The thing that angers you most about the knights game is...

[Manu Vatuvei]

This is an important point in my opinion, and all we have to do is look at the current NYC team and see Likiliki out on the wing for some ridiculous reason to see what part of the problem is.

We get it, big wingers dominate the NYC, and guys like Niko, Tupou, Collier etc have had great success at that level by simply being big and powerful against smaller guys. At NRL level you need something more.

Lolohea, Hiku and Hukatai all look like they could potentially make the step up, but not right away. Of course actually developing them for the wing instead of sticking Likiliki out there would be a good start.

For everything good Manu has done, the sudden obsession to have guys the size of props/second rowers on the wing is a result of his success. Problem is not every player can play the square peg being fit into the round hole.

I don't see how any of this applies to Tupou or Slaimankhel. Although Tupou's listed weight is a slightly eyebrow-raising 99kg, both of them fit the template of small, ineffective, "solid" wingers.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

I am just sick of watching big leads pissed away. How many games have we lost now that we really should have put away and banked the points? Where on the ladder would we be now?

I reckon we should've won both Storm games, the Broncos game, the Knights, Tigers, and Sharks games. You could also make an argument for the first Sea Eagles game.

Win all those and we're first, or even further first. Actually we only would've had to win 5 of them to be a share of first.

 

[Benek]

Why the hell do we take big ben, packer, and mateo off the field at the same time? I'd have packer come off the bench so we don't turn into total shit every game after the first 20.

Also Slai on the wing is looking like a fool. How many ultra-soft tries did we give up on the fringes? I don't think they had to work hard for a single one of their points.

We just handed the game up on a platter after a great start.

No way we make the finals and if we sneak in we are out first round for sure.

Such a disappointing under performing team.

 

[Aragorn]

confidence is shot to pieces. up 18-0 after only 16 min then we go into our shell and try to protect the lead. Ever so clear with the drop goal from Maloney.

Whatever Bluey said at half time - it didnt register with the team.

We should have won this game by 50 points.

 

[Benek]

Also, could we have two of the most boring, non-existent wingers right now? It could be ANYONE out there and we'd hardly be able to tell the difference.

We need Manu back pronto.

 

[mean_maori_mean]

I don't see how any of this applies to Tupou or Slaimankhel. Although Tupou's listed weight is a slightly eyebrow-raising 99kg, both of them fit the template of small, ineffective, "solid" wingers.

c'mon mate, your own of the smarter posters here

the reality that warriors development system aint as good as they think
well they clearly have the best junior pool in the nrl. (i think by far)

but they have arent making the right decisions at 20s level imo.

Likiliki on the wing, continues to be named on the wing at a time we are clearly short of quality wingers. yet, commentators dont even question the obsurdity or negativity of doing so.
how ironic...yet here everybody is wondering why we dont have any better wingers

As for Omar, they could have actually developed him
he was greedy player never passes the ball
hasnt been fully fit all year..as a result he is slow
he used to run across the field, fending everybody off but go nowhere.

They could of actually player him on the wing...the only position he had a future at the warriors
Even better played him on the wing for the vulcans

But now lets thrash everybody in 20s....
and make a song and dance about it.
Do you think the broncos care about not winning the 20s everyear.

And the broncos are the club, the warriors are trying to imitate, replicate and overcome to become the best club in the nrl.

 

[Iafeta]

Its a pity Sia Taukieaho got that horrible injury early in the season. I've big big wraps on him either as a centre or a backrower. Great motor, lots of power, good footwork, good offloading skills, and manages his channels very well in defence.

Most frustrating things...

1. Forwards (namely Bull and Sione and Sharky) not getting back onside quick enough leaving Tupou and the Nuffy Beast from the Middle East to take the hit ups (anyone who doesn't think we miss Manu Vatuvei is deadset kidding themselves)... goes to show to an extent how much we rely on Vatuvei, errors or no errors.
2. Ben Henry deciding he MUST defend one foot outside of Elijah Taylor when the team is on a spread to the left. Every freakin time the defence lines has to come up and in to cover this monumental misread... that first try was not a fault of Omar Slaimankhel. That was Ben Henry's error everyday of the week. Terrible play. He did it in the Titans game as well.
3. Bill Tupou TWICE coming up and in when the numbers were easily covered, and then proceeding to do a 360 degree twist on the spot when he was like "oh that's right, I forgot, you can pass in this game.. woops". If he stay out on his man, Naiqama doesn't score on halftime. That was absolutely dreadful defence. We've done it all season. Seriously, do the coaches not talk to the players about this? Every freakin winger and centre at the club does it. Anytime you spread from one side of the field to the other you WILL find an overlap. I reckon its cost us 15 tries at least this year.
4. Throwing away games like its shelling peas. We're on 20, likely to miss the 8, but there is no way known to man we should have dropped games to the Tigers, Sharks, Broncos and Knights. On each occasion they put the ball in their kit bag and let the other team play football, hoping to run the clock down from 40 minutes out. Dreadful stuff.
5. On each of the above... they've consistently happened. Do we honestly not learn? This is my biggest concern with Brian McClennan. The same mistakes repeat themselves. You can see them coming a mile off. Yet for some reason the roster and coaching staff cannot see it for the life of them. The interchange rotation is absolutely dreadful... has been all year. Sam Lousi should NOT have been left to come on with 9 minutes to go. He WOULD have made an impact when Lillyman, Brown and Sione were not. Ben Henry... those defensive misreads have happened all year. Why aren't they being addressed? The wingers are just as bad consistently. What is with throwing games? Why aren't they addressing this? How come it continually happens?

