What's wrong with the Warriors this year?

[Manu Vatuvei]

I don't even think they're playing that badly, they just need a bit more spark from the back 5 and the halves which is where injuries also come in

This is essentially true, it's just a question of how you interpret it. Do you say the foundations are there and we just need a bit more polish, or do you say that we're a hopeless case because we can't even find a way to score points when dominating in every metric?

As a cynic I naturally tend towards the latter of course.

 

[Wb1234]

Choking under expectation and sj playing injured

with the addition of rts they should be a far better side

believed their own media and assumed this year would be like last year and aren’t grinding like they need too

 

[Rabbit toes]

Either that or

- We were going fine until we signed JFH, his signing somehow destroyed the club
- We were going fine until Shaun took a dive for that penalty against Manly, it's been karma since then

Big name signings can destroy a club. Look at us and the fallout since we took on wighton.

 

[Wheeled Warrior]

The Warriors franchise are holding back development of our great game in New Zealand

They have become an embarrassment to the kiwi people

At a time our game could have taken over from Rugby Union as re Number 1 sport there.

Its such a shame.

The Warriors are actually making RL better in NZ. You do realize RU is not tracking well?
Are you stuck back in time or something?
Warriors are trending as the best team supported in NZ (Even with our current shit form)
We got pathways in place in all levels now.
How the hell do you come up with your dribble?

 

[Penrith fan]

Now that the Auckland blues have a superstar team, it seems that they generate more buzz and interest than the warriors. A lot of the super rugby guys are all blacks too and many are national heroes and household names... The warriors don't have it to the same level.

It seems that covid killed both sports, at least when it comes to selling tickets. The stadiums are usually not even half full for both union and league.

NZRL have struggled for decades to get anything off the ground, in terms of a local competition (RIP Batercard Cup), that could be comparable to the NPC. Instead, New Zealand is heavily reliant on Australian NRL clubs picking up our talented players & developing them since the opportunities in kiwiland are very slim, with the Warriors being the only NZ based NRL club.

 

[mave]

Either that or

- We were going fine until we signed JFH, his signing somehow destroyed the club
- We were going fine until Shaun took a dive for that penalty against Manly, it's been karma since then

Both Warriors and Manly have been putrid since that game.

I thought it would drain us, but not for the next month.

 

[Bazal]

Now that the Auckland blues have a superstar team, it seems that they generate more buzz and interest than the warriors. A lot of the super rugby guys are all blacks too and many are national heroes and household names... The warriors don't have it to the same level.

It seems that covid killed both sports, at least when it comes to selling tickets. The stadiums are usually not even half full for both union and league.

NZRL have struggled for decades to get anything off the ground, in terms of a local competition (RIP Batercard Cup), that could be comparable to the NPC. Instead, New Zealand is heavily reliant on Australian NRL clubs picking up our talented players & developing them since the opportunities in kiwiland are very slim, with the Warriors being the only NZ based NRL club.

Lol Warriors games have been packed since they returned home and NZs biggest RU team the Crusaders were f**king last when I saw a Super Rugby table in passing a while ago.

Stop making shit up and stick to defending domestic violence, you sub par Rhyno knock off

 

[Vee]

2001-2003 2006-2008

Educate yourself a bit more.

?

 

[Penrith fan]

Lol Warriors games have been packed since they returned home and NZs biggest RU team the Crusaders were f**king last when I saw a Super Rugby table in passing a while ago.

Stop making shit up and stick to defending domestic violence, you sub par Rhyno knock off

you are clearly a victim of a family full of domestic violence.

 

[nick87]

For me i think its a combination of a bunch of players out of form and a lack of evolution in attack

AFB and Mitch Barnett are going pretty well, but their bench middles havent had the impact you'd expect. Afoa and Tevega arent having great seasons imo.
Capewell has been a bit of a bust signing and others in the back row havent stood up. Jackson Ford hasnt played particularly well. Tohu Harris looks like father time might be coming for him. Nikoure has been hurt and they've missed him.
Wayde Egan is awesome but it feels like he's constantly carrying niggling injuries

The outside backs are in really poor form. RTS tries hard and has a high workrate but doesnt get a lot of good ball since Metcalf got hurt. Montoya isnt very good to begin with, Rocco Berry is having a down year and DWZ too. CNK is giving me Canberra CNK vibes with his reluctance to pass the football on sweep plays right now.
Not sure if it's a confidence issue or their timing is just off but he's eating too much ball and not giving him outside backs opportunities (which granted they'd just spill based on recent form)

Add to that, as someone mentioned above, they really only ran a few different things last year, but they ran them exceptionally well. The double face ball was a cheat code for a while and the sweep to DWZ was clockwork. But teams have sort of figured them out now in the red zone, they know how to defend those plays and the Warriors havent found the counter to the counter, so they're struggling to create points.

