lol, wish it was mine. young guy on the warriors forum made it.
You might expect a New Zealand Warriors team which had lost its two most experienced Australian imports and was without four grand final forwards to be down on confidence lining up against Brisbane's daunting Broncos at ANZ Stadium.
There had been dire predictions when Ivan Cleary and Kevin Campion were cut loose so the Warriors could retain their best young players under the National Rugby League salary cap. A growing injury list had removed Ali Lauiti'iti, Awen Guttenbeil, Richard Villasanti, John Carlaw, and Brent Webb. In the face of all these apparent calamities, coach Daniel Anderson calmly expressed confidence in his emerging youngsters. His manner hardly changed when the Warriors blew a 16-point lead in their first-round home loss to the Newcastle Knights. But coaching staff and players made a pact to stiffen a frontline defence which had been guilty of standing back and admiring the skills of Knights kingpin Andrew Johns. Since then the Bulldogs, Manly, South Sydney, and the Broncos have not so much been repulsed as battered into submission, which has enabled the Warriors to rush on late tries. Strapping centre Vinnie Anderson has joined with fledgling forwards Sione Faumuina, Evarn Tuimavave, Iafeta Palea'aesina, and returning captain Monty Betham to present a defensive line as physically imposing as that mounted by Campion and company. Not too long ago Tuimavave, just 18 and not even on a full contract, would have been chasing the autographs of Gorden Tallis and Shane Webcke. He was chasing them on Sunday, but with much more evil intent. Faumuina, 22, made his first grade debut for Canberra against the Warriors two years ago. Anderson brought the homesick youngster back to Auckland and switched him from centre to second-row. Despite being dazed by Andrew Gee's forearm, Faumuina returned to the fray to leave champion fullback Darren Lockyer flat-footed when scoring the try which sealed victory over the Broncos. He then unveiled skills learned as a representative basketballer in Wellington to produce the blind, overhead back pass which gave Tuimavave his first Warriors try and completed the remarkable 32-12 scoreline. It was a move which would have made the Tall Blacks proud. Maybe it even caught the attention of a few basketball-infatuated Halberg Award judges. Anderson's magic touch has extended beyond the need to find so many replacements from last year's successful side. Big wing Francis Meli had been far from convincing during the Kiwis tour to Britain. On Sunday he was devastating in scoring two tries, setting up another, recovering Broncos' kicks, and making life a misery for marker Stuart Kelly. Motu Tony has relished his chance at fullback in Webb's absence, and young stand-off Lance Hohaia is building on his highly promising rookie season. Playmaker Stacey Jones leaves so much of the running to Hohaia that one suspects he might be hampered by the injury which caused him to give away the goalkicking. But his brain is razor sharp. Up front, Jerry Seuseu, Mark Tookey, and Logan Swann have laid the pathway for Wairangi Koopu, Betham, and the enthusiastic boys from the bench. A lingering concern, of course, is the goalkicking. P. J.Marsh landed the one which mattered most in Brisbane, at 18-12, but the season's success rate is less than 50 per cent. Therein lies Anderson's next poser. Tuimavave is a noted kicker but will not have extensive field time as he serves his apprenticeship. Marsh, on the other hand, needs all the practice he can get. courtesy -the press-
