Team vs Knights

[Cold Roses]

Lisone and Hurrell on Bench



VODAFONE WARRIORS v NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS

Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland

4.00pm, Monday, March 28



VODAFONE WARRIORS

1 ROGER TUIVASA-SHECK

2 TUIMOALA LOLOHEA

3 BLAKE AYSHFORD

4 SOLOMONE KATA

5 JONATHAN WRIGHT

6 SHAUN JOHNSON

7 JEFF ROBSON

8 JACOB LILLYMAN

9 JAZZ TEVAGA

10 BEN MATULINO

11 BODENE THOMPSON

12 RYAN HOFFMAN (c)

13 SIMON MANNERING

Interchange:

14 CHARLIE GUBB

15 SAM LISONE

16 KONRAD HURRELL

17 ALBERT VETE

HEAD COACH | ANDREW McFADDEN

 

[Cold Roses]

Gavet misses out. Wonder what the reasoning is?

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Gavet misses out. Wonder what the reasoning is?

Could just be rotating forwards, they're all going ok and Lisone and Vete have had spells.

 

[JJ]

You think McFadden has a plan? I am not convinced

 

[Cold Roses]

Could just be rotating forwards, they're all going ok and Lisone and Vete have had spells.

You think McFadden has a plan? I am not convinced

Ha! Yeah. You have to wonder.

My cautious optimism from the pre season is still there. But only just.

Is there any chance that with all of these rumours about a player backlash floating around, that maybe they are responding better to Morgan than to McFadden, and see him as a better head coach option?

Just a thought.

 

[JJ]

Vete started last week very strong I thought - but only had 20 mins... just hard to make sense of it, and the absence of any gameplan (or the inability of the players to implement it) is worrying

That said the Knights are not really first grade standard - timing's good for the coach the losing streak likely over, but not sure that means anything - just has the feel of another Warriors year

 

[Philip_Smith007]

You think McFadden has a plan? I am not convinced

Why would you carry a centre on the bench? Must have a plan for Hurrell at dummy half or playing front row?

 

[captainwarrior]

Seeing Ashford there still really pains me. Defensively it may be better, but gee the side would look so much better with Hurrell there. Great to see Tevaga there again.

 

[ozbash]

Vete started last week very strong I thought - but only had 20 min

I thought he was awesome in the short time he was on. I'd like to see him start and Lilly doing the 20 minutes.

 

[SilentOne]

Is there any chance that with all of these rumours about a player backlash floating around, that maybe they are responding better to Morgan than to McFadden, and see him as a better head coach option?

Just a thought.

Isn't that always the cause though with this useless mob?

I'm f**king sick of it, either the players need to perform or Doyle needs to f**k them off.

We can blame McFadden' inexperience all we want, but at the end of the day the players are the ones responsible;e on the field.

 

[JJ]

Seeing Ashford there still really pains me. Defensively it may be better, but gee the side would look so much better with Hurrell there. Great to see Tevaga there again.

Disagree - Ayshford well and truly deserves to be the first centre picked imo

 

[JJ]

I thought he was awesome in the short time he was on. I'd like to see him start and Lilly doing the 20 minutes.

Wasn't Lillyman's most effective game, but I still want him there - but the dope coach has to adjust, I guess the question is would Vete have been so strong if he had 40-50 minutes - I don't know, but the way he was going in that game I wanted to see

 

[RHYTHM AND STEALTH]

Why would you carry a centre on the bench? Must have a plan for Hurrell at dummy half or playing front row?

hurrell to centre
tui to 6
robson to hooker
tavega having a rest

 

[Penrose Warrior]

Here's what's happened.

Konrad has to play (or a centre/wing) because when Tevaga goes off - which he has to, because no way is he capable of being an 80-min NRL hooker and nor should he be - there has to be a hooking option. It has to be Robson, therefore Tui has to go to the halves and someone has to slot in out wider.

Now it's easy for the casual fan to say shit that's bad luck with injuries.

It's more poor roster management.

Luke is our No.1 hooker. Has a history of either being suspended or injured sometimes (let's ignore his fitness or lack thereof as well). So who's our back-up? Apparently a 19-year-old and another rookie whom had never been in an NRL squad let alone played a game.

Havili was here and never advanced at all. Dragons probably upped his salary. Who did we replace him with? No one. Literally no one. Not even a journeyman like Ian Henderson or Craig Garvey or any bargain basement, played first grade before hooker. Gambled on a) Luke playing 80min x 24 games whatever that amounts to b) Greenhorn rookies doing the business c) god knows.

Again, I don't know league that well but it is ideal to have your halfback go to hooker, 4 games in when you're trying to build combinations around him and get him to run this side around the field? To have Tui play 7 when he was pretty poor there last year and is clearly not a good foil for SJ? For Konrad to be a bench player? I think not.

 

[Fufu Andronez]

Here's what's happened.

Konrad has to play (or a centre/wing) because when Tevaga goes off - which he has to, because no way is he capable of being an 80-min NRL hooker and nor should he be - there has to be a hooking option. It has to be Robson, therefore Tui has to go to the halves and someone has to slot in out wider.

Now it's easy for the casual fan to say shit that's bad luck with injuries.

It's more poor roster management.

Luke is our No.1 hooker. Has a history of either being suspended or injured sometimes (let's ignore his fitness or lack thereof as well). So who's our back-up? Apparently a 19-year-old and another rookie whom had never been in an NRL squad let alone played a game.

Havili was here and never advanced at all. Dragons probably upped his salary. Who did we replace him with? No one. Literally no one. Not even a journeyman like Ian Henderson or Craig Garvey or any bargain basement, played first grade before hooker. Gambled on a) Luke playing 80min x 24 games whatever that amounts to b) Greenhorn rookies doing the business c) god knows.

Again, I don't know league that well but it is ideal to have your halfback go to hooker, 4 games in when you're trying to build combinations around him and get him to run this side around the field? To have Tui play 7 when he was pretty poor there last year and is clearly not a good foil for SJ? For Konrad to be a bench player? I think not.

If TL was fit it would be him, how many spare hookers can we really carry on a squad of 25, Luke and Leuluai 1st and 2nd choice and then rookies after that would be the way most other teams are also structured.

 

[Fufu Andronez]

Wouldn't mind seeing big Ali get a go either. Hurrell hopefully takes his chance to put in a good game, doesn't need to be a match winner just needs to be error free and smart

 

[Penrose Warrior]

If TL was fit it would be him, how many spare hookers can we really carry on a squad of 25, Luke and Leuluai 1st and 2nd choice and then rookies after that would be the way most other teams are also structured.

The whole premise of my post is disintegrated by forgetting Leuluai. Shit. What a chump I am.

So maybe it is just bad luck that we have 3 hookers injured.

 

[JJ]

Liked what I saw of the Jazz man anyway - but yeah, just bad luck

 

[vvvrulz]

Liked what I saw of the Jazz man anyway - but yeah, just bad luck

I was really impressed by Jazz, if he keeps growing from that performance he tops Leuluai imo.

Luke has looked distracted and lethargic so far.

 

[Matua]

Ha! Yeah. You have to wonder.

My cautious optimism from the pre season is still there. But only just.

Is there any chance that with all of these rumours about a player backlash floating around, that maybe they are responding better to Morgan than to McFadden, and see him as a better head coach option?

Just a thought.

I'm glad to see you have just woken up from a 3 week coma.