The form thing will eventually fix itself. These are good players who will get back to being good players. SJ will probably get healthier and they'll improve, but if they want to challenge for the premiership, which was the expectations coming into this year, they also need to evolve a little in the red and bring new stuff to the table to put defensive decision makers under pressure

 

[Bazal]

you are clearly a victim of a family full of domestic violence.

That tracks with the terrifically low level of wit I'd expect from a person whose family tree appears to be a straight line

 

[Penrith fan]

That tracks with the terrifically low level of wit I'd expect from a person whose family tree appears to be a straight line

that is actually impossible if you think it through.

before you go off on one of your delusional rants, please think through what you are saying and if it makes any sense.

I don’t know what you imagine you know about New Zealand. But to set you straight: Rugby League is nowhere near as popular as Rugby Union in New Zealand - say that in Christchurch or Dunedin and see how you go.

 

[King hit]

Looks like I might’ve been correct about Webster after all. Remember how everyone thought Seibold was amazing in his first year. A good first year coaching isn’t the be all and end all of it.

 

[Chins get the wins]

SJ is one of the biggest pretenders in rugby league history

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

Now that the Auckland blues have a superstar team, it seems that they generate more buzz and interest than the warriors. A lot of the super rugby guys are all blacks too and many are national heroes and household names... The warriors don't have it to the same level.

The Blues have had a ‘superstar’ team with plenty of ABs for years, but with varying levels of buzz that usually correlates to how they're performing. What's driving the current interest in them is the same thing that drove it for the Warriors - winning.

I posted in another thread last week that if the Blues keep winning and the Warriors keep sliding that'd start reflecting in crowd numbers for both teams.

We've already seen one side of that equation play out with the Blues getting their biggest crowd of the year last weekend, and if the Warriors struggle against the Panthers this week, we may see the other side play out when we host the Dolphins next week.

Aside from having to win to attract/retain crowds, both teams also have to deal with fickle Auckland sports fans who are notoriously apathetic. Unless the team is winning and there's a bandwagon to hitch themselves to, they just don't give much of a shit.

 

[Fangs]

Metcalf appears to be a big loss. Johnson now injured as well plus Egan has had some troubles. CNK tries hard but isn't helping much in attack.

They lead the NRL for metres gained and kick return metres. So they seem to get down the field just fine.

Origin will turn things for the Warriors (From round 13):

Bye
Cowboys (Away + Origin back up)
Storm (Home)
Titans (Away + no Origin players)
Broncos (Home + Origin back up)
Dogs (Away)
Bye
Raiders (Away Origin back up)

The games against those 3 QLD sides and Melbourne will be crucial. All of those teams have key players who will be in the Origin sides

 

[Chins get the wins]

Big name signings can destroy a club. Look at us and the fallout since we took on wighton.

He said BIG name

 

[Mr. Shaman]

He said BIG name

Yeah Wighton is only two syllables and doesn’t even have a hyphen!

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Combination of factors:

injuries- they’ve had several key players injured at every point this season and the side hasn’t really settled, particularly in the halves and backline. SJ has been on one leg for the last month and TMM doesn’t offer as much in attack as Metcalf
A couple of close losses early in the season against top sides really hurt their table position and probably their confidence.
A few players in the backline are struggling for form.
RTS hasn’t properly settled into the team, I still feel they’re trying to work out how to use both him and CNK effectively.
Other sides have had a year to analyse their gameplan and develop counters- and Webster hasn’t really developed a plan B.
And finally weather - it’s been wet and they’re not a good wet weather side.

 

[One Warrior]

Now that the Auckland blues have a superstar team, it seems that they generate more buzz and interest than the warriors. A lot of the super rugby guys are all blacks too and many are national heroes and household names... The warriors don't have it to the same level.

It seems that covid killed both sports, at least when it comes to selling tickets. The stadiums are usually not even half full for both union and league.

NZRL have struggled for decades to get anything off the ground, in terms of a local competition (RIP Batercard Cup), that could be comparable to the NPC. Instead, New Zealand is heavily reliant on Australian NRL clubs picking up our talented players & developing them since the opportunities in kiwiland are very slim, with the Warriors being the only NZ based NRL club.

Every single Warriors home game so far this year, both Auckland and Christchurch, including trial games, have been sellouts, maybe have your facts straight before posting.