The very idea of stupidity is realising something doesn't work and then doing it again anyway. I can only therefore assume categorically that the roster and the coaching staff are as dumb as dog feces.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

c'mon mate, your own of the smarter posters here

the reality that warriors development system aint as good as they think
well they clearly have the best junior pool in the nrl. (i think by far)

but they have arent making the right decisions at 20s level imo.

Likiliki on the wing, continues to be named on the wing at a time we are clearly short of quality wingers. yet, commentators dont even question the obsurdity or negativity of doing so.
how ironic...yet here everybody is wondering why we dont have any better wingers

As for Omar, they could have actually developed him
he was greedy player never passes the ball
hasnt been fully fit all year..as a result he is slow
he used to run across the field, fending everybody off but go nowhere.

They could of actually player him on the wing...the only position he had a future at the warriors
Even better played him on the wing for the vulcans

But now lets thrash everybody in 20s....
and make a song and dance about it.
Do you think the broncos care about not winning the 20s everyear.

And the broncos are the club, the warriors are trying to imitate, replicate and overcome to become the best club in the nrl.

I wasn't disagreeing with any of that. I just didn't think Tupou and Slaimankhel had been developed to become Vatuvei-type players, which is what KTF seemed to be saying. They are just average, uninspiring players.

 

[Benek]

Quote from NRL.com article:

Warriors coach Brian McClennan said it was a hard loss to explain, but said the team lost its way when Matulino, Feleti Mateo and Russell Packer went to the interchange bench.
"It's an area we've been working on, but it also happened when we had less ball. In the first 15 minutes we had the majority of the possession.
"Why we flattened out we'll have to investigate further."

Really Bluey? We have to investigate that? Anyone watching the game can tell you that if you take all of your go forward of the field at the same time you stop going forward. Ever considered changing your interchange rotation? Or do we need some more investigation before we can make that decision.

 

[Iafeta]

I reckon both Matulino and Mateo could go longer than they're allowed to. At the very least. Packer can come off after say 20 minutes, Matulino after 30, Mateo after 35, putting Packer back on and shifting Lousi to lock. They don't look like they're blowing hard when they come off. I'm sure if it went to 6 interchanges those blokes would easily play longer minutes. Mateo should come back on 10 minutes into the second half and play out the game, and at no point from there should he be without either Packer or Matulino. Those blokes are exceptional at go forward. I would not be surprised if you go through the games we've allowed teams back in that a big part of the problem is when all 3, or at least 2 of those chaps are off. The fact McClennan cannot see that is bewildering and frightening.

 

[KeepingTheFaith]

I wasn't disagreeing with any of that. I just didn't think Tupou and Slaimankhel had been developed to become Vatuvei-type players, which is what KTF seemed to be saying. They are just average, uninspiring players.

Omar wasn't developed for the wing period, while Tupou was clearly bigger than his opposite in most NYC team and relied on that more so than proper wing play. At NRL level he's less effective because of it. besides, being nicknamed mini beast would indicate they see him as the Manu mould.

The Warriors NYC more often than not just sticks big guys out there with very little thought to their development into first grade wingers. This is what I was getting at. There seems to be little evidence of wing play from our wingers in any grade.

 

[Izz]

Quote from NRL.com article:


Really Bluey? We have to investigate that? Anyone watching the game can tell you that if you take all of your go forward of the field at the same time you stop going forward. Ever considered changing your interchange rotation? Or do we need some more investigation before we can make that decision.

 

[ozbash]

We had one of the best prop rotations in the comp last year. Matulino Packer Sam Rapira and Lillyman .
We lost nothing with interchange.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

while Tupou was clearly bigger than his opposite in most NYC team and relied on that more so than proper wing play. At NRL level he's less effective because of it. besides, being nicknamed mini beast would indicate they see him as the Manu mould.

I just don't think there's any truth in that at all. Tupou in NYC was about 90kg. Elijah Niko was the "big" winger who couldn't cut it in FG, Tupou was just a "solid", average sized winger who did the basics.

Tupou was brought in to first-grade because Cleary thought he was capable of "proper wing play" and I believe this myth (imo) is what has kept him in the team. The whole "mini-beast" thing has come as they tried to fit Tupou into a box once they realized he was neither here nor there as a player. They've tried to bulk an average-sized guy up to 100kg so he can be more effective with his dummy half runs etc, because they realize he's never going to be a flying, light-stepping type of winger- not because he's big, but because he just has mediocre athleticism.

 

[ozbash]

The wing spot was between Billy and Paddy Ah Van.

Bill won...

 

[Akkerz]

The bench looked very weak

I bet Bluetit did to having that sort of performance in front of the bosses

 

[ozenzud]

Did we loose simply cause manu was injured? Obvious what he offers when he is missing. Those return metres on the kick returns off our line. Locke looking a bit ordinary and injured too.

 

[One Warrior]

We started of the season letting in 16 points before we started scoring, that was bad, however our new practice of blowing big leads and throwing away games f**king p*sses me off, I mean 18 nil up after 16 minutes and then losing it, FMD.

 

[kos]

Where did Patrick Ah Van get to -Super League?
I think he would look better than Billy/Omar now.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

Where did Patrick Ah Van get to -Super League?
I think he would look better than Billy/Omar now.

Yep he went to Bradford last year and Widnes this year. Wikipedia says he has 12 tries in 16 games this year :shock:

Which appears to be a lie as the ESL website says he only has 9...