Halfway rating.

[hitman82]

That's really generous tbh. Unless we get Locke back and firing for the rest of the season, drop, move or magically fix Manu, and stop losing all our forwards to injuries I no longer expect us to make the 8.

 

[ozbash]

We'll make the 8. Was hoping for a top 4 spot.

Thats at rd 26, meth.

 

[Meth]

I was hoping for a premiership

 

[Aragorn]

Aim high, we're not here just to compete. Thats not good enough, we should be in this to WIN!!

if we get back Locke, Luck and Vatuvei increases his IQ, we are in with a chance?

 

[Rich102]

Fourteen rounds have gone in the NRL and with 12 to go it's a good time to deliver a mid-season report on the men from Penrose.

The New Zealand Warriors are perched just one win outside the top eight, but could just as easily fall from contention with three or four losses.

What would you give Bluey and his boys out of ten?

I give them 7/10.

That might seem too generous given the high expectations around this team but, considering who has been injured, they have done pretty well.

Simon Mannering, Michael Luck and Jacob Lillyman were the cornerstone of the forward pack last year and provided the foundation for the stellar backs.

So without these two tough nuts the team has been lacking organisation in defence.

Nathan Friend has provided some of that glue, but he's still getting to know his new team mates, and finding his feet after spending most of 2011 out with injury.

The Warriors have the fourth worst defensive record this year so I expect this to quickly be rectified with Luck returning.

They also have had to rely on not just one, but two rookie centres, so it's no surprise the edge defence has been leaking like a rusty old sieve.

But despite the relative inexperience in the centres, at halfback and in the second row the Warriors have scored the fourth highest amount of points.

Ben Henry and Konrad Hurrell have been outstanding on attack in an area the Warriors were severely lacking last year, and both players would be in the running for the rookie of the year award.

The one dark patch has been the outside backs. Manu Vatuvei has cost the team at least one, possibly two matches with his sloppy errors.
But he's not alone, Glen Fisiiahi and former Warrior-cum-Bulldog Krisnan Inu have also made their fair share of errors which have contributed to some of our losses. With Inu gone and Ropati out for the season, suddenly the fullback depth looks very thin at the club.

Bluey has taken a while to come to grips with the NRL and you can see his strategies have been tweaked as the season has gone on.

But one positive difference from last year is that the team's overall error rate seems lower this year and while they are sixth for mistakes made, if you took away Vatuvei's 28 errors, the club's total would be closer to Melbourne's.

In my opinion the club is in a good position to make a charge at the top four if the return of Luck and Friend solves their defensive issues. But if they can't plug the gaps, then I think they still have the firepower to sneak into the top eight.

Player of the season so far: Ben Matalino has been immense and has stepped up from last year, closely followed by Konrad Hurrell, who's scoring exploits are covering up a multitude of defensive sins.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/blogs/back-chat/7104354/Warriors-could-be-in-a-worse-place

 

[ozbash]

Would go along with that. we are capable..

 

[Meth]

He's obviously a good journalist and an astute follower of Rugby League. 'Ben Matalino'

 

[ozbash]

He's obviously a good journalist and an astute follower of Rugby League. 'Ben Matalino'

Ooh thats it then, our seasons f**ked...

 

[_addict]

The injuries have been disruptive and the list fairly long, but I think that our cover has been more than adequate to cover and to still expect better performance than what it has been. I don't think that our luck with injuries has been any greater, nor hobbled us more than the average team in the NRL.

The Journo's right about several other aspects though, but no more than isn't commonly accepted knowledge, and I think he's downright wrong about the Fullback stocks at the club. Ropati filled in well when Locke went down and Fishiiahi didn't really stink the joint out like some have suggested.

 

[Rich102]

The Warriors should be one of the great sides in the NRL. Yes, they made the Grand Final last year, but it was a surprise to most.
They have the most talented/strongest youngsters and are second to none in the NRL under 20s. They seem like they can win whenever they want to.
However, this hasn’t translated to the NRL side. The question of why this is the case is intriguing many fans inside and outside New Zealand.
There are two answers. The first is coaching, the other is their style of football.
Let’s look at their coaches in the past 10 years.
Daniel Anderson coached the side between 2001-4. He took them to the GF and they lost to the Roosters in 2003. He has the highest success rate of all Warriors coaches in 17 years (55%); he left in acrimonious circumstances in 2004 after falling out with senior players.
Kemp did not last long, Cleary came next. He also took them to the GF in 2011 when they lost narrowly to the Manly Sea Eagles. He is has the second best strike rate among Warrior coaches, just under 50%.
Since the beginning of this year, Brian McLennan is the coach and it is probably too early to comment on his tenure.
OK, we got down to the second and perhaps the more intriguing part. Their style of football, which pretty much revolves around the flair factor. The flair factor can kill teams, but also can win premierships. However, in the long run it is not a winner.
Teams have to be controlled by few ways. Discipline and enthusiasm are two very important parts of the game after talent. The Warriors are very lucky talent wise, but very short of discipline.
Their main playmakers over the years (except the great Stacey Jones) are not noted cool heads, (perhaps Maloney, who is leaving this year, is the exception). They must find someone who can control the game – and the flair. This will give the team plenty of respect, and a better shot at the title.

http://www.theroar.com.au/2012/06/18/warriors-one-best-sides-nrl/

 

[Izz]

Rubbish article. For the last half dozen years we've played a very defensive oriented game. This year we've lacked discipline, yes, but we haven't especially shown any flair to go with it.

 

[vvvrulz]

This year we've lacked discipline, yes, but we haven't especially shown any flair to go with it.

I actually disagree with that, the rise of Hurrell and the combination of Maloney/Johnson/Locke/Martel have made sure we've got plenty of attacking power all around the park. We're putting plenty of points on the board but its our defence that has gone down the toilet at the same time.

Its an easy excuse but injuries haven't helped either, we really missed Locke/Friend/Luck/Lillyman/Rapira big time. That's most of our defensive starch right there.

 

[Izz]

I actually disagree with that, the rise of Hurrell and the combination of Maloney/Johnson/Locke/Martel have made sure we've got plenty of attacking power all around the park. We're putting plenty of points on the board but its our defence that has gone down the toilet at the same time.

Its an easy excuse but injuries haven't helped either, we really missed Locke/Friend/Luck/Lillyman/Rapira big time. That's most of our defensive starch right there.

Oh yeah, we've got plenty of points in us, i don't disagree with that. But has there been a lot of flair in scoring those points this season? I can think of maybe 2,3 tries that might qualify as 'flair'-ish, but most of our tries have been off the back of fairly structured play.

Teams this season with flair, imo: Doggies, Manly, even Melbourne.