (a) available, and (b) playing well. It sounds dramatic, but it's true, that we are basically stuffed if (a) and (b) don't happen.

Secondly, the comments about our inability to beat top sides and Webster's reliance on "steady" players and reluctance to blood exciting/new players, reminds me a bit of 2007-2011 "Bomb to Manu" Cleary. They both had a great gift for getting players to play to their potential, but favoured steady, predictable players who would stick to a fairly rigid game plan. I get the impression that Webster might also be reluctant to actually take the risks necessary to turn us into an elite team and not just an above-average team that always tries hard. I guess that really relies on recruitment - I suspect that Webster, like Cleary, could turn an excellent squad into a dynasty, but he won't turn an above-average squad into a premiership winner.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

Agree we overachieved in many ways - but that was on the back of our best players (Tohu, Johnson, AFB, Egan, and CNK) having terrific seasons - and others being very solid (DWZ was better than solid) - if collectively the best players (9, 7, and 1 especially) have top seasons, then you'd expect the team to do well?

Injuries aside, risk next year is SJ and CNK haven't been the most consistent across years, and Egan gets beaten up

I know DWZ is an amazing attacking weapon but gee, his defence is hopeless. He consistently gets exposed v good teams.

I agree though, big issues if AFB and SJ in particular go down. We need props, pronto. And we can't replace SJ. CNK no major issue given we can cover him with RTS. Egan, geez I worry for his health. He gets hit in the head way too much, his technique must be off. I don't remember Cam Smith getting hurt anything like Egan does. Egan is a champion, an absolute warrior in all senses...but I can absolutely see a time in 2024 where he cops a bad one and has to think 'is this worth it?'

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Since this thread has taken a bit of a turn towards caution about next year, and cynicism and negativity are my wheelhouse, I'll add my 2 cents...

I really think the biggest concern, which far overshadows all others, is that SJ is both disproportionately important to the team and at an age where being completely over the hill is an ever-present threat (hell, we thought it had already happened a year ago). With our current squad, we basically aren't a top 8 side unless SJ is (a) available, and (b) playing well. It sounds dramatic, but it's true, that we are basically stuffed if (a) and (b) don't happen.

Secondly, the comments about our inability to beat top sides and Webster's reliance on "steady" players and reluctance to blood exciting/new players, reminds me a bit of 2007-2011 "Bomb to Manu" Cleary. They both had a great gift for getting players to play to their potential, but favoured steady, predictable players who would stick to a fairly rigid game plan. I get the impression that Webster might also be reluctant to actually take the risks necessary to turn us into an elite team and not just an above-average team that always tries hard. I guess that really relies on recruitment - I suspect that Webster, like Cleary, could turn an excellent squad into a dynasty, but he won't turn an above-average squad into a premiership winner.

There’s one obvious takeaway from that - HAVE PATIENCE. We mucked up with Cleary by deciding he wasn’t getting us enough success quickly- we probably blew a very genuine premiership window as a result. As long as he’s keeping us in the 8 and competitive we need to stick with Webby and let him build us into a premiership force, even if it takes a decade. We’ve likely already missed SJ and Tohu’s window.

 

[JJ]

There’s one obvious takeaway from that - HAVE PATIENCE. We mucked up with Cleary by deciding he wasn’t getting us enough success quickly- we probably blew a very genuine premiership window as a result. As long as he’s keeping us in the 8 and competitive we need to stick with Webby and let him build us into a premiership force, even if it takes a decade. We’ve likely already missed SJ and Tohu’s window.

Penrith are a classic example of the patience... they've done a brilliant job, and now (I think) are the greatest team of the NRL era...

 

[Blair]

We need pace in our backline. That was obvious in our finals losses to both Penrith and Brisbane. Metcalfe and Tuaupiki should be developed real hard. Plus line-breaks need to be made to put them in space.

 

[Blair]

There's the Robinson factor too to consider for next year. He seemed good this year but bad in years prior.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

There's the Robinson factor too to consider for next year. He seemed good this year but bad in years prior.

The thing with Robinson is the true measure of his worth isn’t what he says to the media on occasion, if he’s a bit of a boofhead it’s of less importance than what he’s actually doing for the team. As an owner it’s his job to a: front the cash when needed b: ensure a good front office setup is in place and c: make the coach and players happy to work for him. He seems to be doing all three, and unlike Watson (at least in the second half of his tenure) he seems to really genuinely be passionate about the club and the game.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

There’s one obvious takeaway from that - HAVE PATIENCE. We mucked up with Cleary by deciding he wasn’t getting us enough success quickly- we probably blew a very genuine premiership window as a result. As long as he’s keeping us in the 8 and competitive we need to stick with Webby and let him build us into a premiership force, even if it takes a decade. We’ve likely already missed SJ and Tohu’s window.

Yes and no. Cleary had 6 years at the Warriors, which given player turnover in the NRL is at least one "window", and while he snuck us into a grand final in 2011 it wasn't on the back of a consistent upturn in our performances. Being consistently but also stagnantly "just above average" was Cleary's hallmark here. Maybe the Warriors kick on after 2011 with Cleary in charge (SJ and Maloney in the halves was an upgrade on what we'd had previously), but I would argue whether there was actually solid evidence of this during Cleary's tenure.

Don't lose sight of the fact that Cleary's success at Penrith is not the result of showing patience at all. They finished 5th in 2018, he was brought back in 2019, and they have been a dominant team since 2020. He picked up a squad on the cusp of a dynasty, unless we somehow end up with that, we're going to need something extra to push for a premiership.

This shouldn't be read as harsh criticism of Cleary or Webster FWIW, to be a consistently above-average NRL coach who consistently gets more than he should out of his players is extremely impressive. I'm just spitballing on whether we can "slow and steady" our way to a premiership without fairly significant roster upgrades. If we get those roster upgrades then by all means, slow and steady will be fine.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Success breeds success- to get roster upgrades you need to be an attractive club for players, which means winning and having a coach they want to play for. 2-3 years in the 8 and our roster should improve